Unruly behaviour in secondary school

The rickstar 20153

On Thursday we were in tutor class and there was an argument between a boy and a girl over a seat, apparently the boy was sitting in that seat the previous day but he can't own a seat and the boy punched her in the side of the head, right in front of everyone. The class tutor was called in and he then went to talk to both the boy and the girl outside and the boy began to lie and said that the girl grabbed his throat when everyone in the class saw what he was up to. The girl nearly got punished for this and got upset. Meanwhile, in the next class, which was PE, the other boys in the class were talking about how he was lying to the tutor, and he told all of them to f off. This same boy pulled a girls hair earlier in the year in business when we were playing an economics related game. Very childish for a transition year student. He honestly does not acknowledge that what he did was wrong but the school have only given him a ticking off. He has also done many other bad things but i will not name them. He is getting away with everything and anything in school, but unfortunately so are many others in Ireland.

I typed this to hear the view that teachers would have on this.

2011abc

Happens in every school in the country at some stage ,probably daily in many .Common sense solution ?He and his parent/s gets an almighty bollicking from principal and told he can find another school if theres a recurrence .Reality?Theres an 'underlying issue' and he will be offered counselling and/ or parents will threaten to sue .Most likely a teacher will be found to scapegoat .

teacherhead

He'd have been eating his lunch at home if that happened in my school, that day and for a few more after

evolving_doors

Well basically it looks as if this behaviour is going to persist. Also it would appear that he is hitting out without being provoked which is a wee bit ominous...
If the school wants to act they have to build a case...hence they will need ALL of the facts..

Upshot..two or more of ye need to go to the tutor and say that ye are concerned..as he hit her unprovoked and has done so before.. please send tutor/principal an email also to make sure there is a record....

teacherhead

The rickstar 20153 wrote: »

On Thursday we were in tutor class and there was an argument between a boy and a girl over a seat, apparently the boy was sitting in that seat the previous day but he can't own a seat and the boy punched her in the side of the head, right in front of everyone. The class tutor was called in and he then went to talk to both the boy and the girl outside and the boy began to lie and said that the girl grabbed his throat when everyone in the class saw what he was up to. The girl nearly got punished for this and got upset. Meanwhile, in the next class, which was PE, the other boys in the class were talking about how he was lying to the tutor, and he told all of them to f off. This same boy pulled a girls hair earlier in the year in business when we were playing an economics related game. Very childish for a transition year student. He honestly does not acknowledge that what he did was wrong but the school have only given him a ticking off. He has also done many other bad things but i will not name them. He is getting away with everything and anything in school, but unfortunately so are many others in Ireland.

I typed this to hear the view that teachers would have on this.

my first reply to this was based on taking what is written here st face value.

a further read leaves me wondering how much you saw/heard yourself and how much is exaggerated second hand information.

one thing i am sure of is this - a punishment doesn't have to be applied instantly to be effective, sometimes a not of time is needed to investigate matters and reflect / consult on the bigger picture.

either way i don't think that violence should be tolerated. A suspension is actually one of the easiest punishments to apply, pick up the phone. Please collect your son,we will see him next Wednesday with a parent thank you.

its the smaller persistent so called lo level disruption that cause me more hassle.

TheDriver

Same reaction as teacherhead, I also could see other questions come into play such as how long were these kids on their own in the room, who witnessed it, how much actual evidence is there. Suspensions are indeed easy until people pick holes in it.
teacherhead: I find that method doesn't work for me, notice must be served on the parents. The kid however can come to school in the meantime but not necessarily to class.......

teacherhead

TheDriver wrote: »

Same reaction as teacherhead, I also could see other questions come into play such as how long were these kids on their own in the room, who witnessed it, how much actual evidence is there. Suspensions are indeed easy until people pick holes in it.
teacherhead: I find that method doesn't work for me, notice must be served on the parents. The kid however can come to school in the meantime but not necessarily to class.......

in general suspension would be given notice to be fair but in vases of violence it would usually be immediately. If a parent cant come i would leave them out of class for the day

The rickstar 20153

I'm not sure how he can be suspended as he is a boarder at the school and he is from <mod edit >another country, so how would suspending a boarder work?.

linguist

I can't really add to this except to say to the OP that you've got some good advice here from people who know their way around the system and you should consider acting on it. As regards the practicalities of suspending a boarder, that's really something the school management has to worry about within the policies of the school which, I imagine, the student and his parents have signed.

May I commend you for the obvious concern you and your fellow students have regarding this. It's obvious that you raised it here through genuine concern for your fellow student(s). Alas, this is an example of how a minority of people are allowed to cause chaos within our schools protected by all the 'rights' - Section 29 et al - that make the rest of us feel powerless and frankly often very frustrated. However, we are not entirely powerless as others have pointed out. It is all about building a case and what a great thing it would be if that case were built with the active support of concerned students like you.

In the meantime, try to enjoy your time in TY. I'm sure there are many good things happening despite this nonsense.

RealJohn

If this behaviour is ongoing and you feel that the school authorities are doing nothing, start keeping a record of incidents. Several of you could do this. It is important though that these records are as honest as you can make them, ie. if the student is provoked in his bad behaviour some of the time, don't leave the provocation out of the report. Then after a week or a few weeks (depending on how much evidence you feel you have and the urgency with which action is required), present these reports to the relevant school authorities in writing. The first port of call is probably your class tutor and/or year head, followed by the principal/vice principal and after that, if necessary, the parents' council and the board of management.

You should be aware that putting something in writing is a big deal and could come back to haunt you if it's not entirely factual. It is also harder to sweep under the carpet though. Be careful what you write.

ciotog8

It sounds to me that this student may have underlying issues around females which may come from whatever has happened in the past. As a rule of thumb in my school which is an emotional and behavioural school in London, we tend to not focus on exclusions as these are usually futile. It is better to know what is going on under the surface and develop some strategies which he can address. I know there may be a question of resourcing and time but generally a supportive ear and enabling that student to understand and work on the issue is usually the right way forward. Where I work the behaviour is shocking and on occasions I have been attacked and told to F off virtually every day. I have worked here for several years and love my work. This is because I try to focus on their strenghts and not the behaviours. Showing a student what they are good at gives them hope and gains trust. Hope your student finds his path.