Concerns rise over misbehaving teens
By Na Jeong-ju
A 14-year-old boy assaulted a female teacher in front of other students at a middle school in Busan on Monday after being scolded by her for being noisy during class.
Swearing at her, the boy threw a chair and then punched her in the face and chest. Other students couldn’t stop him because the incident happened very quickly. The teacher is now receiving medical attention.
Two days later in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, a 54-year-old man was attacked by four teens while trying to stop them from assaulting their peers on a playground in an elementary school.
The man, surnamed Lee, told them not to fight, but was immediately jumped on by the teens. When police officers arrived at the scene after receiving a report, Lee was lying bleeding on the ground. He was taken to a nearby hospital for immediate surgery to deal with a brain hemorrhage. He is now in a coma, police said.
Police apprehended two of the four teens involved in the assault _ the two were high school dropouts.
Such attacks by teenagers against teachers and adults are not unprecedented, however, their frequency is increasing rapidly, analysts say.
“A growing number of teachers are challenged by misbehaving students in classrooms, but education offices are only paying attention to improving students’ rights,” said Kim Dong-seok from the Korean Federation of Teachers Associations.
According to the group, the number of reported cases in which students or parents used violence against teachers has surged 1.5 times from 179 cases in 2006 to 260 cases in 2011. However, the number may be much higher, as schools tend to cover up many cases to protect their public image.
Recently, a female teacher and a female student engaged in a brawl in front of other teachers and students at a middle school in Gwangju. The scuffle began while the teacher was reprimanding the girl for using a mobile phone and acting rudely in class.
The teacher was struck first and was soon overwhelmed by the student; the fight continued until other teachers stepped in to intervene.
“It is becoming difficult for teachers to deal with unruly students,” Kim said. “The cases reported by the media are only extreme ones. Cursing at teachers and obstructing class routinely happens at school.”
Some conservative groups claim the relationship between teachers and students is changing since corporal punishment was banned. They have urged education offices to scrap the ban and take measures to protect teachers’ rights.
Misbehaving teenagers often become social deviants.
In July, a 39 year-old man died after being assaulted by a teenager in front of his six-year-old son in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. The man was assaulted after reprimanding the teenager for spitting on the street. He hit his head on the asphalt road while engaging in a scuffle with the teenager. He was immediately transferred to the hospital, but died six days later.