Unruly Pupils
There was a time, in living memory indeed, that corporal punishment used to be meted out to students at school who behaved badly. A call to the principal's office generally meant that some kind of physical punishment was in the offing. Everyone at the school knew who was being punished, and why. The general decorum of students at that time was far more respectful than what occurs now in most schools. And the threat of punishment should students step out of line was effective.No one relished getting the backs of their hands or their buttocks chastened with the repeated application of a strap. Although there were some hard-bitten, perpetually acting-out louts who took especial pride in the number of whacks they could sustain without uttering one sound. It was only the softies who whimpered in pain. The hard-boiled ones relished their reputations for taking it. And others steered clear of giving them offence.
Things are far different now in schools in North America and Europe, with students in high schools in particular knowing their 'rights', where irrespective of their intolerable behaviour, the code of conduct for instructors was strictly hands off. Lest outraged parents decide to take the teachers and the school boards to court. It's hands off for other reasons as well, apart from decorum, where teachers are often accused of inappropriate sexual touching.
But here are teachers in Britain being given back the right to defend themselves from physical attacks by students. Teachers are also being given the go-ahead to step into situations that get out of hand with classroom fights and bullying. Bullying directed both against other students and teachers themselves, as it happens.
The new guidelines express support for taking the initiative where it "may not always be possible to avoid injuring pupils", while engaged in restraining them in the most extreme of circumstances. There will no longer be automatic suspension of teachers standing accused of using "excessive force" in control of violent or obstreperous students debasing the learning environment.
In 2010, 44 teaching staff had experienced personal assaults violent enough to send them to hospital for treatment. And a thousand students are given suspensions daily in response to abuse and assaults. Leading many teachers to give up on the teaching profession. Advice, some 52 pages in length, encourages teachers how to control disruptive pupils under new guidelines.
Perhaps it might be a sound idea to bring their parents into the classroom, to sit in on the occasional class-in-progress, to themselves oversee the activities of their offspring. Student acting-out should be seen equally as the responsibility of the parents and their children, with the school system there to assist young people toward a learning environment, not serving as prison wardens.
Labels: Britain, Human Relations
posted by Pieface @ Monday, July 11, 2011
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