Self defence or child abuse..you decide.

[Billy Casper]

Why, thank you.

 

I'd vote for you

[Cyclone]

The incident should be investigated, but if it was as simple as the video looks then it's definitely self defence for me, you don't have to wait to be attacked to act in self defence; a reasonable fear of being attacked is enough.

 

My thoughts exactly.

[six45ive]

I think most people in the world do live in this reality. Are we restricting it to the UK?

 

I'm restricting it to an enlightened, educated, some might use the word civilized (although I prefer non tribal myself) western world.

 

Nobody is suggesting aggressive teachers, we are suggesting teachers who react robustly to intimidation. I have seen teachers terrified, repeatedly asking pupils to sit who are storming toward them. The 'child' shouldn't even be out of his chair.

 

I work in a school so I see all this and a lot worse everyday and the reality of the matter is that a 'one dimentional, regimented approach' doesn't work in a school environment with kids who come from a 'troubled' background where the focus is on education rather than regimental style indoctrination.

[six45ive]

I'd vote for you

 

Why, thank you again.

[Mr Prime]

I'm restricting it to an enlightened, educated, some might use the word civilized (although I prefer non tribal myself) western world.

 

 

 

I work in a school so I see all this and a lot worse everyday and the reality of the matter is that a 'one dimentional, regimented approach' doesn't work in a school environment with kids who come from a 'troubled' background where the focus is on education rather than regimental style indoctrination.

 

It's an interesting argument and I'm not going to attack it. What I will say is that once upon a time there seemed to be schools where the discipline was hard by today's muesli chin stroker standards. Most people were poor and far more than today came from troubled backgrounds. But guess what? It made no difference, every school was run in the same regimented disciplinarian style and as far as I can see it worked. It seems the 'youth of today' see authority as some comical mass of Victor Meldrew's to have fun poked at them. I used to be a union rep representing recent school leavers. They were often shocked when managers disciplined them or threatened them with the sack because they wanted to net surf or come in dressed in stupid clothes. The consensus of responses were along the lines that they had done this in school and at home so...

 

Not good enough.

[L00b]

I'm pretty much echoing Mr Prime's posts on the thread so far.

 

Coloured as my opinion is, by years of Jesuit education in my younger school years, a 'one dimensional, regimented approach' works prefectly well in any school environment with kids who come from any background whatsoever (in my experience, a 'posh background' being just as susceptible, if not vastly more so, to output thuggish brats), provided that approach is fairly, consistently and diligently applied: zero tolerance, from the day you get in to the day you get out, 10 hours a day, with PE sessions being the lightest relief you can expect any given schoolday.

 

Doesn't matter one iota whether daddy turns steel bits on a lathe or is the local MP, you're teacher fodder the second you look like stepping out of line (never mind actually stepping).

 

And don't for a minute think the teacher isn't going to lob the wooden chalk eraser at your face, if you start blabbing with your mate half-way through class. Or use the 3 feet ruler in anger. Or...

 

In the absence of national service (which in most countries that have had it and/or still have it, is the stage at which such "behavioural issues" get properly knocked out of just about every lad), IMHO it falls to the education system to ensure that the bare minimum of social programming is done. Without falling into the excesses of (too) strict methods, for sure, but still...

 

As for the OP and video...I feel most sorry for the fact that the teacher may have lost her job permanently. If I was her attorney, I'd certainly try and clean the kid's parents out in a civil action.

[Billy Casper]

I'm pretty much echoing Mr Prime's posts on the thread so far.

 

Coloured as my opinion is, by years of Jesuit education in my younger school years, a 'one dimensional, regimented approach' works prefectly well in any school environment with kids who come from any background whatsoever (in my experience, a 'posh background' being just as susceptible, if not vastly more so, to output thuggish brats), provided that approach is fairly, consistently and diligently applied: zero tolerance, from the day you get in to the day you get out, 10 hours a day, with PE sessions being the lightest relief you can expect any given schoolday.

 

Doesn't matter one iota whether daddy turns steel bits on a lathe or is the local MP, you're teacher fodder the second you look like stepping out of line (never mind actually stepping).

 

And don't for a minute think the teacher isn't going to lob the wooden chalk eraser at your face, if you start blabbing with your mate half-way through class. Or use the 3 feet ruler in anger. Or...

 

In the absence of national service (which in most countries that have had it and/or still have it, is the stage at which such "behavioural issues" get properly knocked out of just about every lad), IMHO it falls to the education system to ensure that the bare minimum of social programming is done. Without falling into the excesses of (too) strict methods, for sure, but still...

 

As for the OP and video...I feel most sorry for the fact that the teacher may have lost her job permanently. If I was her attorney, I'd certainly try and clean the kid's parents out in a civil action.

 

Brilliant post, and bang on the money!

[Resident]

Having watched the video to it's end. My opinion is self-defence and he got what he deserved.

 

He was acting very agressive and did not respond to CLEAR instructions by the teacher to back off (said loudly several times). Also the commentary on the video states that several students gave statements that said the student made first contact. Obviously from the angle of the video this is unclear. However it's several accounts and not one so I would in my opinion say that this was the case.

[lotar]

The guy was being a dick and got a slap... nice one, should have hit him harder...

[barleycorn]

But there is no need to discipline poor misunderstood thugs whilst eveyone else's time is wasted. That is why I have asked twice on this thread about how the teacher got between the kid and the door. If he wants to walk out, let him. Then teach the rest of the kids. No need to waste the good kids' time.

 

Don't misunderstand me here, a kid who walked out on me would have some hard yards to do before I'd let them back in my classroom, but why provoke a fist fight and stop everyone else from learning?

 

Of course, he might have manhandled her into a corner, in which case he got what he deserved. However, the reaction of the other kids suggests that didn't happen.

 

As has already been pointed out the door the teacher is backed up against opens outwards and not inwards, it is therefore not the exit from the classroom but to an interior room of some sort.

 

jb