Parents force school to replace teacher

By Kim Se-jeong

A controversy is brewing over a decision by an elementary school to replace a teacher at the request of parents only two weeks after the semester began.

The parents say their demand was legitimate because the teacher was “unprofessional” and hurt their children emotionally.

However, the school’s other teachers are worried that the parents’ excessive intervention in school affairs has infringed on their rights. The school is located in Gyeonggi Province, but its name was withheld.

According to the parents, the 53-year-old female teacher, who was responsible for 28 third-grade students, scolded one student earlier this month for using tissues that were on her desk in the classroom. The boy’s nose was bleeding. The boy complained to his mother and news of the incident was spread among parents.

On another occasion, the teacher harshly punished a student who came back to the classroom late after a break. The student’s mother said his son was hurt by her humiliating words in front of his peers.

The teacher once reprimanded a student with a broken right arm for his careless handwriting in 2013. The boy was right-handed and wrote with his left hand. Her teaching methods were also at issue. Last year, students complained she only played videos in her science class instead of interacting with students.

On March 9, the parents lodged their complaints to the teacher and received an apology from her.

Still infuriated, the parents filed a complaint to the regional educational office, demanding the teacher be replaced.

Finally, the elementary school replaced her with a new teacher. “There was a degree of exaggeration on what I have said and done to students. But, I humbly accept the school’s decision,” she was quoted as saying by the school. The teacher is known to be on a sick leave currently. The school said it has not decided what to do with her when she returns.

Teachers expressed their concerns after the incident. “Meeting demands from parents and students is important, but what is equally important are the rights of teachers,” a teacher said.