Manitoba and Bill 18

Looking it up on a search engine, "Bill 18" is a really vague search. Therefore a number of variable terms may be added to the search. "Manitoba", "Education Act", or "Anti-bullying". Manitoba's Bill 18 has become an issue thanks to about 5 inches of the bill's writing. The bill summaries what bullying is, as well as what educators should do about it. This vague "Bill 18" has become a big issue in Manitoba, with the rural Southeast taking on the government. People in the urban areas don't understand why the Southeast is opposed and the Southeast doesn't understand why others seem to support it.

The bill includes, "hurt feelings" as bullying. That particular wording is the best example of how vague the definition of bullying is. A Winnipeg Free Press article supporting the bill states,

"Bill 18 certainly has a broader definition, and there is concern among parents and educators about whether it will require every off-handed comment, sideways glance and unintended offence to be punished."

This is true, and a great summary of concerns. I have read that parents and educators are concerned that they or their children could be sued or get into legal trouble for off-handed comments. Children are great at being mean, and may tease each other for any reason; their height - too tall or too short, their smell, the amount of parents they have, what they wear, what they eat, how quiet they are - the list goes on and on. I am actually surprised that more people are not concerned about this. This vagueness puts all people at risk of getting into trouble with the law, and also weakens the travesty of true bullying by including with systematic bullying things that can be unintended and one time only. True bullying definitely needs to be dealt with, but does it mean that people, children in particular, need to "walk on eggshells" with each other? How will we, or they, know what bullying constitutes?

I am also surprised that this is what they put forward, since it requires adults to govern children's behaviour. Not just adults, but educators. It asks educators to govern children's behaviour. As someone who has worked in the school system, I wonder how this can be done. Educators can suggest and discipline but it is always up to the individual to comply.

Teachers are given classrooms of 20 children or more. Can they stop their teaching day to deal with this vague definition of bullying, with the miriad of complaints that would become "bullying" (I'm thinking of grade one's here, who tell on each other for everything). They are busy enough teaching and disciplining as it is. How much energy can they put into new bullying rules?

 Can the province provide enough recess help to supervise children into not teasing others? I don't think so, because even supervised children are mean to each other, and I don't think that having a horde of supervisors would be healthy. Children need to learn how to navigate life, and they do a lot of that on their own. It is our job to teach them how they should live, and their job to apply it. Or rather, it is not a teacher's primary job to teach children morals or how to treat another human being. That education primarily comes from the home, from their parents and siblings, grandparents, friends, and family. Schools assist.

I guess for me, on this topic of vagueness, what I want is either a more clear definition of "bullying", or a better definition of the process that complaints will go through. I want a filter put in place that sorts real bullying out from human failure, because it's a real concern.

More to come.