Research Findings and Discussion
4.2. Themes that emerged from data
4.2.3. Drugs and alcohol abuse
4.2.3.1. Who do you blame for the substance abuse among the learners?
When a non-educator from Alpha Primary was asked this question in the interview, he said:
The children come from very poor homes. Most of their parents are unemployed.
The grow up in the streets. They pick up bad habits from those that they join on the streets. Drugs are easily available in this community.
The school is fertile ground for drug lords to thrive. On observation visits I found that surrounding one of the schools was the taxi rank, the “shebeens” or taverns and groups of men just loitering about. At break time these drug lords draw closer to the school fence that has holes for trespassers to pass.
A grade 6 perpetrator from Omega Primary, 12 years old, said in his interview:
The learners are able to acquire a stick of “dagga” at just ten rands. We are surrounded by our friends while some keep watch on the two teachers on duty who are too afraid to be close to the fences so they stand far away near the school buildings. At most times a single stick can be smoked by about six learners. We just need one pull to feel nice and high. When we return to class the educators continue with their work even if they are know that the learners are drugged because they are frightened of us as one of the guys threw a stone at one teacher’s car after school.
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From the statements above it can be deduced that the easy availability of drugs and alcohol in these communities can be blamed for the violence among the learners. The intoxicated condition of primary school learners is serious. such learners are not eager to follow instructions from educators. They come to school in search of fun which leads to violence.
4.2.3.2. What strategies do educators use to cope with drugs and alcohol abuse?
From the educators’ interviews it became clear that they ignore incidents of drugs and alcohol abuse. These were some of the reasons given for not attending to the incidents of drugs and alcohol:
We need to finish the syllabus and there are good learners that must not lose out. (Educator from Omega Primary)
The processes of doing an investigation are too cumbersome. Searches and checks must have another educator present too and only males can check males and females must check females. The protocols are stringent and if there is a breach of the processes unwittingly, the educator will be deemed to be mis-conducted. The entire process of an investigation in the education system and in the legal system of South Africa as a whole, does not favor the victim or the investigators but the perpetrators. (Educator from Omega Primary)
We the educators fear that the culprits have “connections” on the outside of the school and will be waiting for us to leave school as happened with our Principal of Alpha Primary who parked her car after school hours (from 18h00 to 22h00) at a community hall where a school Debutantes Ball was in process on the 29 July 2011. When she returned to her car she found that someone had used a nail and vandalized the entire car. It was dark so the culprit was not spotted. Learners who were reprimanded for
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violence have friends on the outside of the school to seek revenge if they are brought to book. (Educator from Alpha Primary)
The intoxicated learners enjoy attention and are satisfied if the lesson can stop and all focus is on them. Therefore the educators choose to continue with work and they say that “ignore therapy” frustrates them.(Principal from Alpha Primary).
The educators stated that the episodes of alcohol abuse were not reported frequently in each school because the perpetrators may be afraid that they get found out more easily. Firstly through bag searches at assembly, the alcohol can be confiscated. Then their class mates will see them drinking it and tell the educators. In cases where it was camouflaged in their water bottles they still got caught out because of the strong alcohol smell. Drug taking seems to be a more convenient option because at most times, busy educators will not detect them if they pop pills or smoke a stick on the way to school. This would explain why there were more episodes of drugs than alcohol recorded in office Discipline Books. As mentioned in chapter one the schools are in a community that is known as the drug capital in Phoenix. Drugs are very available. This would also explain why there are more drug related incidents than alcohol.
The comments from educators in both schools confirm the findings in an article on drugs in schools, the National Institute on Drug Abuse Survey researchers found that 50% of high school seniors in South Africa partake of an illicit drug at some stage of their lives (Mc Entire, 2007, p.1). The Bureau of Justice also reports that 85% of teenagers know where to access drugs such as marijuana, and 55% know how to obtain amphetamines. The fact that drugs, such as marijuana, LSD, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines (tik), inhalants, Ritalin, prescription and over-the-counter medicines are readily accessible to youngsters in South African township and suburban schools is bound to impact negatively on education in general, and on what happens in the school in particular. Furthermore, knowledge of drug availability is similar, regardless
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of race or location. However, Mc Entire (2007, p.1) states that what is more shocking is that 29% of students said that someone had offered, sold or given them an illegal drug while they were at school.
From the interviews and observation visits it was apparent that there are a few boys who appear to be on drugs. It is possible that drug taking is a more serious problem in high schools and at primary level learners have not yet taken to drugs so extensively. However, in view of the above data, I agree with Mc Entire (2007) who states that many youngsters in South African schools are taking various forms of drugs.
4.2.4. Use of dangerous weapons and physical violence