Teacher arrested for attempted murder

[Bottomofthebarrel]

This week a teacher at my DD’s secondary school was arrested for attempted murder. He stabbed a woman in the head and neck in broad daylight, and I believe he was only unsuccessful in killing her because other people intervened. She is in a critical condition in hospital, so he could be looking at a murder charge. This has all been in the news, including the BBC.

This man was teaching my own child until very recently. She was given an after school detention by him for being very slightly late to his lesson, and the detention was just him and her sat in a room. That sends shivers down my spine now. I can’t get the whole thing out of my head.

This must be so disturbing for all the kids at the school. I feel that the school are potentially going to struggle more with behaviour control from now on - this man was employed as one of their role models so I can’t help but feel they’ve lost the moral high ground. Not to mention the effect on those who are in their exam years and are now minus a subject teacher.

How the fuck does someone like that become a teacher? I must say in the last 9 years since my DC started secondary, I’ve come across a few - all of them male - teachers who have got my back up and seem to be definite ‘power tripping know it all’ types, and not particularly bright to boot. There’s another male teacher in another local school who was in the news, having to pay £200,000 damages to his neighbour after a childish bullying campaign which went on for years.

Is this the best we can do? I get teaching isn’t the most attractive profession, but it actually terrifies me that these people are supposed to be guiding and leading our children, sometimes on a one to one basis. My worry is that with the current shortage of teachers, and desperation to fill vacancies, the standards are going to sink even lower.

This isn’t a general teacher bashing thread, there are many truly wonderful ones out there, and I know it’s an incredibly difficult job. Just feeling very shaken by what has happened this week. My DD really didn’t like this man and I assumed it was her being a stroppy teen, now I feel awful for not taking her seriously.

I really liked teachers until I came on to MN, now I am just disgusted a lot of the time

I have a teaching family & friend base, MNs is not representative.

I am a 100% sure there would have been red flags before he did this.

I get that this is ‘disturbing’, that children at the school will have had their expectations of adults rocked. But as far as the news reports go, this appears to have been confined to a preexisting relationship. He may or may not have had MH issues, but he is clearly felt not a risk to the people and children in his workplace or the community at large because he would now be in on remand.

My husband was interviewed by the police a few years ago when a colleague he had sat next to at work for 3 years did not arrive. The guy had met our kids at corporate events, they’d gone on work dos together. He was a finance professional and highly educated.

Turned out that he had been arrested for offences relating to paedophilia and having in excess of 3000 child sex abuse images on his home and work computer. He had chosen to jump in front of a tube rather than appear in court, hence not arriving at work. All his staff peers were investigated, computers (home and work) scanned to ensure no connection. My DH was not the same after that. He removed all screensavers and family photos from his workspace and never discusses our kids in the office at all because he realised that at any point had we let our kids go to the loo unsupervised at work events, they would have been vulnerable as he was a risk to them.

I feel my DH’s reaction seems fair - this guy was a direct risk to our children. But the OP’s reaction seems disproportionate.

Nobody has excused what he did.

Ive never liked schools or teachers.

if my mum was alive she would give you a wooden spoon.

You don't know whether attempted murder is worse than people opining on MN??

I think the judicial system could help you with that one.

What??? So your kids deserve to be protected from a peado teacher but ops dd can sit in a class on her own with a murderer. Wow.

Op is disproportionately reacting but your precious dh isn’t. Okay.

but he is clearly felt not a risk to the people and children in his workplace or the community at large because he would now be in on remand.

Probably more to do with overcrowding!

Well I guess it could be argued that it shows the kids that actions have consequences. That if you lose your temper and hurt someone you can end up in prisons for potentially a long time, lose your job, wreck your life.

*You don't know whether attempted murder is worse than people opining on MN??

I think the judicial system could help you with that one.*

😭😭😭

If he is sent to prison as seems likely, this WILL be a good example for the pupils. Do wrong, lose your career and freedom.

A teacher I know was sent to prison for very callous fraud. As it happens the pupils didn't find out.

The OP is unreasonable to blame the school and believe they have lost the moral high ground. She is not unreasonable to be shocked and upset.

No, sorry, but it’s not okay to blame his colleagues or the school. They will be affected much more than the OP right now, imagine the state that they’re in, and you think it’s okay to be publicly blaming them? This isn’t the right stage for any sort of questions. OP needs to let the police and the school do their job. Once more is understood, should there be an issue then an inquiry can be launched. But right now is not the appropriate time for grisly comments and attempts to shift the blame in this situation.

I feel my DH’s reaction seems fair - this guy was a direct risk to our children. But the OP’s reaction seems disproportionate.

@BusyMummy001 but he was a finance professional so wouldn’t have been alone with your dc very often so I’m not sure how that’s proportionate but being taught by a attempted murderer isn’t?

I think most teenagers are sensible enough to know that trying to stab someone to death isn’t how most adults behave, whether a teacher or not.

Yabvu.

One person has a nervous breakdown or whatever has happened, and you want to tar an entire profession ?

The whole school, teachers & pupils will be shocked, stunned, most of the children will be awed into silence or need reassurance FROM THE TEACHERS.

Then life will get back to normal. As it always does.

I wish the poor woman a rapid recovery.

You're in luck then because soon there won't be anyone willing to do the job.

I don't think the kids will find it as big a deal as the OP is suggesting. The what's ifs are irrelevant as it wasn't like he was a serial killer, it was domestic violence by the sounds of it. Its normal to feel shocked but honestly the kids are more likely to be loving the drama. We had our GCSE maths teacher arrested at school, he went go prison for abusing young boys. No one felt traumatised because TBH teens don't really understand the wider impact of these crimes.

For those saying there is no impact on their GCSEs, we didn't have a replacement teacher, we were top set maths and were just left with the odd supply or the teacher next door popping in with the odd practice paper. I would hope things are different now.

One of my DCs subject teachers has been suspended for a serious incident and he was probably the best teacher he had, the subject involves a lot of practical/coursework so the teacher input is vital and the replacement is dreadful so the kids are likely to be getting a couple of grades lower which is so disappointing. Mentally they aren't particularly affected by the fact their teacher was arrested though.

No, sorry, but it’s not okay to blame his colleagues or the school. They will be affected much more than the OP right now, imagine the state that they’re in, and you think it’s okay to be publicly blaming them? This isn’t the right stage for any sort of questions. OP needs to let the police and the school do their job. Once more is understood, should there be an issue then an inquiry can be launched. But right now is not the appropriate time for grisly comments and attempts to shift the blame in this situation.

As I said I think it’s completely normal for parents to have questions in these circumstances, why do you think it isn’t?

The reaction, the number of disturbing posts from teachers that have minimised is far more dangerous than just one demented teacher, yes. It suggests a culture of bullying, minimising and covering up. A culture of not accepting the vast responsibilities that come with the job. It’s far more worrying to me than one single incident, yes.

Quite ironic, no? A few MN posts saying YABU are more worrying than 'one single incident' where a woman was attacked?

@Bottomofthebarrel
I really don't know how you expected to school to have predicted this behaviour.
I've unfortunately known a victim of domestic homicide. I also knew the perpetrator well and didn't predict it, so I'm not sure his employer would have been in a position to do so.

This!
Probably absolutely no threat to his pupils. All teachers are vetted here in Scotland that includes police checks through the PGV check. Not sure what's it's called in England.