Teacher assaulted my son - what to do?

MrsTinks

Hang on - you finf this incedent SO important to both you and our son that you are willing to contact a solicitor and contemplate getting the police involved, but you refuse to attend a meeting with the head and the teacher involved to hear their side of the story (and for all you know to appologise to you)?
IF it was serious enough to warrent the term assault then I have no doubt your apparently VERY mature 15 year old would have been perfectly capable of contacting the police himself or asking you to go with him to report the incident.
I don't agree that the teacher was right to throw something - but I've already said that However I do feel your reaction if not only out of proportion but also getting to the point of stirring for the sake of it. The school OFFERED you a meeting - you demanded certain documentation which due to data protection they can not give you (and let me assure you that the DPA is NOT to be trifled with - the fines involved can be very high so if something can't be released under the DPA then they are not going to release it - end of!) and because they can't release this to you you refuse to continue to try and reach a resolution. If this is so important then try to set this meeting up again and this time attend without throwing your toys out of your pram. If you still don't get anywhere or an appology from the teacher/head etc then go back to the school govenors and advice them you have tried everything to get a resolution and now you want to make an official complaint to them.
Try not to focus too much on this though - the more you focus on it the more it will probably take your sons (according to you) already flakey attention from his studies. As he was not hurt SURELY the most important thing is to ensure that all his attention right now is on his studies?????

Hintza

Interesting thread which I have just skimmed so might have missed something. I think curv has hit the nail on the head there are two issues:-

1. Teacher threw something. My attitude is to tell your boy to pay more attention in the future and not take it any further.

2. This isolation thing. If I was the OP this is where I would be concentrating my energy. The issue should have been dealt with promptly and the boy returned to class at the earliest opportunity but surely within 24 hours?

aliasojo

The old adage 'two wrongs don't make a right' springs to mind. Talking in class simply does not justify a teacher throwing something. Both were in the wrong but somehow the lad is the only villain in the eyes of many on the thread. I just dont understand that way of thinking, it seems so biased and one sided...especially considering all the assumptions that have been made so far.

There's two separate issues...the boy's behaviour and the teacher's. Yet the teacher's behaviour is excused?

Just curious but would it have made a difference if the boy's teeth had been knocked out by the broom (accidentally of course :rolleyes:)? An accident is something that couldn't be avoided.......this could easily have been avoided had the teacher displayed more control or exercised a clamer approach to discipline.....so I'm struggling with the 'accident' concept.

Are people viewing this as no big deal because he wasn't injured?

I dont agree with a lot of posts but I respect your views nonetheless....I am just having a problem understanding them.

SugarSpun

Curv wrote: »

Had he been paying attention there would have been nothing to see

But he's an innocent little sweetie and the teacher's a giant meanie! S/he might have thrown it anyway!

As it happens, if the OP's son has problems paying attention, a period of isolation would probably do a vast amount of good. Keep him from all those nasty kids who distract him.

daily_2

The fact he wasn't injured is relevant, as is the fact that the contact was accidental.

Teacher shouldn't have thrown it, son should have been paying attention, and shouldn't have sworn.

Bringing police/solicitors/governors into the equation and trying to get revenge is an over the top response to a minor incident - hence the less than favourable response.

If you want an apology, ask for one, but be prepared to give one in return.

JoeyG

daily wrote: »

The fact he wasn't injured is relevant, as is the fact that the contact was an accidental.

absolute rubbish! would you say the same if he'd thrown a knife and only the handle had made contact?... the simple fact is he used a object capable of causing injury as a missile, last time I checked broom handles were for attaching to brooms :rolleyes:

Curv

aliasojo wrote: »

Are people viewing this as no big deal because he wasn't injured?

I dont agree with a lot of posts but I respect your views nonetheless....I am just having a problem understanding them.

No. I'm viewing it as 'no big deal' because there is precious little respect from many young people for any figure of authority. The young man in question was demonstrating his lack of respect by first ignoring the teacher and chatting with friends and secondly by responding to his admonishment by swearing and speaking aggressively to the teacher.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but what, exactly, are teachers supposed to do with children who are being brought up in an environment where their own wants take priority over important matters such as education? Talk to them about it? Pointless when they are refusing to listen (as in this case).

If the OP had given even the slightest indication that she felt her son played any part at all in this matter, I would perhaps have some sympathy for her grievances regarding the way the school dealt with the matter. But as it stands she brushes off her child's apparently frequent disruptive behaviour as merely 'he's easily distracted' and in the face of such an unbalanced argument, I can't help but see things from the other angle.

It's highly unlikely that the teacher used throwing a broom head as his first tactic when trying to get the boy's attention and the fact remains that had the boy been more respectful and paid more attention, none if this would have happened.

aimee21j

Curv wrote: »

It's highly unlikely that the teacher used throwing a broom head as his first tactic when trying to get the boy's attention

Agree with this. I can't quite believe that a teacher would have 'lost it' simply because the lad was chatting. I also can't condone what the teacher did. There is no excuse for it and it would have/should have been dealt with in school.

Curv

aimee21j wrote: »

Agree with this. I can't quite believe that a teacher would have 'lost it' simply because the lad was chatting. I also can't condone what the teacher did. There is no excuse for it and it would have/should have been dealt with in school.

It has been dealt with, aimee... but the OP wants heads to roll or something :rolleyes:

mountainlioness

bingo_babe wrote: »

Thank you for your comments and in a minority of cases your support.

This for me is the crux of the problem. I'm not going to share my personal views on the matter, enough has been said. But is there really nothing in what posters have said that might differ from your own view but that is actually helpful?

We may start a thread on here with a very clear idea of what is right or wrong but posters' views can help us to understand some shades of grey, or offer a different perspective... anyway, these comments may not change our own ideas completely but they can at the very least give us something to think about.

If you can only recognise and thank those who are supportive of your position then you're probably not getting the most out of a forum made up of lots of different kinds of people. You may not initially like what some ppl have to say - but listen anyway - there is more often than not something to be learned from what other people say.

Try to take some of the raw emotion and outrage and sense of injustice out of the equation and re-focus on what is best for your son; which is probably a calm and reasoned resolution of this and then moving on quickly. Asking the teacher to apologise to him is humiliating and undermining to the teacher and prob pretty embarrassing and uncomfortable for your son (unless he likes seeing people humiliated and undermined, but assume for his sake this isn't the case). And please take what you can from other ppl's views rather than looking for 'support'.