School violence is a challenge for the community

Teachers should be trained to identify and deal with student behaviour, writes Ayesha Almazroui.

Teachers must learn non-violent strategies to deal with student misbehaviour. (Nicole Hill / The National)

A video of a Fujairah teacher beating a child in a classroom was released online this week. It was the third such ­video to go viral on social media this month. The others were filmed in Ajman and Abu Dhabi.

The Ministry of Education formed a committee to investigate the incidents in Ajman and Fujairah, and it decided to suspend those allegedly involved. The Abu Dhabi Education Council dismissed the laboratory supervisor who appeared to be assaulting a pupil in the third video.

The three clips have provoked a lot of discussion, with people voicing their opinions on Twitter using several Arabic hashtags. While many have condemned what they called the teachers’ irresponsible behaviour, others tried to justify their actions, arguing that the students deserved punishment for “insulting” the teachers.

Others focused on the illegal sharing of the videos, because the law forbids the spread of personal material that may affect or damage the reputation of the people involved. But they all failed to focus on the real issue, which is that physical punishment appears to still be prevalent in some of our schools.

It’s worrying to observe that there is an acceptance among a segment of society of the use of physical punishment as a method of discipline – despite it having been illegal for a long time. Justifying violence by teachers only helps the problem to persist.

Many of us would agree that teachers are under a tremendous amount of pressure. They are underpaid, overworked and, perhaps, not as well-respected in society as they should be. But these don’t qualify as good reasons to justify beating students.

The teacher in the latest video said that he “lost control” after the student provoked him by behaving inappropriately. In effect, he blamed the victim for his own poor anger-management skills, instead of admitting to his obvious mistake.

Students from all over the world exhibit the same behaviour. In every classroom, there is a minority of children whose behaviour is well outside what is expected from them. These students test the patience and skill of even the most experienced teachers.

But advanced education systems have looked for solutions to the problem, tested their effectiveness, enforced them and stood by them. They have punished and sacked teachers who don’t adhere to the rules, and have brought more understanding of what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to discipline.

Every teacher must understand that students need a safe and orderly learning environment. They need to feel cared for by school staff and they must develop a sense of belonging to the school. This isn’t only important for the psychological well-being of the children, but also for their academic performance in the long run.

If teachers succeed in creating such an atmosphere in the classroom, students will be actively engaged in the curriculum and more receptive to the school material.

Teachers need to make an effort to know their students, understand their individual needs, build on their strengths and encourage them to persist with tasks until they succeed.

In short, students are more likely to behave well if they are in an environment where they feel respected and capable of learning.

Adec’s zero-tolerance policy should be applauded and emulated. The authority acted quickly to terminate the services of the supervisor and said it would “not issue any appointment notice” for him in the future. This sends a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated.

Experts have argued that criminal charges should be pressed against teachers who use violence against students to help eliminate corporal punishment, which seems to be widespread, particularly in boys' schools. But this is not enough. Teaches and other school staff must be trained about student behaviour management. They need to be proactive in meeting students' needs rather than simply reacting when they misbehave in the classroom.

Professional learning programmes should equip teachers with the tools to manage the behaviour of students in the classroom by being firm but fair. The training should include anger-management skills that enable them to handle classroom conflicts in a non-provocative but authoritative way, away from verbal and physical aggression.

Teachers should also be trained to detect signs of learning difficulties that may affect the students’ performance and lead to negative behaviour. The issue won’t be resolved without a comprehensive strategy that involves all the community.

On Twitter: @AyeshaAlmazroui