Teacher attacks pupil

[corn02]

I see there is going to be a leaflet campaign in support of the teacher.


Teacher questioned over attempted murder of school pupil
Jul 10 2009
A SCIENCE teacher was being quizzed last night on suspicion of attempting to murder one of his pupils in a classroom full of children.
Peter Harvey, 49, allegedly hit 14-year-old Jack Waterhouse in the head with a metal weight from a set of scales.
He is then said to have stood over the youngster and struck him again with the weight as he lay bleeding on the ground.
Harvey is also suspected of assaulting two other pupils during the same incident. Reports claim he was off work with stress earlier this year.
Jack was very seriously ill last night in a specialist head injuries unit with his frantic parents at his bedside.
More than 20 kids were in Harvey's class at All Saints' Roman Catholic School in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, when Jack suffered multiple head injuries at about 11am on Wednesday.
The incident is said to have started when a girl pupil swore at Harvey, saying "F*** off, you bald c***". She is then said to have ripped a textbook.
Unconscious
At the end of the class, Harvey allegedly kicked the girl's bag and said something like: "If you're going to damage school property, school is going to damage your property."
Jack is said to have intervened and sworn at Harvey.
The teacher then allegedly grabbed the weight and hit Jack on the forehead with it, before hitting him again on the ground.
Two other pupils allegedly intervened to restrain Harvey and help was called.
Paramedics found Jack unconscious in a pool of blood in the classroom doorway.
He was taken to hospital in Mansfield, then moved to the head injuries unit at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham as his condition worsened.
There was grave concern for Jack's life on Wednesday night but his condition had improved slightly by yesterday.
The other two kids allegedly assaulted by Harvey, a boy and girl of 14, did not have to go to hospital and were back at school yesterday.
Harvey was being held at a police station last night.
Detectives have until 8.15pm today to charge or release him or ask for more time to question him.
Harvey is a married father of two and both his daughters go to All Saints'.
His wife Samantha was being comforted by a friend yesterday at the family's detached home a mile from the school. The pal said: "I don't think she could cope with saying anything right now. She is very, very upset."
Harvey's pupils knew him affectionately as "The Nutty Professor" because of his eccentric character.
But some kids said they were surprised to see him back at work after his absence with stress.
One pupil said: "He'd been off for the best part of the year. They said the pressure of the job had got to him."
Former pupils at All Saints' said Harvey was good at his job and popular with the kids.
Chris Holmes, 19, said: "He was an all right teacher and a decent guy.
"Most teachers can lose their temper. Obviously, he lost it from time to time but nothing like this happened before."
Another 19-year-old, Tom Blythe, described Harvey as "a bit of a legend" and added: "He would grow a beard and wacky moustaches. He was a real eccentric.
"He was into science and he loved the arts, especially musicals.
"He loved getting involved with drama productions. I never saw him lose his rag. He'd shout at you but he never got physical."
More former pupils left glowing reports about Harvey on the "ratemyteacher" website.
One described him as "one of the best", and another recalled his "great enthusiasm and scientific mind".
A third pupil wrote: "He made science fun."
A team of 12 police officers spoke to youngsters from Harvey's class on Wednesday night. The kids' parents were present during the interviews.
Forensics experts examined the blood-spattered classroom.
Det Supt Adrian Pearson confirmed a weapon was used in the incident and said there were "a number of witnesses".
He added: "Obviously, the whole class is traumatised. The school, the teachers and the parents are absolutely shocked.
"People send their children to this school from great distances because of its academic record."
Mr Pearson added: "It was a full, lively classroom. We have a full picture of what has taken place.
"We have arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder and two counts of assault."
Parents at the school gates yesterday were still struggling to take in what had happened. One dad said: "It's a massive shock."
All Saints' describes itself as a "lively, Catholic comprehensive with a very special, warm ethos".
It opened in 1974 and has around 1100 pupils.
All Saints' got a satisfactory rating in its last inspection last year. Forty-five per cent of pupils got five good GCSEs, including English and maths.

[StGallsGAA]

The teacher was probably on a big come-down from his week-end coke-binge.

They let anyone teach these days.....

[bcarrier]

The incident is said to have started when a girl pupil swore at Harvey, saying "F*** off, you bald c***". She is then said to have ripped a textbook.

It looks like the guy flipped...what would you have done ? What is an appropriate response to  "F*** off, you bald c***" ?

[ludermor]

not be a teacher?

[T Fearon]

I hope none of Shane O'Neill's pupils have urged him to "Fc.k off you b..d c..t!" even if I have done so for the last 7 or 8 years

[corn02]

There are a lot of teachers on here, this could be a long one.

[MadMayo]

Get a good quality wig?? or hair implants!! 

[Minder]

There are a lot of teachers on here, this could be a long one.

I would say any self respecting 14 year old would give a pasting to any of the teachers on here.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

There are a lot of teachers on here, this could be a long one.

I don't think anybody is going to be defending the teacher here. Assuming what's been said said in the article is true, the man just lost it. No matter what the provocation (and I've heard of far far worse provocation), you simply can't react physically. To react in this manner is inexcuseable and indefensible. While the teacher concerned may not be a bad person and the behaviour may be out of character, he clearly deserves to lose his job. The attempted murder charge seems a bit much so assuming the kid ends up ok I'd say he'll end up being convicted of grievous bodily harm.

[corn02]

There are a lot of teachers on here, this could be a long one.

I don't think anybody going to be defending the teacher here.

Underneath the original story there are posts defending him, there will also be a leafletting campaign for him. I can't believe they could like, but there will be peple defending, but, as you say, people should have more sense here.

[thebandit]

The teacher deserves to be sacked. 14 year old probably deserves to be expelled but wont be.

[ludermor]

There are a lot of teachers on here, this could be a long one.

I don't think anybody going to be defending the teacher here.

Underneath the original story there are posts defending him, there will also be a leafletting campaign for him. I can't believe they could like, but there will be peple defending, but, as you say, people should have more sense here.

You have great faith Corn!

[Orior]

The teacher deserves to be sacked. 14 year old probably deserves to be expelled but wont be.

Correct

[ONeill]

If you follow down the route of a teaching career, you know you're going to face situations like that. If you cannot control your emotions under severe provocation, do something else.

I thought I read he was off for a long period before that with stress. You cannot touch a pupil though. You cannot win. If a pupil goes toe-to-toe with you, you know that the most he'll get is expelled which he probably doesn't care about anyway. The teacher will lose his job, reputation, mortgage difficulties, prison etc etc.

Anthony, anyone ever call you a fat bastard in the CU?

[ONeill]

What you can't say Credit Union now? Cu.

Anyway:

Sex Tape Teacher 'To Keep Her Job'

A primary school teacher who accidentally included an x-rated clip of herself in an end of term video for her pupils is likely to keep her job despite the blunder.

Crystal Defanti, from California, gave her class of 10 and 11 year olds the DVD of "classroom memories" featuring school trips and highlights from the school year.

But by selecting one of the menus, "you see kids in a classroom sharing stories. They then start clapping and the video suddenly cuts to sex", local news channel CBS 13 reported.

The clip appears to show 29-year-old Mrs Defanti alone in a highly compromising situation.

Apparently she did not spot the error until after she had distributed the footage to her class.

Parents have leapt to her defence, saying she is a good teacher who made an "honest but embarrassing mistake".

And the local school district has said Mrs Defanti, who is well-liked and respected, is unlikely to lose her job.

She is reported to have called one family's home the day after the DVD was sent and apologised profusely.

She also asked the parents "to call every parent they knew to stop their kids from seeing the DVD too".

"All she could say was that it was a horrible mix up," said one father.