A total of 5,760 Cases of Teacher's Rights Violations by Students in the Last 3 Years... Increasing Trend of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Crimes
8 out of 10 Teachers Respond That the Current Level of Teacher's Rights Violations Is 'Serious'
Teachers are increasingly experiencing verbal abuse and sexual harassment from students. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Outrage continues as posts have surfaced on online communities claiming that teachers have been subjected to severe verbal abuse and infringements on their authority by students. The problem is that these incidents are not recent but ongoing. There is growing public demand for strong determination from educational authorities to ensure that no more teachers suffer from such harassment.
Recently, an anonymous workplace community called 'Blind' featured a post by a high school teacher claiming to have experienced violations of their authority by students.
The author stated, "During class presentations, a student said, 'Hey XX, what are you saying?' When I scolded them and raised my voice, I was told, 'Ah, shut up, why are you yelling?'" They also shared, "A student was using their phone during class, so I tried to confiscate it. According to school rules, phones are collected during class, but this student refused to hand it over. I told them I would return it during break time, but the student resisted, grabbed my phone, and threw it."
On September 27, a post by a teacher claiming to have been sexually harassed by an elementary student in their class caused a stir. Identifying themselves as a new teacher, Mr. A revealed a message sent by the student. The student wrote, "Phew, that was tough. Teacher, can I put XX in your XX?"?a sexually harassing remark. Mr. A added, "When I called the student, they said it was a mistake while chatting with a friend on KakaoTalk."
Netizens witnessing such shocking infringements on teacher authority by very young students were deeply disturbed. Comments included, "Teacher authority has hit rock bottom, but this is terrifying," "These elementary kids know everything nowadays. They probably also know they won’t be punished," and "Lying afterward is even worse." Recently, with the rise of remote classes, 'cyber infringements' on teacher authority via social media and real-time platforms like Zoom have been increasing.
The severity of teacher authority violations has reached a critical level. According to data on 'Educational Activity Infringements' obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu from the Ministry of Education, there have been 5,760 cases of teacher authority violations by students over the past three years. Among the types of incidents, 'insults and defamation' accounted for over 50%, the highest proportion. Recently, the share of sexual harassment and sexual violence crimes has also increased from 7.9% in 2018 to 12.7% last year, a rise of 4.8 percentage points.
In May, an online survey conducted by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union targeting teachers nationwide found that 8 out of 10 respondents considered the current level of teacher authority violations to be 'serious.' Among respondents, 89.1% of kindergarten teachers, 85.5% of elementary school teachers, 76.3% of middle school teachers, and 76.1% of high school teachers reported that teacher authority violations were severe.
One netizen commented, "Schools that only talk about student rights but neglect teacher authority need to reconsider what they are teaching children," and added, "Measures must be introduced to boost teachers' self-esteem."
The situation abroad is not much different. Recently in France, a video circulated on social media showing a student roughly opening the classroom door and knocking down a teacher who tried to stop them from leaving during class, causing a major shock in French society. Another student in the classroom rushed to help the teacher up, but some students laughed, sparking controversy.
However, it is currently pointed out that protecting teachers from such various infringements is insufficient. In fact, most teachers say that the Teacher Authority Protection Committee, established to handle such issues, is not functioning effectively. According to an online survey conducted on May 14 by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union with 2,513 teachers from kindergarten to high school, 68.6% responded that the Teacher Authority Protection Committee does not help protect teacher authority. Regarding policies at the city and provincial education office level to guarantee teacher authority, 79.2% of respondents evaluated them negatively.
Even when teacher authority violations occur, schools often take no action. Among all respondents, 56.5% said that schools did not take measures despite 'excessive complaints from parents.' This was followed by class disruptions by students (55.5%), abuse of power by principals and vice principals (47.7%), defamation, insults, and verbal abuse (41.4%). Even sexual harassment and sexual crimes (18.3%) and assault and battery (16%) were similarly neglected.
Given these circumstances, calls for solutions are growing in the political arena. Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon Insook, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, said, "Although there is a manual for responding to teacher authority violations, it is rendered ineffective due to teachers’ conservative attitudes toward gender issues and a school culture tolerant of sexual harassment and discrimination." She emphasized, "Since it is difficult to solve these problems solely within the school community, a firm determination from educational authorities to address gender-based harassment is necessary."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
