by JamesT » Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:41 am
Not necessarily elderly and retired, Emdee, some of their newly-qualified colleagues who took it up with enthusiasm in the 1970s and right through into the 1980s may be hale and hearty and still in the classroom. We're not talking all that long ago - less than thirty years. But no, I don't want to see them in court (unless there were specific instances of serious abuse that went far beyond anything deemed 'acceptable' at the time.) But I would like some sort of public airing of it all, perhaps along sort of 'truth and reconciliation' lines, to make clear just how wrong it all was and to bring some closure to some of the victims who are now in their 40s, 50s and older.
I can see your point, Govangirl, but I don't agree with 'full circle'. Sure, a more tolerant and civilised society bring stresses and challenges, and we have failed to give as much support as we should to helping all families to develop positively, particularly at the 'early years' stage to avoid some of the anti-social consequences further down the line. It's not easy, but resorting to punitive violence is not a solution, not now and should not have been in the 1970s.
But i don't think the typical schoolteacher lives 'in fear of violence' in the way you suggest. Here's what a head of a major comprehensive in Edinburgh, one not without its share of social problems, said about this issue recently:
"1982 was the year I started my teaching career. This was the year the belt stopped being used in Scottish classrooms. At the time, I recall many in the profession expressing fear that this would be the end of schooling as we know it and that our Education system would go into terminal decline. In my view this could not have been further from the truth. The staff entering the profession in the past few years are products of a system that did not rely on belting young people with a piece of leather to maintain control and order. It is my view that these are young professionals who develop higher order skills to create the atmosphere in their classroom that allows learning to flourish.
By way of example,in the past two days, I have had the pleasure of observing two of our excellent younger staff (Ms T in English and Ms W in French) in the classroom. The lessons I saw were first class. A number of things really impressed me. Firstly, both displayed an excellent rapport with the pupils. Both had excellent classroom control; all pupils did as they were supposed to do. Anyone who stepped out of line was gently and skilfully brought back 'on task'. It was clear to me that the pupils in the classes were engaged and active learners, not because they were fearful of the consequences, but because they were sufficiently motivated and stimulated by their teachers to want to do well.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that I am wholly convinced that the best teachers are the ones who develop excellent relationships with their charges. That is not to say that the best teachers are 'friends' with the pupils. What really matters is developing a professional relationship with pupils where a common set of values are shared, expectations are sky-high and where respect is always two way."
What an excellent chap. Would that the profession thirty years ago had had more like that.