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.

How was they meant to know that he was a going to be a murderer OP? Stop being ridiculous

This is one of the most ridiculous posts I’ve ever seen on here.

Or attempted murderer should I say

Good post.

OP, YABU for linking all the other teachers in the school to this one. All murderers belong to some group - taxi drivers, lorry drivers, nurses or unemployed - not everyone in that group is guilty. This man's teacher colleagues will be thinking of the times spent with him and shuddering themselves. It should have no impact on discipline in the school.

OP, the answer to the lippy kid is that what Mr Jones did doesn’t excuse bad behaviour. I’m afraid you’re beginning to sound like ‘that parent’.

Your compassion is worryingly low.

I don't know many children who genuinely see their teachers as role models - especially one they're in secondary school.

Teachers are just people like anyone else - they come in, do a job and go home again. Despite what the adverts say, the majority of them don't see teaching as a calling or as something they do to inspire a generation - it's just a job.

I totally get that, as a parent, something like this happening at your child's' school is shocking but honestly, I suspect the kids won't be anywhere near as bothered as you think. It'll mainly serve as a great piece of gossip and drama if my school days are anything to go by.

We had a few teachers leave in dodgy circumstances and all it did was fuel rumours and gossip. Nobody was genuinely upset about it.

How dare you worry about your own child being in a class with a murderer. Of course that is FINE. You are being that parent.

Fucking hell these threads are horrendous, and these weirdos are caring for actual children !!

As a teen at school most of us were aware of rumours (true or not) of teachers drug and alcohol issues or illicit relationships. It think teens tend to see it as interesting gossip and we were not shocked or offended by any of it. I appreciate an attempted murder is the extreme end of this example. However please don’t assume your daughter’s friends will therefore now distrust all their teachers or think this behaviour represents the values of the school. They will know that people are complex and seemingly ordinary people do extreme things which have no logical explanations.

You are not unreasonable to feel how you do and be disturbed.

If any of our children had been alone in a room with an attempted murderer we would feel the same. I'm sure.

It's normal to have these anxious feelings at first. But as others have said I'm sure the school will be fine. He could have come from any work place.

If everyone at school knows they should probably find a way to talk about it woth the kids as some may be shook up too.

Detentions are suitable on own as long as doors to classrooms are open. Tbh, I tend to group mine together on one day a week, more for ease than anything else.

Look at the Uber instances - women stopped using Uber when those allegations came to light.

This teacher will not be the only one who is violent towards women, it doesn’t mean it’s all teachers but of course that’s acceptable to say yet “it’s not all men” really isnt. We know it’s not all teachers, but their are huge issues with vetting as has now been talked about through inquiries for years

Teachers are supposed to be safe people. They are supposed to be rock solid - caring and stable people in children’s lives. Now suddenly they are the same as lorry drivers on here. And then in the same breath demand total respect and special status.

This has absolutely mystified me as well.

I’m afraid you’re beginning to sound like ‘that parent’.

Jesus wept

And school can come back with the fact that Mr Whoever is going to be punished for his acts.

No, they haven't lost the "moral high ground" - unless you think they knew he was planning to stab someone and did nothing about it.

I find your comment about some (always male) teachers getting your back up quite unsettling. You don't have to be friends with any of these people and if you have genuine concerns about them and how they treat children perhaps you should email school. But not if they just get your back up!

Absolutely this!

I worked with a lifeguard who was imprisoned for kidnap, murder, torture and many more stuff that was behind a media blackout it was so awful.

Should lifeguards loose the moral high ground and should people be allowed to take risks in water because of it?

There are damaged people who commit heinous crimes in every walk of life.

I work in schools and IME there is often a certain type of man who works in teaching. They usually climb the ranks pretty quickly. They take on the role of leader even when they have no official leadership role. They are overly authoritarian and have an arrogance in the way they deal with those they perceive as beneath them (everyone other than SLT).
I have met many wonderful male TAs and some great teachers but there is a definite theme. We need to make teaching an attractive job to more men because the role models for young boys are not great at the moment.

Teachers demanding total respect and “special status” isn’t something I see anywhere except MN.

I have friends and clients who are teachers and they’re just normal people like anyone else. Some are lovely, some not so much. The same as every other profession in the world, really.

I have more sympathy for the victim and her family than you and your moral high ground to be honest. What a weird post.

Eh?

Unless they are called into an assembly and told that Mr X was a hero, and encouraged to follow in his footsteps this makes no sense.

It's a good opportunity for the school to address all sorts of things.

I worked in a prison that was only for sex offenders and it was shocking how many of them had professional jobs and were supposed to be trustworthy people.

It’s always horrible when you hear of violence or SA but it’s always worse when it’s a teacher/police officer etc.

Yes they are human too but there are certain professions who you’re meant to feel safe around and hearing these stories always makes me feel so vulnerable and worried for my own DD.

There are damaged people who commit heinous crimes in every walk of life.
This is what it comes down to.

Male pattern violence will affect men in all lines of work, some possibly more than others. Most violent men don't walk around with a badge on identifying that they're violent either. So often when awful cases happen there's people saying they're surprised, he seemed like a nice man, didn't see it coming etc. Other times the man had a track record of violence, misogyny, domestic abuse, controlling behaviour and other red flags.

This case is undoubtedly going to shake some people up in the school community.

There are doctors and nurses out there who have done the same thing!
But as we all know, it's a tiny minority.