50% Of All Uk Teachers Have Been Physically Attacked

[DaiHard]

A recent survey (1) by the Teacher Support Network has found that 49% of teachers have been physically assaulted and over 90% have been verbally assaulted by students. The weapons used ranged from furniture (26%) through to guns (1%) and knives (2%). A poll conducted by Sec Ed (a teachers magazine) found that three-in-five secondary teachers say they know of students who have brought weapons into their school. You know it was a teacher’s mag because only teachers (or devoted trekkies) would say three-in-five. They said: “Knives are the most common, but teachers have also seen guns, batons and, in one incident, a meat cleaver in the classroom.”

Delegates at the recent NASUWT teachers' conference, in Llandudno, spoke of violent children using knives, iron bars and guns in schools. A member of the union's executive, Brian Garvey, recalled how one of its members was shot in the back in a school corridor.

The head teacher responded sternly by excluding the boy from school for three days. Absolutely! Any more could have disrupted the child’s education and, after all, he was only having a laugh. That’s the problem with teachers - no sense of humour. The Union wanted charges to be brought but the department for Education thought that would have been a disproportionate response.

Some head teachers too prefer a softer line; take Terry Creissen, Headteacher of Colne Community School in Colchester, Essex, who said that heads need to strike a balance between punishing students who carry weapons and accepting that young people can make mistakes.

The solution proposed in the USA (2), where classroom violence is also a problem, is, according to Republian congressman Frank Lasee, that teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons. "To make our schools safe for our students to learn, all options should be on the table," he said. "Israel and Thailand have well-trained teachers carrying weapons and keeping their children safe from harm. It can work in Wisconsin."

Has he noted the secret to success in EFL teaching in Thailand; “Give me an example of a split infinitive Nok or you'll grow a third eye”?

In the UK we are made of gentler stuff and what our esteemed educational leaders are proposing is that teachers be allowed to frisk students for concealed weapons. Teachers are being sent on courses to learn how to search students without actually touching them (3). Although how they are supposed to comply with the guideline that says: “The pupil can be required to remove outer clothing. If this is refused, a searcher can use reasonable force to remove it” is unclear. In addition teachers are being issued with portable metal detectors and x-ray systems are being installed at school entrances. The problem, as I see it, is how you are supposed to get a belligerent 15 year old armed with an Uzi to hand it over and would he, under human rights laws (right to personal property), be entitled to get it back after class?

According to the ineffable Department for (against!) Education the children are not bringing the weapons in to specifically attack teachers but instead to attack other kids. Phew! that’s ok then, I thought we had a problem there for a second. As a result a lot of kids are investing in body armour (4), which can be bought in adolescent sizes on ebay for reasonable sums.

Of course violence is not the only issue in UK classrooms the SecEd poll also found that that one-in-five teachers (20 per cent for those not into eduspeak) have been falsely accused of assault or inappropriate conduct by a student, more than half of all teachers knew of a teacher in their school who has been attacked, one-in-20 said they had been physically attacked by a parent and nearly 40% had their cars or personal possessions trashed or stolen.

As a result up to 37% of all teachers are, or have been, off work with stress related illnesses and (according to research undertaken by Teacher’s TV ) half of all teachers are considering quitting the profession, due to intolerable stress, (5) or coming to Thailand to teach English in Worldsassholeburi (Ok I made that bit up).

Further Reading

(1) Half of all teachers have been attacked by students click here

(2) Teachers with guns click here

(3) Teachers searching kids click here

(4) Body Armour and gun crime click click here

(5) Half of all teachers leaving because of stress click here

Edited February 24, 2007 by DaiHard

[DaiHard]

Just to remind you why you left the UK. A 17 year old youth 'having a laugh'  - full story here

Edited February 24, 2007 by DaiHard

[garro]

I worked as a trauma nurse in the NHS up to five years ago. At the time a nurse was the most likely professional to be physically attacked, more at risk then even a policeman. I am not sure if this is still the case. I was attacked on a few occasions by people I was trying to help. I am not surprised that 50% of teachers in the UK have been attacked.

I think the only answer is that if a child attacks a teacher it should be treated as seriously as a somebody attacking a policeman/woman.

[richard10365]

I think only teachers in the south of Thailand have guns as they are not worried about violence from the students but from the insurgency.

[PeaceBlondie]

Most of the teachers in Thailand, from farang countries, say there's much less liklihood of being assaulted by a student here, than back home.

[Jonson83]

Only 50% ??

The school i worked at was rough as f""".The kids just don't have any respect anymore.

Parents are to blame IMO.The situation will not get any better unless they sort themselves out.

[DaiHard]

The government carried out a 'consultation' exercise this week where a 1,000 (hand

picked, labour supporting) parents were asked to comment on the government's plans

to reduce violence in schools and instill respect. The idea, of course, was for them

to say that the government's ideas such as task forces, super asbos, citizenship

lessons and teaching kids english (!) were the way forward and jolly good ideas.

The problem was the parents overwhelmingly called for a return of the cane!

[gummy]

Daihard, you know and I know that the return of the cane won't happen as the country is run by a bunch of politically correct do-gooders. Just hope they don't come to Thailand.

[DaiHard]

Daihard, you know and I know that the return of the cane won't happen as the country is run by a bunch of politically correct do-gooders. Just hope they don't come to Thailand.

I agree that political correctness is the problem. I had a class once that I was teaching business studies and IT to so I came up with the idea of doing a student magazine (it was a tertiary college attached to a university), they had to run it properly with a management board and editor , commission articles, get paid adverts to pay the printing costs etc. It was a huge success and very popular; the problem was it had articles about drugs (how to deal with overdoses etc - all based on government leaflets and nothing glorifying them; the opposite in fact), sex (preventing STDs and putting the message across that no means NO) and music (reviews of rock concerts). All normal stuff for 18+ year old students.

The problem was the college management panicked after a female member of staff complained it apparently showed students the ‘negative aspects’ of college life instead of warm, fluffy stuff like inclusiveness and gender awareness. The upshot was they tried to recall the magazine and I was told I could no longer do ‘real business’ work with the students but instead I had to rely on ‘simulations’ in future that were not allowed out of the classroom. And I was made to serve on the College’s equal opportunities committee as the token male

 

[madcatlady]

Has he noted the secret to success in EFL teaching in Thailand; “Give me an example of a split infinitive Nok or you'll grow a third eye”?

Hahahahahahahaha

I used to work in a village school in the middle of nowhere in Chachoengsao province. The schoolrooms were specially designed salas which gave easy access to the rural schoolyard beyond. If a kid was unruly, he/she would be asked to go outside and get a small tree branch so the teacher could whack them with it!

My teacher mate in the UK used that story to scare her own students at the nice grammar school she's working at. Prior to that she used to work in a school where she was regularly threatened in the corridor. Fortunately her husband is 6'7" so he would wait to collar the kids after school! She told me that her school was once singled out for a visit by Tony Blair and the bad kids were locked in a classsroom for the duration of the visit. Fire regs, anyone?!?

MCL