Teacher Assault Incident Occurs in Buk-gu, Busan
Assaulted Teacher: "Serious Violation of Teacher's Rights... System Needs Reform"
Recently, following the extreme choice made by a teacher at Seoicho Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, which brought the issue of teacher authority infringement to the forefront as a serious social problem, more teachers have come forward revealing that they were assaulted by students.
A 8-year veteran elementary school teacher, Teacher A from Buk-gu, Busan, disclosed in a written interview with Yonhap News on the 24th that he was assaulted by a student.
He is currently the homeroom teacher for the 3rd grade at his school this year and was injured in the chest bone and other areas after being hit by a student named B, whom he was instructing during class. He received a diagnosis requiring three weeks of treatment and is currently on medical leave undergoing treatment.
Teacher A said, "At first, I was so shocked that I just endured the beating, but after receiving about ten blows, I came to my senses," adding, "The shame of being hit in front of the children was greater than the pain."
However, Teacher A did not apply to hold a Teacher Authority Protection Committee meeting. This was due to concerns that if such a committee were convened, parents might instead report him for child abuse. Teacher A said, "Ultimately, the frustration of feeling powerless made me consider quitting the teaching profession," adding, "I felt I had no authority to properly educate the children and no way to protect the other students."
Teacher A emphasized the need for institutional improvements to establish teacher authority. He said, "Teacher authority violations are becoming increasingly severe," and added, "After experiencing this incident, I considered leaving the profession, but I thought it was more important to stay in my position to work on fixing the systemic issues."
Teacher A also advocated for the provision of work mobile phones to teachers. This is to block parents from directly filing complaints to teachers. Previously, excessive complaints from parents were cited as a background factor in the 'Seoicho Elementary School Teacher Death Incident.'
Furthermore, Teacher A said, "I felt it was unfair to give up my job and dreams because of this incident," and added, "That is why I took the initiative to seek solutions together with the vice principal and fellow teachers."
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