The latest numbers out of Ontario schools should stop us in our tracks. According to new reporting, violent incidents have jumped nearly 80 per cent since 2018–19, with more than 4,400 cases recorded in the last school year.
These aren’t abstract figures. They represent children lashing out, teachers under strain, and learning environments fraying at the seams.
The violence has become so common that, according to one union president who represents education workers, teachers have stopped reporting these incidents altogether.