. Aug 29, 2017, Brisbane Times: Australia School cage scandal reforms beset by failed deadlines https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/act/school-cage-scandal-reforms-beset-by-failed-deadlines-20170828-gy5mwr.html Changes recommended after the 2015 boy-in-a-cage scandal have again been the subject of time blowouts, a delay ACT Education minister Yvette Berry blamed on the need for collaboration across several arms of government. An expert panel called for wide-ranging reforms to how schools handled children with complex or challenging behaviours, after a 10-year-old boy wih autism was locked inside a cage at a Canberra school. … A recommendation that each school system provide alternative options to out-of-school suspension where appropriate and possible, including in-school suspensions with temporary additional staffing or support was originally due in December 2016 but had a revised delivery date of September 2016. The report said the current suspension policy was being rewritten with a focus on early intervention and prevention.
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.