|
There were 168 instances of physical assaults and verbal threats committed by parents against teachers that were reported to the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations last year. That's more than double the 78 cases reported in 2002. At one elementary school in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province last year, parents grabbed a teacher by the hair and shook her around in front of her students. One assemblyman representing a district in Seoul assaulted the principal of his son's school and caused him to faint. The assemblyman was demanding that his son, who quit school, be accepted back. One female teacher at a junior high school in Incheon tried to block a student from leaving class early. She ended up being assaulted by the student.
Many such cases of assault stem from misunderstandings. Students may take on a very self-centered attitude when telling their parents about the way they were treated at school. The parents end up assaulting teachers as they question the way their children claimed they had been treated. Most of these unfortunate incidents could be prevented if channels of communication between parents and teachers were created through programs such as a school management committee. Education is achieved through praise and scolding. Painful scolding from teachers is part of education. If teachers end up getting assaulted because they sternly discipline their students, then they will have no choice but to take a lukewarm approach to education. If that happens, then not only the authority of teachers, but the entire system of education breaks down.
The authority of teachers isn't established by laws and systems. If teachers maintain their dignity by doing their best in researching and improving the way they teach, and establish a culture of respect for academics, then we will see a sharp decrease in assaults. Among Korea's 400,000 teachers, there are some who use abusive language against their students and punch or whip them on impulse. Teachers must accept the fact that the rights of teachers will be protected only if measures are put in place enabling such abusive teachers to be weeded out.
|
