The recent death of a junior-high student who was stabbed several times with a switchblade by a schoolmate in New Taipei City triggered fierce controversy.
Aside from condemning the female student involved in the argument that led to the stabbing, and the male student who did the stabbing, some accused the school and faculty of mismanagement and not having conducted a thorough search of students’ possessions.
Some even blamed the New Taipei City Government and the Ministry of Education for negligence before the presidential election.
However, the public should be smart enough to know that mindless recriminations and anger do not help the situation.
People familiar with education in the nation would be aware that counseling and guidance regulations stipulate that teachers cannot search students’ bags without good reason.
A while ago, a legislator held a news conference, saying a public vocational high school teacher’s search of students’ luggage during a field trip was “a violation of rules and dereliction of duty.” Even if teachers do get a tip-off of students bringing in dangerous goods, no one would dare to search students’ bags and personal items unless they are 100 percent sure of what they would find. Blaming the school for failing to confiscate the switchblade in question would be akin to blaming a bus driver for failing to stop a would-be perpetrator of sexual harassment from getting onto the bus.
News reports said that the male student who stabbed the other student was a juvenile delinquent sent to the Juvenile Detention House by the juvenile court. Even though young people should have equal rights to education, if such a student were to appear on campus, the school would not have the time and resources to always keep an eye on the individual.
People used to promote the idea that teachers are teachers, disciplinarians and mentors, yet how are teachers to discipline students if there are no support systems to facilitate this? In view of this fatal incident, it is not enough to simply call on the government to “step up guidance and counseling,” and assume that things would change.
Instead, the government should introduce “on-campus isolation” and “school suspension” regulations. Young people who exhibit delinquent behavior, or those who violate others’ rights to education should be detained at the school security center by security officers, or have the offending student take online courses in a small classroom by themselves.
Schools should retain the full right to conduct the assessment and disciplinary measures. While every student has the right to education, the law should not only protect the rights of the minority who demonstrate risky behavior, but also the rights of the majority of students.
As Taiwan has been imitating the education systems of other nations in promoting the idea of making students masters of learning, endowing them with more freedom and flexibility, experts and those in power should be thorough with their imitation.
In other nations, they place as much emphasis on family education as school education. Everyone wishes that the next generation would recieve a normal education and grow up to be good people. For this to happen, both family and school should play their part in educating students, and not pass the buck to the other.
After the loss of the junior-high school student, every Taiwanese should take action to change things.
The last thing we should do is to sit by and watch another tragedy unfurl or see children having to bring self-defense equipment to schools.
Chen Wu-yu is a senior-high school teacher.
Translated by Rita Wang
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