A handbook on teacher safety, launched on Friday, mentions that one of the signs of a bullying culture is the school community gathering to watch fights and harassment.
This is what happened at Mbilwi Secondary School in Limpopo last Monday, when pupils cheered on the youngster who allegedly assaulted and bullied grade 10’s Lufuno Mavhunga.
A video of the incident that went viral showed a defenceless Mavhunga repeatedly being slapped in the face. Hours later, she committed suicide.
Compiled by the South African Council for Educators (Sace), the manual, “Teachers’ Safety and Security in South African Schools: A Handbook”, states that bullying usually continues until an educator stops it.
“Some children are bullied repeatedly. When one person starts bullying, others join in. People who bully are popular or hold leadership positions.”
Tips offered to help teachers to address bullying include “supporting learners to feel strong and proud of who they are without needing to feel superior to anyone else”.
This means using accurate and respectful language to describe others, enabling empathetic interaction with one another and finding comfort and joy in diversity, it says.
The handbook urges teachers “to foster learners’ ability to identify bias, recognise injustice and be empathetic to the hurt discrimination causes”.
“Give learners the skills and ability to stand up for themselves and others when confronted with bias and prejudice.”
It outlines a scenario where a parent complains of a pupil throwing his son’s cellphone into the toilet.
The parent wants the other pupil expelled, saying: “He’s a disgusting homosexual and should not be allowed in school with normal children.” The pupil, in turn, says the other boy and his friends have been bullying him since they saw him holding hands with another boy.
The handbook states that the class teacher should not have ignored the initial signs of bullying and should “have nipped those in the bud” as soon as he became aware of what was going on.
“He could have had private discussions with both boys and should also have had a discussion with the entire class about diversity, respect and human rights.”
The handbook also states that while one of a teacher’s most important roles is to provide a safe place that is conducive to learning, “educators themselves are facing dangerous and uncomfortable situations both inside and outside the classroom and school”.
“If you are a victimised educator, you cannot carry out your work to the best of your ability.”
According to the document, international research has shown that teachers who experience violence or harassment are absent from school more often.
“Educators often hesitate to report violence they experience to the school administration, as they fear that disclosing violence could have negative effects on their career or they feel shame about not being able to control a violent situation.”
The handbook urges teachers to adopt a positive attitude and not allow their prejudices to interfere with the way in which they build trust and cooperation in the classroom.
“Training about discipline could also include awareness of how traumatic experiences and neglectful or abusive home lives can affect children’s behaviour and learning.”
It’s a good reminder to teachers of the things they ought to know.
— Basil Manuel, executive director of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa)
Some of the suggestions given to teachers include:
• Identify problems early on and use effective approaches to defuse issues;
• Do regular audits of your classroom to assess where potential violence may take place;
• Attempt to constantly improve your classroom management style;
• Incorporate human rights values and beliefs into curriculum-based activities and use these as talking points for reducing violence among pupils; and
• Make a visible effort to address bullying and violence in the school generally, as well as in your classroom.
The handbook urges teachers to do risk assessment and identify hotspots in the classroom.
Ella Mokgalane, CEO of Sace, said the handbook aims to provide teachers with access to their rights and responsibilities concerning violence in schools.
“It also provides further guidance on how educators should protect themselves in violent situations they may confront in the school environment. The handbook assists educators to know what action to take to decrease the risk of violence against every member of the school community.”
Basil Manuel, executive director of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa), congratulated Sace for addressing issues around teacher safety “in a common reference document”.
“It’s a good reminder to teachers of the things they ought to know.”
He said schools should work on the problem of bullying all the time.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.