Maria, over at NZ Conservative profiles a recent headline in the Dominion Post to the effect that hundreds of teachers have been assaulted in the classroom. Her comments are apt.
Teachers attacked by the hundredWe note Lucia's gracious assumption that people in government actually read.
Hundreds of teachers have been receiving ACC-funded treatment after being assaulted at school.
Principals are shocked by the figure and are demanding immediate action to make schools safer.
~ Front page, Dominion Post, Monday 8 March, 2010
Over the past few decades, New Zealand has been experimenting with a "non-violent" approach to disciplining children. Apparently children can be reasoned with and punishment of the physical sort should never be needed. First the schools were constrained with physical discipline being made illegal in the 80's and then a couple of years back, parents have been likewise constrained in reining in their unruly children.
And now principals are shocked that so many teachers are being assaulted in schools.
Why should they be shocked? Is not this just the natural consequence of removing punishment? Now it's the teachers bearing the brunt of increasing violence from children, next it'll be more and more parents.
Somebody in Government really needs to read Lord of the Flies.
No doubt teachers will find the response of the principals anodyne; it's good that they are standing up for the interests of teachers, and calling for schools to be made more safe--non? But a moment's reflection will tell us that there are only two ways to make the classrooms more safe for teachers. Either pupils need to be controlled or teacher-pupil physical contact needs to be circumvented.
Controlling pupils is an impossibility, given our current upside-down societal madness. Effective punishment and discipline for pupils' disrespect, disobedience or deceit is now a criminal act; long ago the government education system gave up on exercising effective control over pupils. The only thing preventing more assaults upon teachers is that the pupils have not worked out yet that the whole system is a paper tiger. But the Dom Post piece would indicate that they are learning fast.
When the principals call for something to make schools more safe for teachers they must surely be focusing upon the other option--physically removing teachers from danger. Now in this regard we have some precedents--and fortunately they are things which the government can spend money upon--which will go down well. Successive governments have used money-sprinkling as the wonder cure for all educational ills for the past fifty years. Few positive results to be sure--but hope springs eternal in a politician's breast, particularly when it involves spending your money.
The obvious solution to the principals' plea is to rebuilt all classrooms so that the teacher can operate behind a plate glass petition, with a separate, secure entrance. This would ensure that the teacher could enter the classroom without fear, and could conduct the class from within his plate-glass alcove without having to have any actual physical contact with students--thus ensuring his or her safety. It is another application of the kind of thing taxi drivers have been calling for.
We are familiar with this style of architecture--it's called a high security courtroom. To be sure it would be a bit embarrassing that usually separate entrances and protective screens are for criminals, but it has proved effective in protecting the accused.
Then again, on reflection, designing classrooms to look as if teachers were on trial would be an appropriate metaphor for the government education system. It is daily being tried and found more and more wanting.
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