THE RISE OF THE 'DEAD-END CLASS

Most Teens Are Fine, Others 'A Royal Pain, No Matter What We Do'

The majority of Canadian teenagers are just fine, statistically speaking.
Youth crime is down, dropout rates are lower and the overall level of
educational attainment has never been higher.

But there is "a hardening underclass" of young people who are disengaged
from school and veering off course, say professionals who work with youth
and track social trends. These youngsters are more inclined than their
successful classmates to drink, smoke, use drugs, skip classes or drop out
entirely.

The noise coming out of the Ontario government these days about young
people's disrespect for authority, the need for strict discipline in the
schools and boot camps for the most hardened would suggest an entire
generation spinning wildly out of control.

It's a familiar refrain. The Greek philosopher Plato complained, more than
2,000 years ago, about the young people of his day disrespecting their
parents and tyrannizing their teachers.

However, for the most part, veteran pollster Frank Graves said, "the kids
today look really healthy . . . the cosmopolitanism, the diversity, the
technological competence, lots of positive stuff."

Statistics Canada reported this week that youth crime has dropped 7.4 per
cent over the past seven years, primarily because of a decrease in property
crimes. In 1998-99, Canadian youth courts recorded an overall rate of 435
cases for every 10,000 youths, a decrease of 4 per cent from the previous
year.

The rate of violent crime has levelled off after a steep increase in the
late 1980s -- a trend that coincides with a concerted effort by schools,
police and community service agencies to implement and enforce safe-schools
policies.

There was also good news this week on the academic front: Canadian education
ministers reported a solid improvement in science scores across the country
from 1996 to 1999.

On the downside, there is evidence of a sharpening divide between the
students who are cutting it and the students who are not. The high-school
dropout rate fell to 13 per cent in 1998 from 20 per cent in 1990.

"There is sort of a dead-end class, a hardening underclass of kids . . . who
are being lost and just sort of slipping through the cracks," said Mr.
Graves, president of Ottawa-based Ekos Research Associates Inc., a firm that
specializes in public-policy issues.

His concerns are echoed by police officers, educators, psychiatrists and
social workers.

"Seventy-five per cent are going to be just fine, no matter what we do, 5
per cent are going to give us a royal pain, no matter what we do, and the
other 20 per cent could go either way," said Gail Nyberg, chairwoman of the
Toronto District School Board.

"The important thing is to catch them so they don't fall through the
cracks."

Detective Sergeant John Muise of Toronto Police agrees. The five-year-old
bully, unchecked, could well become the 12-year-old young offender.

But a strong code of conduct for schools, such as the controversial one
introduced this week in the Ontario Legislature, is only part of the remedy.

"It's a big-picture thing," the policeman said. "It's not just about zero
tolerance, it's not just about expulsions. It's a complicated issue. It's
about breakfast programs, it's about expulsions, it's about everything in
between."

Most schools already have codes of conduct, "but it was time for a rewrite,"
said Det. Sgt. Muise, who is currently advising the Ontario government on
policies for dealing with victims of crime.

Education researcher Alan King of Queen's University has strong views on the
"everything in between" that Det. Sgt. Muise talks about.

Dr. King is particularly alarmed by the general lack of parental supervision
uncovered by recent research for the federal Health Department.

Roughly 25 per cent of children as young as 11 and 12 spend five or more
nights a week out with friends, Dr. King found in a national survey of
school-aged children.

This makes them more vulnerable to experimentation with alcohol, drugs and
smoking. Truancy is a pervasive problem.

"It is important to note that those students who spend a lot of time in the
evenings with their friends are more likely to be dissatisfied with the
school experience and to skip classes," Dr. King wrote as lead researcher
for the report, Trends in the Health of Canadian Youth, released last year
by Health Canada.

The survey found that 23 per cent of 15-year-old girls and 17 per cent of
the boys smoked daily.

"There were never as many girls smoking against so much solid research about
the impact on one's health," Dr. King said in a recent interview at his
Kingston office. "Now, if you smoke, you are clearly thumbing your nose at
society."

He said it is clear that parents and teachers have to take more time to
engage teenagers in school and family life. And the various levels of
governments should collaborate to address the needs of children from birth
through adolescence, he said.

Premier Mike Harris's get-tough approach certainly plays well in the polls.
The Angus Reid Group recently reported that 91 per cent of those polled
support a strict, provincewide code of conduct.

The proposed code gives teachers the authority to suspend students for up to
one day for disruptive behaviour. Longer suspensions would be automatic for
uttering a threat, possessing drugs or alcohol and engaging in extensive
vandalism.

Principals would be allowed to expel students for up to one year for
incidents involving weapons, assault and the provision of drugs or alcohol
to minors.

The vast majority of youngsters will not cross the line if they have a clear
understanding of the limits and the consequences for testing those limits,
Det. Sgt. Muise said.

"But we don't do them any favours if we don't give them rules on which to
guide themselves."

KIDS BY THE NUMBERS

"Unhealthy" behaviours such as using drugs and drinking are correlated with
factors including when in the day young people spend time with their friends
and how often they skip school, a Health Canada study on youth found.
PERSONAL TIME Although children who often see their friends at night tend to
be more well-integrated socially, the report says they also are more likely
to be unhappy in school, to skip classes, and to have friends who smoke,
drink and use drugs. The percentage of students who skip classes increases
steadily from Grade 6 to Grade 10.

- -* Students who spent five or more evenings a week out with friends (%)

Grade 6 1994 1998

Male 24 27

Female 19 21

Grade 8 1994 1998

Male 28 33

Female 23 23

Grade 10 1994 1998

Male 27 28

Female 22 23

- -* Proportions of students who skipped classes this school term, 1998 (%)

Haven't One or Three or
Grade 6 skipped two days more days

Male 71% 18% 11%

Female 75% 17% 8%

Haven't One or Three or
Grade 10 skipped two days more days

Male 57% 21% 22%

Female 56% 24% 20%

- -* DRUGS AND ALCOHOL Students who had used hashish/marijuana (%)

Grade 8 1994 1998

Male 13 21

Female 11 18

Grade 10 1994 1998

Male 30 44

Female 27 41

- -* Students who have been "really drunk" two or more times (%)

Grade 8 1994 1998

Male 15 18

Female 12 14

- -* BULLYING Bullies, the study says, "are more likely to engage in
health-risk behaviours" and "tend to have been bullied themselves." They are
also usually a little older than their peers and tend to have trouble in
school. Students who were bullied in school this school term (%).

Grade 6 1994 1998

Male 39 42

Female 30 35

Grade 8 1994 1998

Male 36 43

Female 29 35

Grade 10 1994 1998

Male 26 29

Female 20 28

- -* Students who bullied others in school this school term (%).

Grade 6 1994 1998

Male 40 35

Female 28 28

Grade 8 1994 1998

Male 45 56

Female 28 28

Grade 10 1994 1998

Male 42 50

Female 23 30

Source: Health Canada's Trends in the Health of Canadian Youth, 1999