Cases of Parent Complaints in Educational Settings
As voices calling for stronger teacher authority grow following the extreme choice made by a teacher at Seo-i Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, teachers are continuing to expose the complaints they face from parents in the education field.
A, a 22-year veteran elementary school teacher, appeared on CBS Radio's "Park Jae-hong's One-on-One Match" on the 24th and said, "In recent years, posts expressing difficulties in teaching life have been increasing significantly in teacher communities."
He said, "Especially, the number of children who cause disturbances in the classroom, disrupt lessons, and verbally and physically abuse friends and teachers is increasing exponentially," adding, "There are many posts about the difficulties in restraining such children."
On the 24th, citizens visiting Seoi Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are paying tribute to the late teacher Mr. A. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Regarding malicious complaints, A said, "There was a case where a child threatened a friend with a sharp pair of scissors, and when the startled teacher shouted and stopped the child by saying 'Stop it,' the guardian reported the teacher for emotional abuse, claiming that the child was scared by the shouting and had seizures at night."
He continued, "When a child continuously disrupts the class and the teacher restrains them by saying 'Don't do that,' the guardian reports it as child abuse, saying the child was publicly humiliated in front of other students," adding, "So when teachers call the children outside to talk separately, the guardians say things like 'Why are you infringing on my child's right to learn by preventing them from attending class?' There are various such cases."
A also revealed that he had experienced similar cases. He said, "When I was heavily pregnant, I experienced children kicking my belly and spitting on me," adding, "At that time, the child was in a special class, and the parent was also sensitive. They said, 'Teacher, please understand and let it go,' so I couldn’t get an apology and just let it go."
Finally, A said, "Proper discipline does not mean corporal punishment. True education is allowing students to experience the process of taking responsibility for their wrong behavior themselves," adding, "In that sense, I hope the opinions of teachers in the field will be actively accepted to find educational methods that are practically effective for children."
On the 24th, citizens visiting Seoi Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are paying tribute to the late teacher Mr. A. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Earlier, B, a first-grade homeroom teacher at Seo-i Elementary School, was found dead by an extreme choice at school on the morning of the 18th before the start of school. Afterwards, rumors spread in teacher communities that the deceased had been harassed by malicious complaints from parents. In response, the education sector strongly demanded a proper investigation into B’s cause of death.
In particular, the Seoul Teachers' Union, with the consent of the bereaved family, partially disclosed B’s diary, which stated, "After coming to work on Monday, the workload bomb + OO (student’s name) chaos overlapped, and everything just became overwhelming, making me want to give up. I felt suffocated," and "While eating, my hands trembled, and I almost cried."
The union emphasized, "It can be confirmed that the deceased struggled with work and student issues during school life," adding, "This aligns with the union’s revelation through reports that a student’s loud shouting and other behaviors caused the deceased distress."
They urged, "Swift measures must be taken to protect teachers from false child abuse reports and indiscriminate complaints."
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