Dangerous encounters: violence in the schools: case study.

• Author: Howe, Bill

The case study that follows has been intentionally broken up into sections, each adding new elements of the story and facts that raise further questions. The case in its entirety is perhaps less provocative, because of its extremes, than it is in parts. You may wish to make separate overheads to prevent students from reading ahead. As for the questions that accompany each section, depending on the classroom setting, these are perhaps best addressed in small groups first and then brought together in a full class discussion or debate.

The Case of Lacombe High School

On the afternoon of October 10, 1995, after enduring "relentless teasing" and name-calling, a young seventeen-year-old student at Lacombe High School, Alberta, finally retaliated. The article in the Edmonton Journal two days later explained how other students reported that he had been teased throughout Grade 10 the year before. He was considered different and students referred to him on various occasions as a tweek and a spaz. As one classmate commented, "Nobody liked him ... He only had a couple of friends and they were geeks too." Others described the boy as a loner who mostly kept to himself. On the day of the incident, he clearly exploded, years of taunting welling up into a single act of physical aggression.

Considering how common name-calling and teasing are in schools, several questions arise:

1. Is there such a thing as innocent teasing? At what point does name calling or teasing go too far? Are there legal grounds for action against those who tease others? Are there grounds for action under the Alberta School Act or other provinces' school legislation? Are physical reactions by the victim ever justified on grounds of self-defense?

2. If the teasing escalates to physical contact or threats of violent actions on or off the school grounds, how do the consequences change?

   The news reports explained how, on the afternoon of the incident, during the last block English 23 class, the harassment had "reached a peak". While the teacher had left the room for a few minutes, as many as six students took turns shooting spitballs. Apparently, after returning to the classroom, the teacher was unaware of what had taken place in his absence. When the bell rang, during the few chaotic moments of dismissal, the boy rose out of his desk, walked to the back of the class and approached one of the boys responsible for the taunting, and struck him in the stomach. Though at first, it was thought...