[etni] Fw: violence

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----- Original Message -----
From: "lev" <labra@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: violence


Dear all -

This is my second attempt at posting this message; I hope this time it goes
through.

I've been blessed to be working for Brenner High - a school where violence
(either verbal or physical) is practically non-existent; however, I've had
my share of being abused verbally *and physically* on my previous job, and I
regret I didn't have the courage to walk out on the school when it happened.
I eventually did - but I waited till the end of the school year, to make
sure no pupils would suffer from a no-teacher-no-lessons situation. I then
stayed away from the system for 2 years.

The list owners have returned this message to me with the following note:
"Because of ETNI list policy, we cannot include the actual school name. If
you wish to rewrite the message, without mentioning the school name, we will
be happy to send it through."

If you want to learn the name of the school worth keeping away from, write
to me offlist. If you happen to be/have been working for a school where
teacher abuse is the norm, write to me as well. Compiling and circulating a
list of employers who do little or nothing to protect teachers from violence
might eventually do a lot of good: maybe finding themselves shorthanded in a
few years will force these schools to revise their policies. And let us
consider establishing an online peer support group on teacher abuse
prevention and intervention - including a union rep and a lawyer to give us
advise on how to behave.

I think Sara's comment "It is horrible that we have to put up with these
things" is incorrect. At least I feel we don't have to. It is reasonable to
expect both the union and the school administration to back our colleague up
in this situation - not only because it is immoral not to do so, but also
because a school like this is bound to lose teachers. I'm glad it is the
case: "Fortunately, my school and the city and parents comm. and the police
are 100% behind me," our colleague has written today.

A few days back, someone wrote that the teacher population was getting
older, on average, and that one of the reasons for younger people to refrain
from taking up the vocation was the fact that, besides low pay and a
blurred/easily inflatable job description, it was the exposure to abuse.
Well, the incident in question seems proof enough that the above is correct.

And don't hesitate to walk out if you have been abused: thou shalt not
starve. Teaching jobs are always available (partly because many young
teachers leave as soon as they realize teaching is too much hassle - often
in the middle of the year). Also, for every 3 or 4 teachers approaching
retirement, there is only one young person entering training at a teachers
college, so, with all the efforts of the inspectors to lead you to believe
they cannot find you a job (in the beginning of July), you can wait till
August 26 and then just walk in through the door of almost any school, and
get a job if you still feel like getting it...

In any case, I feel we should express our unconditional support to our
colleague. Please keep us posted on the development, and let us know if we
can help you in any way.

Collegially -

Lev

Lev Abramov
Instructional designer, educational technologist
The Schiffman Institute Ltd.
Visit www.schiffman-institute.com  today!



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