Is our profession a joke now?
Posted by canofcarrots
Editorial in a newspaper today, generated by the story of a teacher denied dental treatment by Glasgow City Council - no surprise there! “At the end of last year, a Scottish Government report on behaviour in schools found more than a third of secondary teachers encounter verbal abuse, physical aggression and truancy, and a fifth violence between pupils in an average week . Scotland’s reputation for providing high-quality education is being overtaken by improved results from England, and elsewhere. There is no simple recipe for recovering it but council support for teachers who put their pupils’ welfare before their own should be the first step in restoring respect for the profession.” Take running of education away from councils. It’s the only solution I can see.
Posted by xmal
The episode involved a 58-year-old female teacher at a special school in Glasgow, who was “accidentally punched in the mouth”. There is no such thing as an accidental punch.
Posted by canofcarrots
Bit like friendly fire!
Posted by catmother
Could I claim that I accidentally punched a pupil in the mouth? Answers on a postcard.
Posted by kibosh
To quote the article: “Advice is given to staff to consider their own safety and not put themselves at risk or any danger in a particular situation.” In my experience, this accounts for at least three periods’ worth of classes a week; I was in a school where this was the diet per day. What do teachers do, refuse to teach those kids as they are respecting the advice given?
Posted by vforvendetta
This could end up a legal minefield. Where does our duty of care come into play? What happens if we stand back in a classroom, or in a dangerous lab situation with glass and bunsens galore - do we let the fight play itself out until someone is hurt or dead? Who is responsible for health and safety in the classroom? Who will the parents blame? We have all the responsibility without the power.
Posted by grunwald
I doubt my council would have paid for this teacher’s dental repairs, had the incident occurred in my authority. We were warned by our HT that if we intervene physically to stop a fight, it is at our own risk. One would hope that any teacher pursued by parents for failing in hisher duty of care in this regard would be supported by the council, but I wouldn’t bet on that either.
www.tes.co.ukscotland then click on Forums and Opinion.
