Dunno when we were gulled into abandoning corporal punishment in schools but we are now reaping the whirlwind.
The perverse but predictable consequence of sparing the rod is much worse than simply spoiling the brats. It’s that the little buggers are expressing their delight at being mollycoddled by bashing their teachers.
The Dom-Post gives us an idea of the mayhem in our schools in a grim report today.
Hundreds of teachers have received ACC-funded treatment after being assaulted at school.
Principals are shocked by the figure and are demanding immediate action to make schools safer.
Some school staff now fear breaking up fights in case pupils have weapons, and others refuse to do lunchtime duty alone.
A teacher injured during a school attack says that staff will always be at risk from “nutters”.
Nutters? Or just ill-disciplined brats?
Whatever, they are costing us.
Figures issued to The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act show that 442 teachers needed ACC-funded treatment after assaults at school during 2008 and 2009, costing about $413,000.
Latest Education Ministry figures show there were a further 335 pupil assaults on teachers in 2008 that did not require ACC-funded treatment.
So first of all, we were told way back what a helluva thing it would be for the welfare of our kids if we stopped strapping and caning those who misbehave at schools.
Now the brats are showing their contempt for being spared the strap, cane, rod or whatever by thrashing their teachers.
The most expensive individual claim was for a 2008 assault, worth about $124,000. ACC refused to provide details about the incident.
The two largest assault claims last year were about $40,000 and $45,000.
A secondary school teacher seriously injured in a classroom attack last year fears he will never make a full recovery. He has spinal injuries, suffers constant pain and tires easily.
His is a sad story –
“I am able to work only part-time hours because of the injury I sustained to my spinal cord. I have a pronounced limp in the leg that was paralysed and my neurosurgeon cannot say for sure that I will ever make a full recovery. Some situations still trigger flashbacks of the incident.
“As an avid sportsman, my lifestyle has had to undergo many changes which I am having trouble accepting.
“I think anyone in a job that fronts the public is at risk from the nutters that exist in our society, people who lack awareness of the damage they can inflict or lack conscience.”
The Post Primary Teachers Association, a union representing about 18,000 teachers and principals, says that unless classrooms are made safer, teachers will leave the profession.
“It is a serious issue and I can’t see the problem going away, but there are no easy answers,” spokeswoman Jill Gray said.
Some teachers were too scared to do lunchtime duty alone and had resorted to supervising in pairs.
“I find it very sad that it has come to this, but hopefully these figures really highlight the issue and get some action started.”
Bollocks there are no easy answers.
We didn’t have this nonsense in the good old days when a miscreant was given six of the best.
Secondary Principals Association president Peter Gall said there was anecdotal evidence of more fights between pupils involving weapons. It had reached the stage where teachers now had to consider their own safety before stepping in to break up fights.
The comment on this mayhem from Education Minister Anne Tolley was trite and pathetic. She said assaults of any kind on teachers were “completely unacceptable”.
Damned right.
She hoped a $45 million Education Ministry-led project would help deal with behavioural problems in schools.
More than 5000 teachers from low-decile schools will have training in handling children who lash out or misbehave in the classroom.
The right response is much more obvious than this namby-pamby stuff.
Give the teachers the nod to lash back.
With tasers, if need be.
Oh, and maybe we should strip Tolley of her command and give the Education job to Crusher Collins.
Alf Grumble 
any educator that proceeds to hit another human being with a board, whip or other ‘tool’ needs to be prosecuted for assault and battery – Haven’t you heard of PBIS? It works you know. You can’t hit your spouse, your pet, or your neighbor. Why should children be any different. Further, no child should be tasered due to the health risks, especially children who may have unknown cardiac or brain problems. Sorry – youre way off base
The last posting has to be a wind up !!..
No.. I have not heard of the PBIS..
Do know how to spell though.
Probably because we had to take notice of our teachers or else :-))
Boys REQUIRE corporal punishment. Sadly, in this era of masculinization where girls play sports and act like boys, too many of them do too.
[This very welcome comment originally comprised around 2000 words. Your long-serving, hard-working MP has cut to the chase, identified this as the important bit and spared readers the need to wade through the rest, which among many other things included some thoughts about God not healing amputees because they deserve it – Alf Grumble.]