Legal and ethical

Reconciliation demands that we put collective punishment aside

Collective punishment in residential schools did more than punish children—it shattered the bonds between parents and children. For many parents who survived, the fear, shame, and trauma they endured complicated their ability to nurture trust in their own parenting. Emotional disconnection and disrupted parenting Adults who attended residential schools often struggle to form secure attachments…

Data tracking in the residential school system

The Canadian Residential School system (circa 1870s–1990s) was a network of church-run boarding schools funded by the government to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children. In theory, such a large system might have been guided by careful data collection – tracking student health, education outcomes, and well-being. In reality, government officials prioritized ideological goals and cost-saving “optics” over…

Collective punishment: unjust in schools, unjust everywhere

Collective punishment—punishing a group for the actions of an individual—is widely recognised as a violation of human rights. It is condemned in international law, yet it persists in various forms worldwide. From China’s persecution of human rights defenders’ families to Israel’s blockade of Gaza and the Taliban’s illogical governance, collective punishment disproportionately harms innocent people.…

Shut it down: Why POPARD cannot be trusted to support neurodivergent children

We asked for help.We got a behaviour chart. We invited experts into our child’s life, hoping they would help school staff understand his anxiety, his trauma responses, his fiercely sensitive nervous system. We asked for relational strategies grounded in respect and attunement. We shared research. We named his diagnosis. We explained, in plain terms, what…

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

Pathological Demand Avoidance is a neurobiological profile of autism rooted in anxiety, autonomy, and nervous system threat perception. For children with PDA, even simple requests can register as danger. A question, a suggestion, a cheerful invitation—all of these may activate a survival response, because the child’s nervous system experiences demand as threat. When this pattern…

Restraint and isolation in British Columbia schools

Physical restraint and isolation—sometimes termed “seclusion”—remain legally unregulated in British Columbia schools, even as provincial guidelines seek to limit their use to moments of extreme risk. Physical restraint is defined as any method of restricting a student’s freedom of movement to maintain safety, while seclusion involves involuntary confinement in a space from which the student…

From corporal punishment to collective harm: why Section 43 still casts a shadow over Canadian schools

Section 43 still permits “reasonable force” in schools. This blog explores how it enables collective punishment and violates children’s rights.

Teacher Misconduct Case

A recent case involving Alexandra Clare McLean, a BC teacher disciplined for yelling, humiliating, and physically handling students, highlights the urgent need for stronger accountability in schools. Despite multiple suspensions, warnings, and training, McLean’s harmful behaviour continued. This case reflects the broader issue of harmful disciplinary tactics like collective punishment. Both create fear, shame, and…

Three-quarters of Nunavut teachers witnessed or dealt with violence at school: survey

In June 2024, the Nunavut Teachers’ Association released findings from a territory-wide survey that captured what many educators already knew: violence and burnout in Nunavut schools are endemic—and escalating. Teachers weren’t asking for harsher discipline. They were asking for help. Violence isn’t the story—it’s the signal Educators in the survey overwhelmingly described these behaviours not as…

End collective punishment in BC schools