Salerno, violence in the classroom and outside teachers left alone: ​​disciplinary sanctions increase

Defiant attitudes, arguments between classmates, excesses. And disciplinary sanctions are pouring in. While the notes in the register are no longer counted. This is what emerges from the reports arriving from school teachers who have unfortunately become the unfortunate protagonists of verbal clashes with pupils. TO Salerno, during the school year that is drawing to a close, more than 58 disciplinary sanctions have been imposed on students in recent months. As always, teachers are in the spotlight, often becoming the weak link in the chain. «The children seem to have lost their education»: the outburst of some teachers. The listening desks have returned to carrying out their activities since October in almost all schools. Many principals have equipped themselves with school psychologists to “intercept” latent psychological distress in many students. And the principals are recording the trend of increasing cases of disciplinary violations of children which go hand in hand with an increase in the need for students to listen. One thing is certain. It hasn’t been an easy few months in schools. The daily news speaks of a dramatic increase in aggression and verbal clashes between teachers and students. Many cases that have now become commonplace. From the case of the teacher who was rudely sent to a high school in the capital. To the student who threw her backpack in the face of her support teacher. And there is the case of an elementary school teacher who was injured in the hand by her student with a pencil. And then there are also the fines imposed for the use of cigarettes and smoking in the bathroom, around ten cases recorded in schools.

THE CASES

But what is worrying are the many cases of teachers targeted by aggressive, quarrelsome and oppositional parents. Confirming the failure too many times of that pact of co-responsibility which should represent the cornerstone for healthy teacher-family collaboration within schools. Many warning signs reported by teachers, too often left alone. «We are witnessing a worrying increase in episodes of violence and verbal aggression against teachers, especially in secondary schools – reports Susy Parrillo, territorial representative of Uil Salerno school – What evidently struggles to be recovered is respect for the school and its staff: teachers in the exercise of their functions are public officials. Attacking a teacher means offending the school and not recognizing its correct social value. There are now many teachers who in many work contexts feel demotivated and often frustrated. It is therefore essential to guarantee them maximum protection, being very careful to talk about school superficially, treating it with the respect it deserves also through greater consideration of the staff who work there. Addressing the problem of safety in schools requires an open and constructive dialogue that goes beyond sanctions, addressing the real educational and social challenges affecting students.”

THE NUMBERS

In the capital, from an analysis of the school registers, it is clear that from January to today alone, 21 extraordinary class councils have been convened to discuss disciplinary measures against students. Sanctions which in most cases have been imposed. And it is often the teachers who pay the costs, the weak link in the chain. In the Salerno area, in fact, the number of teachers unfit for service is increasing. In the last year, 88 Salerno teachers were classified as unfit for classroom service. From 2018 to today, the number of people requesting medical examinations due to manifest physical difficulty in going to class has doubled. The fragilities of teachers who will not be able to return to the classroom have worsened.

Added to this figure is that of retirements: as far as we know, in addition to ordinary retirements (587) based on old age criteria, in the province of Salerno 187 teachers and professors have applied for early retirement. An escape from school and the teacher’s desk, therefore.

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