00:00Educational and clinical psychologist Dr. Margaret Nakid-Chathur says the incident reflects
00:07a troubling cultural shift among young people, particularly in their attitudes toward adults
00:13and authority. Dr. Nakid-Chathur, who has worked extensively with children and adolescents
00:19and specialises in at-risk youth psychology and behavioural development, says there was
00:25once an understood social boundary that children simply did not cross. The psychologist also
00:31notes that the behaviour displayed during the incident extended beyond the physical attack
00:37itself. She says the recording and circulation of the altercation by other students appeared
00:44to be part of a deliberate display for peer approval and social validation.
00:49I saw the female with a red bag on her head and I zoomed in closely and I saw other
00:55red
00:55bags in that video. So it means that this was a performance. We know that young people,
01:02adolescents have their videos and they always want content. So whilst unfortunately the
01:09alderman was caught up in this vitriolic attack, that first red flag for me was something called
01:16a dehumanisation, a performance staged.
01:20She argues that parental responsibility must form part of the national response.
01:27And parents must be accountable. But it is easier said than done. Because how do you get parents
01:33to come into training programmes to better help their children when many of them don't have
01:39the wherewithal to do so?
01:40Dr. Nakhid Chatur is again calling for early intervention strategies.
01:45Dr. Nakhid Chatur is again calling for early intervention strategies.
01:45You have to start at the beginning of the formative days, where the young child is fluid when they
01:52are open to suggestions, when they are open to listening with adults. And I have always said,
01:58adolescence already know the game.
02:01Meanwhile, President of the NPTA, Walter Stewart, tells the morning edition,
02:06intervention and behavioral screening measures should begin before students transition into higher levels of the education system.
02:14When the child is entering early childhood education center and also when the child is moving from that to the
02:22primary school level,
02:23so that besides the visual, the auditory, the physical screening, there needs to be an intervention of sorts within the
02:30home of that particular child entering the primary school level and the child's community.
02:36Stewart notes that while there is already a national code of conduct designed to address violent behavior in schools, the
02:44issue lies in enforcement.
02:46He stresses that the policy framework cannot remain simply a document. It must be actively implemented and applied.
02:55Students have to realize that it is not the tail wagging the dog anymore and that once you go awry,
03:01your school regulations or the law, there are deep consequences to those actions. Condign.
03:07Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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