Schools should educate about drugs, not punish
If you have been a teacher in a low-decile school, as I have, you can get a little sick of fawning articles about the sporting and academic success of high-decile schools. So, I was amazed when I read that Auckland Grammar – educator of Sir Edmund Hillary, the Crowe brothers, and a host of other luminaries – expelled 11 students for drug offences during 2019.
Don’t get me wrong – kids will be kids and experiment with drugs. I’m sure there is no more drug use at Auckland Grammar than at other schools. I’m also sure its dedicated staff do their very best.
What amazed me about the Grammar incident was the lengths one of Auckland’s most prestigious schools went to to keep the matter quiet. The school refused to answer any media questions, refused a further Official Information Act request, then released the information only after an Ombudsman’s complaint. This was apparently to protect the students involved, even though offenders in a previous, non-drug-related matter were expelled far more publicly.
Thank goodness for Grammar that its board chair is a partner in one of New Zealand’s largest law firms and not a local courier driver.
Auckland Grammar has a packed waiting list. This means it doesn’t have to worry about falling rolls – or kids who get caught with drugs. Its zerotolerance approach means expelled kids will go to another school – presumably slightly lower decile – and get on with their education.
Though many Grammar parents probably applaud this approach, is it enlightened? Surely summarily expelling an errant student and letting another school deal with your problem is admitting failure – hardly the much-lauded ‘‘Grammar Way’’. Can you imagine ex-Grammar student Edmund Hillary saying ‘‘I didn’t knock the bastard off because it was too cold up there,’’ or Martin Crowe ever saying ‘‘Scoring 18 in the final over is a big ask, so I didn’t even try.’’
As for Grammar parents, it’s understandable that they want other kids expelled for drug use, but what happens when the miscreant is one of your own? Suddenly your world changes.
You know your kid has stuffed up, but you also know your kid has potential. They are not a drug fiend; they did something stupid. You simply want a second chance. But if you’re a Grammar parent, it’s likely you are out of luck. The only option you have is to lawyer up, which, if you’re not a partner of a major law firm, is expensive and difficult.
A working-class friend of mine grew up in a provincial town and got caught with weed at school. He would have been immediately expelled had not the sons of the local lawyer and doctor been caught along with him. Knuckles were gently rapped, and a lesser punishment meted out. He went on to gain a university degree and have a successful career, but what would have happened had he been expelled?
Studies have shown a large proportion of prisoners were expelled from school. Police and other experts agree that keeping children at school is enormously important, and something that most schools that don’t have the luxury of a large waiting list try to do.
So, could Auckland Grammar have acted in a more positive way? I think so. According to the NZ Drug Foundation, our young people smoke less marijuana than they did 10 years ago, drink less alcohol and smoke fewer cigarettes. So assuming every secondary school is a druggy den of iniquity is a mistake.
Most secondary and tertiary students will experiment with drugs at some stage, and a few will abuse them. The important thing for schools is to educate them about substance abuse in a scientific and adult way. You’re hardly going to admit a drug problem to a teacher if they are likely to expel you.
When even the Government is saying that drug abuse should be treated as a health issue, not a criminal one, schools with a zero-tolerance approach look out of touch. Why do schools with a laptop approach to modern education still have a slide-rule approach to drugs?
Don’t think that the Government’s enlightened approach is thanks to a sickly liberal Labour Party propped up by weed-smoking Greenies. Under the government of John Key, hardly a drug fiend, the Te Ara Oranga project was established in Northland. It has seen police and the DHB work together to reduce methamphetamine use by offering treatment rather than punishment. It has been a great success. Let’s hope it continues.
Perhaps next time Auckland Grammar or other ‘‘no tolerance’’ schools discover a kid abusing drugs, instead of lawyering up and passing the problem on to another school, they should call in some experts to educate their students and teachers with some decent, non-judgmental drug education. That would be a Grammar Way everyone could emulate.
Why do schools with a laptop approach to modern education still have a slide-rule approach to drugs?