Thursday, 24th April 2008 - 15:56CET
Teacher protests over lack of school security
A teacher at the Naxxar Boys Secondary School, Andrew Cauchi, has filed a judicial protest against the the Minister for Education and the Education Department holding them liable for damages he suffered when he was beaten by a relative of a pupil at the school.
Mr Cauchi said the Education Ministry had not provided even a most basic level of security at the school.
He told the court that he was a teacher with 18 years experience and had worked at the Naxxar school for three years.
Last Thursday, during school hours, while he was talking to a colleague, he was beaten up by a certain Ron Asciak. Mr Asciak was the partner of the mother of one of the pupils attending the school.
In his protest Mr Cauchi said that he was hurt by the fact that Mr Asciak, together with his partner, had been able to enter the school without hindrance. He expected the authorities to accept responsiblity for the accident for at no time had they provided the school with even the most basic level of security which one expected in a state school.
Mr Cauchi called upon the authorities to make good the damages he had sustained.
Lawyer Owen Bonnici acted for Mr Cauchi.
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Comments
I guess you are only speaking from the student's point of view. Teaching is not simply a vocational job. Vocation is defined as the "natural liking for a certain type of career, work or profession" by the Oxford Dictionary. While this may be important, that is not enough. Teaching goes beyond that ... it does not involve the simple working with kids ... that's what baby sitters do! Teachers are professionals trained from Universities and specialists in their own subjects themselves!! Being a teacher myself, I believe that this is the problem with the educational system in Malta. Teachers lack protection, a good pay and many other basic conditions, and are often overwhelmed with bureaucratic procedures unlike several other workers in the public and private industries. We need to shift our perception of teachers from this vocational approach to professionals who have the responsibility of making our educational system function. however I do agree with your last point - teachers are indeed the backbone for tomorrow's world!
Thank you for your kind comments.
What worries deeply me is your negative experience in your education. I am really sorry for it and in a sense I feel I have to carry part of that responsibility even though I played no part in it. Unfortunately, many times the damage cannot be remedied.
The only thing you can do is forgive which I understand, is very difficult. But all of us, I am sure, made others suffer to a little or greater extent and we all yearn for the Lord's mercy.
Forgiving others who do wrong to us will surely bring about a sense of serenity in our hearts, even though I have to admit that I myself sometimes find forgiving very hard and an uphill job!!
Forgiving is the conscious full acceptance of the warm presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts bringing about serenity and inner peace.
Thanks once again for your kind comments. Take care and may the Lord bless you and all your family.
Frank
Violence never solve anything, it all make it worse.
But i think that teachers as all government workers should be accountable to what they do. After all teaching should not be taken as a job but as a passion. And that is the missing link.
I have been to school, (and just like every student.) I had my fair share in what is a teacher:
I was victimized myself,
well moving on..
I had teachers who were dedicated to their work, and who taught me with a passion.
BUT i had teachers who wouldn't give a damm about me/us:
like: they never corrected our work, only our exams sheets were corrected,
bad teaching methods, making me hate the certain subject and the teacher, bad attitide.
This shows that the term 'teacher' cannot be generalized.
So it all boils down to the fact that teaching should be a considered a vocational job..
and that a teacher together with the students should built a give-and-take-relation. (it could difficult.. but that his how human life goes.) this thing is that differs a popular/positive and a bullied/negative teacher.
And on a last, last note i would like to thank teachers like Frank E. Camilleri, M.A. Educ. (U.K.) who define what a teacher must be, after all be it for medicine or art, it is a teacher that passes the knowledge. And for that, teachers should be respected, since they are the backbone for tomorrow's world.
I cannot imagine how certain people dare to ‘rush in where angels fear to thread.’ I have been teaching for around 30 years now and I think I know a little about the teaching profession; maybe a little bit more than Mr Joseph Caruana.
Basing the argument on our wages verges on the ridiculous, ignorance and stupidity. What does this has to do with the incident on the teacher at Naxxar?
Does Mr Caruana mean that it is no big deal if anybody earning the ‘best’ wages should be bullied and attacked? Is Mr Caruana implying that personnel occupying higher grades in the Education Department should be beaten up on the premise that, according to him, ‘teachers have the best wages compared to other Maltese government workers’?
Any kind of violence should be condemned rather than encouraged and condoned.
If Mr. Caruana would like to join the teaching profession he is most welcome provided that he has the necessary qualifications to join the relevant University Course and enough brains to complete it through successfully.
Before embarking on such a Course, Mr. Caruana should also be aware that teaching does not begin and end in the classroom. A lot work has to be carried at home during our ‘free’ time.
i guess..
teachers have the best wages compared to other maltese government workers... mostly when comparing their wage to hours spend in the CLASS ROOM!!
plus that every job comes with it's responsibility i guess..