Scratching, hitting and biting are common occurrences in Greater Victoria classrooms, according to Amy Read, a kindergarten teacher at Quadra Elementary School.

Dealing with violence in classrooms can be stressful and challenging, where kids cry, pull their hair and throw scissors. It is an unmanageable situation, said Read.

91裸聊视频淚t feels like the system is crumbling around us. And no one really cares,91裸聊视频� she said.

Read had approached the Greater Victoria School District about this in a presentation to the board on April 4. Not a lot has changed, according to Read.

It was not Read91裸聊视频檚 initial vision when she started to teach. Still, since she began teaching at Quadra Elementary, her determination to try to fix the problem of violence in classrooms has strengthened.

91裸聊视频淚 feel the disparity so strongly that it just makes me frustrated that some kids are not getting their educational needs met or their mental health needs met.91裸聊视频�

A lot of these teachers who have to deal with violence in their kindergarten classes are ready to look for work in other industries, Read said.

It will also make the current education assistant shortage and teacher shortage a much bigger problem than it already is, she said.

91裸聊视频淧eople only care about the education system when they have kids. And so teachers are stretched so thin and very ready to leave.91裸聊视频�

This is not a problem that is exclusive to Quadra Elementary. It is happening across B.C., said Read.

When describing how her teaching day unfolds, the description is not one of tranquillity and calm. Instead, it sounds closer to the duties a police officer might have to carry out.

91裸聊视频淭here are times where I am blocking students from attacking each other, putting my body in between them, so then I might get hurt or pushed down.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淎 lot of our kids are ripping down our bulletin boards in our hallways, throwing chairs, throwing scissors, throwing books.91裸聊视频�

When first dealing with the issue of safety in her classroom, Read said to her students, 91裸聊视频淵ou are safe. You91裸聊视频檙e OK.91裸聊视频�

But the reality is that they are not safe and not OK, she said. 91裸聊视频淚 started to tell them that the teachers are keeping you safe, but that is not entirely possible.91裸聊视频�

As many of us know, it is in these early fragile years when a child91裸聊视频檚 life will almost be predetermined by what happens to them during this time, she said. Witness violence or be subjected to violence. The child has a much higher chance of becoming violent as they grow older.

91裸聊视频淲hen I drive down Pandora Avenue, all I think about are the kids in our school because I know it starts now. This is when we can reach the families. This is when we can give them the support they need.91裸聊视频�

If these children do not have their needs met while at school, they have less of a chance of making it in the adult world, she said.

The solution would be for more education assistants to be available at the start of the school year, as it is the shortage of these essential classroom helpers that can make all the difference.

91裸聊视频淚 had children bolting from the property and attacking each other. And every time I said it was unsafe, the answer was, we don91裸聊视频檛 have any other adults,91裸聊视频� Read said.

There are hardly any education assistants available, Read said, and a school cannot just decide not to open that day because there is insufficient staff.

The levels of violence that can be seen at kindergarten can be the most extreme, Read said, as these young children don91裸聊视频檛 have the skills or capacity to regulate their emotions.

Read said that she loves her students and that walking away from them is not an option, so raising awareness about what happens in kindergarten classes is crucial.

The Greater Victoria School District website does outline what happens when a child is being violent or experiencing violence. It states that a student violence threat risk assessment needs to be initiated.

At the April 4 meeting, Superintendent Deb Whitten said principals and vice-principals reach out to parents to discuss what needs students entering the school systems might have.

91裸聊视频淎ll of this is meant to create a supportive system from the beginning,91裸聊视频� said Whitten.

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91裸聊视频淲e suggest support is put in early, as classes form and as teachers get to know their students. Proactive and preventive is the aim.91裸聊视频�

Read said that this is not a parenting problem, as when she approaches a parent about what is happening in her classroom, the parent often wants to try and help fix the situation.

91裸聊视频淧arents are also so overwhelmed that we91裸聊视频檝e reached a point where everyone struggles in all realms of their life.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭he parents are sad. And they91裸聊视频檙e sorry, like I91裸聊视频檝e had so many parents say, 91裸聊视频業91裸聊视频檓 so sorry.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

It is not their fault, she said.

91裸聊视频淚t is because the education system is not supporting their child. And it breaks my heart.91裸聊视频�