An English language teacher at a local secondary school has lodged a police report after her 14-year-old student allegedly kicked her in the abdomen and slapped her on the head.
The 45-year-old teacher, from a school in the south, had tried to stop the teenager from disrupting her lesson on Monday when she claimed she was assaulted.
According to The Straits Times, the student in question has a history of behavioural problems and was already being counselled by the school.
The alleged attack on the teacher took place in front of an entire class after the teacher told the teen to stop knocking a library book against her desk. When she refused to stop, the teacher tried to confiscate her book.
But it was not until the teacher started recording the girl’s behaviour in a notebook that the student was said to have lost it completely.
She allegedly began screaming vulgarities and stomped on the teacher’s right foot before rushing out of the classroom. She then went on to attack another school staff member in the staff room before returning to the classroom.
After that, she reportedly attacked the teacher again, kicking her twice in the abdomen and hitting her on the head.
The school principal merely confirmed that the student had become agitated and hit the teacher who tried to counsel her on her “uncooperative behaviour in class”.
“Our school staff intervened immediately and the student calmed down after that. The teacher did not sustain any injury,” he added.
Despite the principal’s claims, the teacher’s husband was upset enough to insist his wife go for a medical examination, and accompanied her to a police station to file a report.
“My wife was in shock, this was her first run-in with the girl,” the husband said. “I am worried for her safety.”
The petite teen student is apparently not new to trouble. She was reportedly caught with a penknife in school, was often rude to teachers and ran away from home in March. In addition, it is believed that she is also involved in another police case in which she allegedly instigated three boys to beat up another student.
The school is well aware of the student’s problems and had been working with her and her mother to address the issues, according to the principal.
The principal added, “She has been given time off from school to reflect on her actions and assigned schoolwork to be completed at home. We will continue to counsel the student and review her progress.”
Counsellors are increasingly concerned about teens losing their cool and turning violent.
In May this year, netizens were outraged when a video of a teenage boy assaulting his schoolmate in the lift made its rounds on the Internet.
Executive director of Singapore Children’s Society, Mr Alfred Tan, said he is seeing more cases of children resorting to violence toward teachers and caregivers when they have difficulty controlling their anger.
“This may be because they are exposed to violent movies and videos, and they copy the actions, and also because parents are less strict in disciplining their kids these days,” he said.
Chief executive of Ain Society, Mr Yusof Ismail also suggested that parents be more willing to seek help when they have trouble controlling their children.
He said most parents do not file for a Beyond Parental Control order, which is a formal request for the court’s intervention when counselling does not work.
“They are embarrassed and also afraid their children will have a bad record,” he explained. “But this doesn’t help the children and one day, they will snap if they do not learn how to manage their anger.”
The 45-year-old teacher, from a school in the south, had tried to stop the teenager from disrupting her lesson on Monday when she claimed she was assaulted.
According to The Straits Times, the student in question has a history of behavioural problems and was already being counselled by the school.
The alleged attack on the teacher took place in front of an entire class after the teacher told the teen to stop knocking a library book against her desk. When she refused to stop, the teacher tried to confiscate her book.
But it was not until the teacher started recording the girl’s behaviour in a notebook that the student was said to have lost it completely.
She allegedly began screaming vulgarities and stomped on the teacher’s right foot before rushing out of the classroom. She then went on to attack another school staff member in the staff room before returning to the classroom.
After that, she reportedly attacked the teacher again, kicking her twice in the abdomen and hitting her on the head.
The school principal merely confirmed that the student had become agitated and hit the teacher who tried to counsel her on her “uncooperative behaviour in class”.
“Our school staff intervened immediately and the student calmed down after that. The teacher did not sustain any injury,” he added.
Despite the principal’s claims, the teacher’s husband was upset enough to insist his wife go for a medical examination, and accompanied her to a police station to file a report.
“My wife was in shock, this was her first run-in with the girl,” the husband said. “I am worried for her safety.”
The petite teen student is apparently not new to trouble. She was reportedly caught with a penknife in school, was often rude to teachers and ran away from home in March. In addition, it is believed that she is also involved in another police case in which she allegedly instigated three boys to beat up another student.
The school is well aware of the student’s problems and had been working with her and her mother to address the issues, according to the principal.
The principal added, “She has been given time off from school to reflect on her actions and assigned schoolwork to be completed at home. We will continue to counsel the student and review her progress.”
Counsellors are increasingly concerned about teens losing their cool and turning violent.
In May this year, netizens were outraged when a video of a teenage boy assaulting his schoolmate in the lift made its rounds on the Internet.
Executive director of Singapore Children’s Society, Mr Alfred Tan, said he is seeing more cases of children resorting to violence toward teachers and caregivers when they have difficulty controlling their anger.
“This may be because they are exposed to violent movies and videos, and they copy the actions, and also because parents are less strict in disciplining their kids these days,” he said.
Chief executive of Ain Society, Mr Yusof Ismail also suggested that parents be more willing to seek help when they have trouble controlling their children.
He said most parents do not file for a Beyond Parental Control order, which is a formal request for the court’s intervention when counselling does not work.
“They are embarrassed and also afraid their children will have a bad record,” he explained. “But this doesn’t help the children and one day, they will snap if they do not learn how to manage their anger.”
