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.

Right but they aren’t teaching the OP‘s DD.

Yep, I get that, but they could just as easily hire her for a job one day, or be her taxi driver, or her regular waiter or the man who serves drinks at her local. People like this are everywhere.

Yes, it's more shocking when it happens to you but at the end of the day, if someone has passed a background check and has no criminal record, you can't just say "oh, but you might commit murder in twenty years so it's a no from us".

Yep, I have done thanks 👍

What additional checks should be done?

Some of the responses here! Must have been a mental health issue? Nothing to see, just another man trying to kill a woman in his life? The obligatory reminder that sometimes women murder too?

Not surprising you feel shaken OP IMO.

Yep, I have done thanks

Well that’s worrying but good luck in life!

OP I sincerely hope you haven’t said any of this ridiculous notion of her being alone with him in the classroom to her? Of course he wouldn’t have been likely to harm her. The best this you can do for your daughter is calm down, let the school deal with it and reassure any of her fears. You know nothing about what happened, the most likely outcome will be this was a horrific ‘crime of passion’ that has nothing to do with his profession whatsoever. The gossip and drama you’ve displayed in this thread do not help the school or the students and they, along with the woman and her family, will be needing serious support at this time.

remain calm, deal with the facts, support your daughter if she needs it, do NOT make dramatic notions about her being alone with him, simply tell her it would never have happened to her as that’s clearly not his MO, and let the police and the school do their jobs

That is horrifying. You are completely reasonable to be very upset and disturbed.

I was going to write this on the music teacher thread but it had already reached a natural conclusion, or rather was going around in circles from posters who hadn’t read the conclusion!

I do think there is a screening gap around teachers who are let go while they are working on a temporary contract, especially if they are paid on a supply basis. With behaviour that is a grey area - not sufficient proof to report to the disciplinary body, whatever the GTC is called these days - they may often simply not be asked back but no further action taken. The supply agency might be told that they weren’t a good fit and it all goes unreported.

Would be interested to know if those working in schools agree that this phenomenon exists or not.

I hate the ‘broad daylight’ thing. It has clear “this is shocking because women are allowed to be out in daylight but women shouldn’t be out at night because they’re putting themselves at risk asking for it” vibes. Ugh.

Fucking hell

Don’t you think that someone who tries to murder someone else will have some sort of mental health condition??? I mean, it’s not exactly normal behaviour is it?
Violence is a male pattern behaviour.Murder is committed by substantially more men than women.

There's a difference between male offending patterns and female offending patterns.

It's dodgy ground to start speculating that an awful act of violence must be due to poor mental health when the general public don't have the information to make that assessments.

Are you normally such a blunt instrument? JFC.

Yep, I get that, but they could just as easily hire her for a job one day, or be her taxi driver, or her regular waiter or the man who serves drinks at her local. People like this are everywhere.

If you have regular contact with someone who turns out to be an attempted murderer it’s normal to be a bit unsettled regardless if you were an intended victim of not.

There's nothing for the OP to get over, nothing has happened to her or her child. She's making it all about her. And as for the suggestion of a counsellor in another post, words fail me!

At least there is no punching matches between pupil and teacher like in the 60s and 70s.

There's nothing for the OP to get over, nothing has happened to her or her child. She's making it all about her.

😆

In terms of vetting procedures, it's hard if someone hasn't actually done anything. This bloke could have equally come across as Mr wonderful in work but been an absolute shit behind closed doors. Unless anything was ever reported, no one would have known.

I've worked in schools over the years where at least twice, we've had the announcement that one of our colleagues has been arrested for paedophilia. No previous. Shocked me both times because I didn't see it coming. Shocked me because I always thought I'd know; have a vibe or something. But genuinely, until the news, they wouldn't have been top of my list of blokes who feel off.

Why are you condemning the school for his act of violence, @Bottomofthebarrel? They didn't put the knife in his hand. Clearly what he's accused of doing is despicable but nor does that mean all male teachers are the same! My male OH is a teacher and parents like you make me sick, so quick to judge just because of one incredibly rare incident. It's no wonder so few men go into teaching. Plus, way to go to make it all about you! "It's the school's fault, the teachers have lost control, the kids won't behave now, won't anyone think of my precious child."

A woman has been murdered, FGS. Stop picking over the circumstances of her death like it's an episode of EastEnders and pretending this isn't a teacher bashing thread when it clearly is.

Edited to add: You've also made it sound like it happened on school grounds in full view of the children when it happened elsewhere. Quite an important fact, no?

I think it’s normal to be shocked when someone in your community commits a heinous crime, but it drives me nuts when people make loose connections and decide it could have been them. It’s dramatic, self centered, can cause anxiety and is so disrespectful to those who’ve been involved. Imagine being that person who was the victim and hearing others bang on about how it could have been them. Like people who say they’re going to hug their x relative tighter to someone’s who has died.

I think before you want to question the intellectual and moral calibre of teachers it could be wise to consider that moral deficits have never occurred in direct proportion to intellect, earning or education.

Some parents can be prone to hysteria and lack skills of critical analysis but I suppose it’s not the most attractive job. I could clutch my pearls and worry that standards might skink even lower.

🙄

You are not making sense.
Teachers like every other person could and some do commit crimes.
This has no link whatsoever to the school or any other teacher disciplining kids for poor behaviour in class.
I am sorry OP but your feelings seem to me to be a mixture of surprise and ghoulish delight.

I think the ‘broad daylight’ turn of phase is a linguistic remnant from the nineteenth century era before gas street-lighting became prevalent. Crime was far, far higher at night, especially in big cities.

But obviously we should all be safe at any time of day- it’s the perpetrator causing the crime, not the degree of lighting.

I can understand your distress. A lot of it will be of the “ what if” type.
DBS checks only uncover convictions, possibly cautions ( I’m not up to date)
Interview questions are more about what a teacher knows, how they manage a class — all theoretical. A presentation is just that , a presentation lesson well practiced.

There’s nothing you could have done to anticipate this.
Your dd didn’t like the teacher, we’ve all met teachers we didn’t like, also bus drivers, shopkeepers, police officers etc…

I think it’d help you to talk it all through , over and over if necessary, with someone you trust. Same for your dd.

A woman has been murdered, FGS. Stop picking over the circumstances of her death like it's an episode of EastEnders and pretending this isn't a teacher bashing thread when it clearly is.

She fortunately wasn’t murdered but don’t let the facts stop you from claiming the moral
high ground.