Latest news with #studentbehavior
South China Morning Post
28-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
South Korean teacher kicked by third-grader highlights rise in classroom violence
A troubling incident in South Korea , where a third-grade student kicked a teacher after being corrected on a wrong answer, has sparked a debate about the increasing assaults on educators nationwide, highlighting growing concerns about teacher safety in schools. On Tuesday, authorities reported that a student in Gyeonggi province, who had a history of difficulty accepting mistakes, began yelling and kicking when informed that their answer was incorrect. In South Korea, students in the third grade are typically between eight and nine years old. Even after a substitute teacher replaced the original teacher, the student continued to disrupt the class and allegedly threatened the new teacher as well, The Korea Times newspaper reported. Following the incident on May 9, the school principal granted the teacher five days off and proposed a meeting with the parents, which the teacher rejected, viewing it as a coercive attempt to resolve the issue. The teacher also refused a written apology from both the student and their parents. This lack of separation and healing, combined with the expectation that teachers deal with complaints, amounts to secondary victimisation Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union statement The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union criticised the principal's response as inadequate, accusing the school of failing to protect the teacher and instead pressuring them to meet the student's family.
RNZ News
24-05-2025
- RNZ News
Principal speaks out against keyboard warriors after alleged assault
Oxford Area School principal Mike Hart. Photo: David Hill / North Canterbury News All schools grapple with ''challenging student behaviour'' and it is not helped by social media outbursts, a North Canterbury principal says. Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney said he felt for his colleagues, when critics took to social media following an incident this week at Oxford Area School. A student was taken to Christchurch Hospital with injuries, after being reportedly assaulted by another Oxford Area School student on Wednesday. Challenging behaviour happened in all schools and most followed restorative processes when addressing the behaviour, Kearney said. ''Kids do dumb things and our role is to teach them the consequences of their actions,'' he said. ''We try to hold young people to account for their actions in a kind and positive way, but social media isn't interested in that.'' He said people should not assume every ''unpleasant incident is bullying''. ''Bullying is ongoing emotional abuse, and it happens everywhere and not just in schools. It happens in the workplace, in the home, out in the community and online.'' While some social media critics wanted schools to return to corporal punishment, Kearney said that was not the answer. ''It is teaching a student, 'I'm going to hit you, because you hit someone else'.'' Rangiora High School presiding board member Simon Green and principal Bruce Kearney. Photo: LDR / David Hill Like politicians, Kearney said school principals were often targets of online abuse, including death threats. Rangiora High School was one of several schools to participate in the recent Pink Shirt Day. Oxford Area School board of trustees presiding member Aaron Campbell referred enquiries about the incident at OAS to principal Mike Hart. In a statement, Hart said the school was following its procedures to work through the incident. He asked the community to contact the school, if they with any concerns or questions. ''Our thoughts and heartfelt support are with the student and their whānau during this time. ''We know this may be unsettling, and we are doing everything we can to ensure the wellbeing of all involved.'' Rangiora High School board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said schools had always grappled with ''challenging student behaviour'', which was an emotive topic. He said the board worked with school leadership to ensure bullying was addressed promptly and constructively, with ''a focus on restoring relationships and building a culture of respect and accountability''. A Ministry of Education spokesperson said staff had been in contact with Oxford Area School and were confident school staff were following appropriate procedures. Oxford Area School has students from years 1-13. Local Democracy Reporting noted several Oxford Facebook pages had blocked comments on the incident. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Sky News
22-05-2025
- Sky News
Husband of teacher stabbed at school in West Wales calls for action on pupil behaviour
The husband of a teacher who was stabbed by a pupil at a school in West Wales has called for urgent action to tackle behaviour. This article contains descriptions some readers may find distressing. Liz Hopkin was stabbed by a teenage girl at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, Carmarthenshire, last April. Fellow teacher Fiona Elias and a pupil were also stabbed in the incident. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was detained for 15 years last month after she was convicted of three counts of attempted murder. Mrs Hopkin attempted to restrain the pupil after her colleague was stabbed in an outdoor area of the school during the mid-morning break on 24 April 2024. Recalling the day he saw his wife Liz "in a pool of blood", John Hopkin described the scene as "hectic". "Then she just assumed she was dying, so she was just apologising for going," Mr Hopkin told Sky News. "And that's when, not so much panic hit, but I didn't really know what was going on after that." The impact of the events of that day continue to have a profound effect on Mrs Hopkin and her family. "It's completely changed our whole life and family life," Mr Hopkin said. "Physically, [Liz is] recovering just knocked her right back and I think it's not going to be a quick process to get over that." 'Watershed moment' Mr Hopkin is calling for an independent inquiry into what happened at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman. "I'm not bothered about accountability or blame, and Liz is neither," he added. "But what we do want is to see if there was anything that was done wrong to stop it happening again. "It won't happen in Dyffryn Aman, touch wood, but somewhere in Wales and somewhere in England, it will happen again." Carmarthenshire County Council told Sky News an "independently led review" is now under way following the conclusion of the trial. The council's cabinet member for education and the Welsh language, Glynog Davies, said the review would "ensure any good practice is highlighted and shared and that any lessons learnt are identified". Cllr Davies said the local authority had supported the victims as well as "the wider school community", with that support continuing "in individual and bespoke ways". A Welsh government summit is taking place on Thursday, which will focus on behaviour in schools. Mr Hopkin hopes the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman will be "a watershed moment" and believes the Welsh government can take urgent steps to tackle pupil behaviour. Having worked in nine secondary schools all over Wales, Mr Hopkin says greater communication with teachers is needed and that a consistent approach is key. "Every single school deals with behaviour differently," Mr Hopkin said. "We've got a government that doesn't want to lead on this and is stopping schools from treating behaviour consistently. "It's a big issue and I don't think that the summit on its own is going to come up with the answers." He also called for a Wales-wide ban on smartphones in schools to improve behaviour. In March, a Senedd committee rejected a petition calling for a ban and instead recommended clearer guidance for schools. Plans to prohibit the use of mobile phones in England's schools were dropped last year. "Banning mobile phones in schools would make a massive difference," Mr Hopkin added. "And you can see schools that have banned them have found a really positive improvement in behaviour." Mr Hopkin also said that the problems facing schools in Wales were no "different" to other areas of the UK. "I think the Welsh government are reluctant to agree that the problems that are facing Wales are the same as the problems that face anywhere in England, whether it's in a city or in the countryside," he said. "The problems are everywhere, we're not protected by a big bubble." 'Sustained investment' Teaching unions have welcomed the summit but are calling for increased investment to tackle challenging behaviour. Nicola Fitzpatrick, interim Wales secretary for the National Education Union (NEU), told Sky News that its members wanted to see "action" from the government. "Unless increased and sustained investment is secured, then we just hinder the ability of all stakeholders to urgently address the issues in a way that meet the needs of learners, but crucially that keeps all staff and students safe," she said. "So we'd like to see some strong, clear, collaborative guidance that's consistent across all local authorities in Wales - that there aren't 22 different ways to do it - and that good practice and collaborative practice is shared." The Welsh government told Sky News that schools in Wales are "dealing with a whole range of wider societal issues on a daily basis and there is no one solution". "The summit is part of a longer program of work which includes our recent roundtable on violence and safety in schools and colleges and the commitment to provide clear guidance on the use of mobile phones," it said in a statement.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Phone and shouting ban 'transforms' Cardiff school plagued by fights
Fights arranged in school via social media, then filmed and shared leaving lessons upset about social media were regular occurrences at Cardiff West Community High School - one of the most "challenged" schools in Wales - until mobile phones were banned as part of a range of measures introduced to tackle bad behaviour."Almost overnight, exclusions [for violence] reduced," said head teacher Mike Tate, who introduced the ban at the secondary school in Ely, Cardiff, last Tate, who also banned shouting, said internal truancy - when pupils are in school but not lessons - was now "almost nil" and there was better focus in classrooms. When Mr Tate became the head teacher of Cardiff West two years ago, he wanted to understand what was causing the behavioural problems at the issues included pupils bunking off lessons, being aggressive and fighting due to social media head teacher Kathryn Stevens said the problems "permeated every part of the school day"."We were having fights at lunchtime, at break time. We were having children walking out of lessons because they were seeing messages popping up and it was causing them distress," Ms Stevens Tate said pupils would "come out of class because they would get a message to go and see another pupil"."We could see that these were big issues," he added. Specific measures were introduced to target the problems, including a ban on phones for pupils, staff and visitors during the school day which was implemented last Tate said it would be "naive" to claim fights had been eradicated completely, but said pupil exclusions for violence had fallen by 72% since the ban was said banning phones had also addressed the problem of "pupils texting one another to meet in the toilets, or be out of lessons", leading to a reduction in internal truancy."It's transformed behaviour," added Ms Welsh government has resisted a national policy to ban mobile phones in schools, but said it was working with schools "to ensure they have policies and resources to reduce the negative impacts of mobile phones and promote learning". 'No shouting in the school' Banning phones is not the only change the school has Tate said a big emphasis had been placed on staff building respectful relationships with pupils and not raising their voices."We are a no shout school. There's no shouting in the school," said Ms Stevens."You won't see potentially those old fashioned school days of children being berated by staff or shouting."We always try to talk with children and we always try to start conversations with: 'Is everything OK?'" So what do the pupils make of the changes?Sixteen-year-old Lanre believes the phone ban, brought in last year, has made a big difference to said pupils were more focused in lessons and there was less bullying "People used to be recorded and it used to go online" but that has now stopped, he 15, said better relationships between staff and pupils was important."I think better relationships definitely help the children become better behaved in their classes," she said."If they like the teacher, they will behave better than if they have a bad relationship with the teacher." Mr Tate said that clear expectations and consistency with enforcing the rules was and resources have also been focused on tackling the reasons for poor behaviour. A high number of pupils at the secondary school are "functionally illiterate", meaning they have a reading age well below average when they start Year pupils are being given "primary style" help with reading so that they can fully understand the rest of their lessons, Mr Tate said."There's an absolute link between people's inability to access learning and behaviour and acting out," he added. The school has also reviewed its curriculum following research with the local is one of Cardiff's most deprived suburbs and more than 60% of pupils at the school are eligible for free school school found that not eating breakfast and consuming energy drinks were potential problems, so it has placed more emphasis on nutrition in Tate said schools had to identify "what the issues are, looking at what you can do with the money you have, and then how you can monitor the impact of what you're doing"."But money is an issue, there's no doubt about that," he added."We've got to make sure that money's appropriately spent and it's spent on the right things which will impact upon teaching and learning." Behaviour summit A recent review by education inspectorate Estyn found secondary schools in Wales had reported a general decline in behaviour, with the most challenging pupils becoming "increasingly hard to manage".A Welsh government survey of nearly 8,000 education staff found an increase in "challenging or disruptive behaviours" since the pandemic. More than half of respondents working in secondary schools said they had concerns about pupils bringing weapons to half of staff working in primary schools said physical assaults on teachers were a serious leaders will meet for a national behaviour summit hosted by the Welsh government on Thursday, prompted by the growing concerns about behaviour as well as an incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Carmarthenshire last year when a pupil stabbed two members of staff and a fellow Welsh government said this summit would "provide clear guidance on the use of mobile phones".So, could bringing together educational leaders from local authorities, unions and schools pave the way for a solution to the challenges?"I think it's an understanding of where schools are and what schools deal with, because we deal with far more than just teaching and learning," said Mr reporting by Gareth Bryer and Sanjana Idnani.
Wall Street Journal
19-05-2025
- Wall Street Journal
Against the ‘Precrime' Police
Alison Leigh Cowan suggests that college admissions officers ask a series of questions beginning with: 'Is it ever justified to . . .' ('How Colleges Can Weed Out Lawbreakers,' op-ed, May 16). That could work, but there's a simpler way. If colleges would actually punish students who 'pull a fire alarm . . . to protest a speaker' or expel a student for 'destroying a mezuza on someone's door,' such behavior would end or at least be markedly reduced. Admissions officers should focus on accepting students who can do the work and add value to the community rather than trying to stop crime before it happens à la 'Minority Report.' Michael Leb
