We live in a changing world and it seems that our schools are morphing into suburban fortresses. Parents are clamouring for fencing and security checks at entrances. Having armed guards on the premises is not entirely out of the question.
At regular intervals we hear reports of intruders entering school properties. There have been instances where children have been sexually assaulted when they have left class to go to the toilets. There is not even safety in numbers because some brazen deviants are quite open in their actions.
The trip to and from school is fast changing. The days when kids used to walk home in safety seem behind us. More parents are insisting in driving their young ones or insisting they take the bus. Car pooling is gaining traction. The idea of a roster to ensure that an adult is present on each school journey is becoming a fact of life.
The safety issue is intruding into sport. Many schools do not have sports fields on their premises and sport is conducted elsewhere - usually on council property. Some parents are becoming wary at allowing even supervised sport because of the danger from perverts, and this is crippling efforts to widen sports activities for health reasons.
Education departments are working to a plan to erect tall safety fencing around all schools. Priority was given to schools in what was termed " unsafe " areas and schools in " good " suburbs were low on the list. Tragedies overseas and local incidents here have created pressure for the fencing programme to apply to all unfenced schools immediately - and for schools to be included in the cctv safety network.
Education standards are about to get enhanced by the " Gonski " initiative delivering a lot of new money. Unfortunately, some of this will be syphoned off from teaching to keeping kids safe within the education system. We already have road crossing guards supervising car traffic at the start and end of the school day. It seems inevitable that when the fencing programme is complete, there will be a clamour for a " gatekeeper " to be stationed at school entry and exit points. This will certainly add to educational costs,
Why all this is becoming necessary continues to elude reason. Some will sheet the blame home to the use of mind altering drugs. Others will place the blame on the state of the economy. Too many people seeking too few jobs, with the result that the unemployed have time on their hands. Others will blame the incessant spread of pornography. Most will be unable to even suggest the cause of this epidemic !
Whatever the cause, it seems to be a fact of life that the humble school is fast turning into a fortress. Fewer future kids will experience the joys of riding their bikes to the local creek for a swim - or to try their hand at fishing. The care free life of childhood is fast being governed by " risk factors " !
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