Communication Studies Internal Assessment

Communication Studies
Internal Assessment

An investigation into violence directed at teachers in schools

General Introduction

Violence directed at teachers in schools is a very current issue and has acquired the attention of many individuals in the Caribbean and the world. It is interesting to note that such an issue would shock our foreparents because they would find it appalling that such brutal acts are taking place. Most incidents of this manner are instigated by students but in the expository piece, it is shown where this common perception is reversed. The writer’s purpose in selecting this theme is to get a complete understanding of the violence taking place in schools against teachers.
As a future teacher, this writer is concerned about whether or not this issue will be curbed. Some teachers even stay away from attending school because they fear for their lives. Personally, this theme drew some interest because a violent incident had taken place at the the writer’s high school and this prompted her to do this investigation.
The writer centered the reflective piece on the theme and not only gives an insight into the theme; it also provides readers with the different sides to violence in schools against teachers, the causes and consequent effects.

Violent Attacks
Published: Sunday | June 12, 2011
Between February 2010 and May 2011, the education ministry received 11 reports of students violently attacking teachers. The reports came in the form of critical incidents reports, a mechanism designed by the ministry to capture data on serious occurrences in schools.
Region One, comprising Kingston and St Andrew, and Region Two, which includes St Thomas, St Mary, and Portland, had the most recorded violent attacks against teachers. Both regions had four each. The ministry has six regions, which cover Jamaica's 14 parishes.
Last month, three students of Seaforth High School in St Thomas, who are accused of repeatedly stomping on a teacher, were taken into police custody pending further investigation.
At that time, the St Thomas police said another student, who is believed to have participated in the attack, was being sought. The male teacher, who was attacked, ironically, on Teachers' Day, was treated at hospital and released.
Investigation
Superintendent Mervin McNab, head of the St Thomas police, said the three 16-year-old boys could face assault charges when the investigation is completed.
The superintendent said information gathered so far indicates that the teacher asked a number of students to assist in returning some chairs that were used for a Teachers' Day ceremony at the school.
"Some of them refused and were running away, so the teacher went out to block their path and they pushed him to the ground and proceeded to beat up on him and kick him," McNab told The Gleaner in the aftermath of the violent incident.
In April 2009, a dean of discipline at the Ascot High School in St Catherine was reportedly attacked and stabbed by a 15-year-old male student who had been barred from classes.
According to media reports, the dean was stabbed in the neck after the grade-10 student stormed into his office with "an extremely long knife" before inflicting the wound and escaping.

Tim, TTUTA official clash on school compound
Published: Saturday, February 23, 2013

Education Minister Tim Gopeesingh and T&T Unified Teachers Association’s second vice president Orville Carrington clashed yesterday while on tour of the Cunupia Secondary School. The heated argument began as the minister was about to leave the compound when he was confronted by Carrington. Carrington objected to Gopeesingh’s blaming of teachers for the school’s indiscipline and high absenteeism of teachers. Goopeesingh said teachers were taking too much time off and that he intended to report the matter to the Teaching Service Commission. He promised he would meet with TTUTA for further talks. But Carrington said: “Gopeesingh’s accusation was inappropriate because teachers have been staying away from school because of violent students.” He said teachers feel threatened and some students have been victims of crime on the compound by students. Carrington said some parents have resorted to bringing charges against students in the court and there was a lack of proper management of the students relating to discipline and crime on the compound. In a release yesterday TTUTA condemned what it describes as a display of arrogance by the Education Minister towards the teachers of Cunupia Secondary School. TTUTA said the minister chose to ignore that each of the students concerned has had numerous suspensions from the school and the ministry of education has not provided any avenue or made any interventions to effect behaviour changes in these students. The ministry, TTUTA said has not sought any adequate dialogue with stakeholders to bring about a solution. TTUTA said the minister “exploded in a tirade of insults, abuse and threats directed at the teachers over the school’s public address system, which was heard by neighbouring households, much to the shock and dismay of teachers and students.” The union is reminding the minister that teachers who stay away from the school for safety reasons are protected by law and they will not be bullied into putting their lives at risk. “TTUTA will repel any attempt to take action against any of these teachers,” the union said.

Preface

This reflective piece was penned to illustrate violence in schools against teachers. This story incorporates two points-of-view: the teacher’s perspective and the student’s viewpoint. Normally, individuals see from only one angle in the violent acts focused on teachers. However, this story allows the reader to distinguish both sides of the story.

This story can be perused by individuals who believe they are strong enough to read violent stories. By examining this story, readers can draw their own conclusions and possibly think of ways to lessen or even stop the cases of violence in schools concentrating on teachers. I chose to use a short story instead of other ways of expression because I believe it is a more effective tool in conveying the key points of a work of fiction and I presume that my audience can relate better to a short story.

I wrote this piece because I was motivated by the current slew of events surrounding violence in schools directed at teachers. As human beings, we deal with problematic situations differently. In this piece, it must be noted how the characters deal with the challenging circumstances they find themselves in.

Reflection
“I hate teacher yuh see!” bellowed Shannae, flinging her school bag on the ground.
“Weh yuh seh gyal?” her mother Claire questioned.
“Mummy, every teacher I have just love pick on mi suh,” Shannae vented.
“Try gah school go learn and stop watch teacha,” Claire responded.
“Watch, mi av a plan fi dem teacher deh, especially Mrs. Tabern. Just watch me,” she mumbled.
“Weh yuh seh pickney?” Claire asked.
“Nothing Mummy,” she replied, her mind already consumed with devious plans. Mrs. Tabern glanced at the clock. He was late. She knew why. She saw the signs. The late hours he came home, the rumours on the street, the decrease in attention he paid to her, the betraying scent of another woman’s perfume... She shook her head, in an attempt to remove the disquieting thoughts about her husband. She glanced at the clock again. Her eyes dropped to a stack of ninth grade test papers.

“I will mark these papers until Orville comes,” she sighed.

She skipped through the papers until she came to her least favourite student: Shannae Lucas. She was her best English student but she detested her. Shannae made snide remarks to her and disrespect her subtly. It gave Mrs. Tabern twisted pleasure to mark at least one thing wrong on her paper. She heard the car outside. She quickly put away the papers and sat on the bed.

“Lisa I’m home,” Orville ground out between his teeth.
“Orville can we talk?” Lisa pleaded.
“I’m tired, we can talk tomorrow,” He snapped, climbing in the bed.
“Please, it’s important and you say that every night,” she begged.
“Maybe if you had worked in a bank like me or had a proper job, you wouldn’t have time to be waiting up for me. I am a grown man, I can do what I want,” he retorted, laying still.
Lisa stared at him.
She felt displeasure and irritation. Turning to the test papers, she proceeded to mark up Shannae’s paper. “Good morning girls, today we will be looking at descriptive writing,” Mrs. Tabern announced.
“Good morning girls, today we will be looking at descriptive writing,” mocked some of the girls, laughing raucously.
Mrs. Tabern stiffened.
“Oh so you believe I am a joke? Miss Lucas, come to the front of the class,” Mrs. Tabern ordered, her body rigid.
“Miss I have done something wrong?” Shannae demanded.
“Pickney doh mek mi cross in dis classroom! Yuh tink I don’t see yuh laughing at mi? Yuh gwine suffer fi yuh fren dem,” shrieked Mrs. Tabern.
She retrieved a belt from her handbag. Her face gleamed with rage. She slowly rolled it into a coil around her hand. Shannae froze in shock. She felt the leather stinging her. She was so embarrassed. The class roared with laughter.
Mrs. Tabern sank into her chair, satisfied. “Why do teachers always pick on me!” she shouted, crying. She ran from the classroom. She was so humiliated. The hatred welled in her. All her life, she had been mistreated and stepped on by people. She strode into the Home Economics room and removed a knife. Long and sleek, she massaged the knife adoringly. She waited until dusk to strike because Mrs. Tabern was always the last teacher to leave school. She heard Mrs. Tabern packing her bags. She then proceeded to the bathroom.

“You have a pathetic life, you should be thanking me for this,” whispered Shannae menacingly. Taking a deep breath, she plunged the knife in the darkness. A piercing scream echoed in the room. The sound fuelled Shannae. With each forceful thrust, she grunted. She stopped and exhaled. For a few moments she felt a momentous release. All the pent-up anger and hatred flooded from her body. She looked at what lay in front of her. She felt no remorse, the drops of blood hypnotic.

“You are the Lamb for all the teachers who teased and taunted me all these years,” Shannae whispered, solemnly placing the blood-soaked knife on the corpse.

As she stepped outside, she felt cleansed. Mrs. Tabern died for all the teachers’ sins. She bowed her head and in her heart, she forgave them. She walked to the front of the school. The soft hum of a blue car broke into her thoughts. A slow smile crept over her face. A slim silhouette slipped out of the driver seat and leaned against the car.

“How do you feel?” he asked, taking her stained hands in his.
“I feel overjoyed,” she replied, tenderness glazing her eyes.
He touched her face, his palm cold on her cheek.
“She’s gone. We can finally be together,” Shannae whispered, her tone coloured with happiness.
Orville Tabern looked down at her, amused by her naivety.

Language Analysis
The way individuals use language reflect our inner feelings toward it, whether it is consciously done or not. The context of a situation influences the language choice. If the situation is formal, it would be expected that the choice of language would Standard English, as this is seen as formal.
In the reflection, Shannae used Mesolect when communicating with her mother because of her anger and also because her mother also spoke in this casual tone. Mrs. Tabern’s language also changed from Acrolect to Mesolect when she was addressing Shannae. This shows that Creole in this reflection is mostly used when a character is angry. Mrs Tabern and her husband spoke Standard English to each other, which would lead the reader to believe that they are of a higher class of society, since Standard English is associated with individuals who are high up on the social ladder.
Mrs. Tabern marks up Shannae’s paper when her husband insults her when she wished for his attention. This was done frequently and it could be seen that this was done in retaliation to her husband’s obvious disregard towards her. This behaviour communicates to the reader that she takes her anger out on Shannae and this is also seen when she flogged her for something she did not do. Claire’s response to Shannae’s recurring problem with teachers gave the impression that she did not care about it, which explains Shannae’s decision to deal with Mrs Tabern on her own. Mr. Tabern’s behaviour toward his wife displayed his annoyance of her. By grinding his teeth and insulting her, it would be made known to the reader that they were having marital difficulties. Mrs Tabern’s action in shaking her head when she was worrying about her husband conveyed to the readers that she suspected that her husband was cheating on her but she did not want to believe it.
Language usage in this reflection allows the writer to be concise yet allows the writer to give concealed information. It also reveals the characters’ emotions.