Teachers' Violence
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janet_lee88:
Hi Janet,Parents are educated...those who can afford will send their kids for tuition for all the subjects.
I still remember those days when caning was done by the principal on stage. Yes, kids are naughty esp now...but no matter what, the teacher cannot discipline the child physically. You can make him/her stay back during recess or after school.
That's why I said parents ought to be teachers - to know what teachers need to do for their free periods. If you make the kids stay back, you better make sure you remember to dismiss the kids after the stated time while you are multi-tasking on some other matters.
And do you know that teachers get complained by parents when they make kids stay back during recess or after school? And kids nowadays are not afraid to stay back - (1) their parents refuse to let the teachers make the kids stay back; (2) the kids have the 'stay, stay lor. Big deal.' mentality.
I know of a teacher who got the child to stay back to help him in his work. And he was complained by the parent for making the child stay back. Of course he was upset. He told me then he'll let the child go. Fail also his own business.
I think no matter how many times I tell the parents here that 'teachers have no power', they won't be able to understand the extent of powerlessness, unless they go and be teachers themselves. -
Parents will never understand the stress of being a teacher now. A friend who’s a teacher told us - parents chase after teachers in primary school, but it’s the reverse in secondary school.
I give son’s teachers free hand to make him stay back after school or during recess if he talks or doesn’t complete his homework.
Many teachers are seeing psychiatrists bcos of the pressure from their HODs. It’s very tough being a teacher, worse in popular schools (according to a friend). -
rains:
I think we need to dissect the problem into 2 separate issues here.
At home, with the knowledge that the teachers scold them so harshly, I educate my kid on why the teachers would come to this. I get to make my kid see the teachers' point of view and that a teacher would never use such harsh words unless he or she is pushed to the limit.
In class, by scolding the kids like that, it makes them realise that they are not as loveable as they think they are. A time for reality check for them.
a) The challenges our educators faced are much more complex compared to the past. With the connectivity of the Net, it only takes a dissatisfied parent to cast a bad light on all the educators of a sch. And with the emphasis on customer satisfaction and increase in parents' education level, things are only going to get tougher.
b) How do we expect our educators to rise to these new challenges? In other words, do we expect them to respond (positively) to these challenges or do we expect them to react (negatively) to them?
For pt a), I totally agree with you that on average, the challenges faced by teachers & educators are much tougher nowadays. However one impt pt to note is that this is also true for most of the other white collar jobs. So while I'm not denying that being a teacher is tough, I can also safely say that leaving the teaching profession and working in the private sector is not going to be a bed of roses too. Granted, students are pushing the boundaries more than ever. And teachers are being constrainted in the ways to deal with this, especially with the power of dishing out corporeal punishment arbitrarily being taken away from them.
I think pt b) is where our opinions diverge. When faced with these new challenges, do we expect our teachers to respond or react. In responding, what I mean is like what vk2010 mentioned, instead of screaming his head off (and banging his head into a brick wall in the process), he chose another tact. He managed to reason and touch base with his ex-students with notable success. In reacting, he could just as well throw some dusters at the most irritating (or most unthreatening) student to vent his frustration, or simply label his ex-students as no hopers of society. But my qn is what good would that achieve eventually? The only outcome I can think of is that it wrongly teaches those students that it is acceptable to physically or verbally abuse people who are of a lower society strata or physically weaker than you. What good would that do? To me that is taking the easy way out.
So while I agree totally with you that our kids are getting more difficult and stressful to educate compared to the past, you seem to gravitate towards the other side preferring to accept w/o qn that if a teacher verbally abuses a class, there must be a perfectly valid reason and entitlement to do so. Is screaming & violence the best way forward? That's when we can't concur. -
markfch:
I didn't intend my posts to talk about whether the teacher was justified in dishing out abuses. I read the first few pages of this thread and feel that parents are too protective, without reflecting on what caused the outburst. They just take the article (which happens to be just the parent's side of the story) as it is. This is where I feel contrary about.
I think pt b) is where our opinions diverge. When faced with these new challenges, do we expect our teachers to respond or react. In responding, what I mean is like what vk2010 mentioned, instead of screaming his head off (and banging his head into a brick wall in the process), he chose another tact. He managed to reason and touch base with his ex-students with notable success. In reacting, he could just as well throw some dusters at the most irritating (or most unthreatening) student to vent his frustration, or simply label his ex-students as no hopers of society. But my qn is what good would that achieve eventually? The only outcome I can think of is that it wrongly teaches those students that it is acceptable to physically or verbally abuse people who are of a lower society strata or physically weaker than you. What good would that do? To me that is taking the easy way out.
So while I agree totally with you that our kids are getting more difficult and stressful to educate compared to the past, you seem to gravitate towards the other side preferring to accept w/o qn that if a teacher verbally abuses a class, there must be a perfectly valid reason and entitlement to do so. Is screaming & violence the best way forward? That's when we can't concur.
I was thinking more about the general trend of protective parents rather than just this thread alone when I posted. I remember a friend who was passionate about teaching resigned a few years ago becos she hit out at a boy who was a constant menace in the classroom. It just makes me feel that it doesn't pay to put in too much effort for the kids these days.
I think teachers are a suppressed lot nowadays ie. abused by students but can't do anything about it, want to speak up but warned not to, dissatisfied with the job yet spent too long in the line to switch etc, and that's part of the reason for the occasional outbursts that appear on papers. -
It is tough to be a teacher in school nowadays. But if teachers are willing to come out and become tuition teachers, private GEP teachers, set up pre-schools, set up tuition agencies etc. Wah Lau! The opportunity has never been better! Just take a look at the newspapers - lots of very well-paid teachers!
Ke..ke...ke..I have an ex-colleague who was working in finance sector. Thought will be much better to be a teacher ie. with all those school holidays etc. Went into the system, serve her bond period and after that came back out again to work in a govt. stat. board relating to her old job. She said too stressed during term time with the cirriculum to cover. And we are not even talking about difficult kids!
Be a teacher? (Shudder....) No thanks, not even with the power to physically attack the kids!
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rains:
Thanks for the clarification, now I understand your pt of view better :celebrate:.
I didn't intend my posts to talk about whether the teacher was justified in dishing out abuses. I read the first few pages of this thread and feel that parents are too protective, without reflecting on what caused the outburst. They just take the article (which happens to be just the parent's side of the story) as it is. This is where I feel contrary about.
I was thinking more about the general trend of protective parents rather than just this thread alone when I posted. I remember a friend who was passionate about teaching resigned a few years ago becos she hit out at a boy who was a constant menace in the classroom. It just makes me feel that it doesn't pay to put in too much effort for the kids these days.
I think teachers are a suppressed lot nowadays ie. abused by students but can't do anything about it, want to speak up but warned not to, dissatisfied with the job yet spent too long in the line to switch etc, and that's part of the reason for the occasional outbursts that appear on papers.
From my long post, I realised something about myself, that I'm quite passionate about this topic :lol: -
DesertWind:
My son's former tutor is a teacher...she had to bring her class to the swimming pool after school for CCA and she was almost due to give birth. Teachers have more annual leave than those in MNC but have no chance to utilize annual leave.I have an ex-colleague who was working in finance sector. Thought will be much better to be a teacher ie. with all those school holidays etc. Went into the system, serve her bond period and after that came back out again to work in a govt. stat. board relating to her old job. She said too stressed during term time with the cirriculum to cover. And we are not even talking about difficult kids!
Be a teacher? No thanks, not even with the power to physically attack the kids!
A friend who is a teacher serving her bond chose to do so in a not popular school She and other Chinese teachers are always picked on by the HOD. -
Students do know, when they cross the line. However, they are only willing to accept punishments meted out by someone they respect.
There is this male teacher who would bring the class to the neighbourhood garden to relax and play after exam or if he felt that the class has a heavy day. Only he dares to do such thing. However, he is also a no nonsense guy. Notorious boys who failed to hand in homework after repeated reminders will see their bags' contents being strewn all over the class. It is common for him to throw books and bags. The wonderful part is that he never get complaints from parents. Apparently, all the boys accepted his tough measures. He is the only one who can handle the EM3 (still in existence at that time).
He is a great teacher and all my kids improved tremendously because of him. He is the only teacher that I have wrote personal letter to congratulate and thank him for a job well done.
PS
From the comments that I have gathered from my kids, I think the most important quality of a teacher is to be impartial. Teachers who have pet students or have shown favoritism to better students (unfortunately most teacher do) are usually disliked by a large segment of the class. -
Daddy
I think the principal is caught in two minds on this one. Should he give the girl her last chance saloon and keep her in sch, or just give up on her and expel her. When one is given such a severe suspension from sch, expulsion is pretty much next on the cards.
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/466640/mum_calls_police_because_daughter_was_supposedly_slapped.html?articlePage=&photosPage=&commentsPage=2
Best example of 慈母... :stupid: :stupid: :stupid:
I believe that if a student does not respect teachers when young, in future he/she will also not respect the law and order. Then I can only say good luck to this student, cos our laws are really hard hitting. -
dun remember whether I had told you guys this before, but there was this incident that once happened in my school:
Teacher walked in and told us he would be our relief teacher for Science (It was actually Music then, but no one told him). Friend was smiling at him. Following is a recount of what had happened…
Teacher: Wipe that smile off your face!
Friend stopped smiling.
Teacher: If I were you I would wipe that smile off my face! Teacher went back to looking at email.
Teacher (pointing to Friend): You, what’s your name?
Friend: XXXXX
Teacher: when I speak to you, you stand up and answer me!!!
Friend stands up.
Teacher (noticing Friend’s hands on table): STAND PROPERLY!!!
Friend took his hands off.
Teacher: STAND ON 2 LEGS!!!
Teacher: I SAID STAND ON 2 LEGS!!! DO YOU WANT ME TO GO OVER AND SLAP YOU?!?!?!?!
Friend: I am standing on 2 legs.
Teacher: IS THIS HOW YOU SPEAK TO YOUR TUTOR!!! (‘Tutor’ is not a spelling error. He REALLY said that.)
Teacher stands up and knocks over chair (which landed an amazing 2 metres away), face ready to explode.
Teacher (walks to Friend): You do NOT speak to your teacher like that. GOT IT?!!
Friend: Yes sir.
After a while he got ready to leave.
Teacher (staring at Friend): when a teacher comes in you go back to your seat. Do NOT irritate the teacher.
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