Teacher Smacking

[John Mallinson]

Just to remind BiancaNero, and anyone who wishes to respond to her request, of our guideline which can be found here under the heading Contacting members for research. The relevant text is -

 

…should you wish to post here, be aware that to take account of concerns about exploitation, particularly of children, we will remove postings unless it is made clear that it is over-18s who are being canvassed.

 

Under-18s should seek parental permission.

[Dance*is*life]

I can't believe that after all that you were the one to be accused of misconduct by the Principal!  Thank goodness you got your daughter out of there and that she's happy!  There is absolutely no reason or excuse for smacking a pupil - I find it horrifying that a teacher would do that. 

[annaliesey]

Dance*is*life it was horrifying for me but she brushed it off almost immediately. It's amazing how resilient our kids can be.

 

She's been affected more by the negative remarks over the years (being called thick/stupid) than anything else and that is still taking a lot of effort on our part with support of some lovely teachers.

 

One of her new teachers has helped by explaining that it's easy to teach someone good/talented/clever/hardworking/compliant (to the point of being scared) and much harder to teach a big school of average/normal students. She pointed out that if the teachers at the old school favouritised a select few and ruled by fear then they weren't very good teachers as they were not getting great results from the whole school and majority of students. She talked it through and just said think about it they are there to teach. Dd could relate to them only teaching the ones easy to teach and this conversation seemed to be a turning point for her quite quickly afterwards. I only mention it in case other people are going through a similar thing.

 

I think it's so hard when you watch your children just completely trust and give 100% only for there to be some very wicked people out there.

[Canary]

Shocking. I am shocked and saddened by what I have read on this thread.

[Nicola H]

I can't believe that after all that you were the one to be accused of misconduct by the Principal!  Thank goodness you got your daughter out of there and that she's happy!  There is absolutely no reason or excuse for smacking a pupil - I find it horrifying that a teacher would do that. 

The principal in question is  a bully  unequivocably  - the meeting  and  the way in which she defamed theconcerned parent  reinforce that.

 

The behaviours are a safeguarding issue   i am surprised that social services dismissed it so lightly, an allegation of  that nature  from staff to service user in a  CQC regulated care setting would  launch the full three ringed  circus.

 

Hands on corrections shouldn't be an issue -   the problems there are  based on hyperbole and   stories  from friends of firends etc 

[annaliesey]

Thanks mph and yes she is a bully. So many things over the years. Completely old school when it comes to safeguarding despite allegedly keeping up to date with CPD, she had this major attitude problem of "the real world of dance". I honestly ended up almost believing her with certain things disguised as "tough love" when most of it was laziness, disorganisation, favouritism and old fashioned views on her part.

 

As for social services they honestly didn't even care enough to ask me for any proper information. They just made one quick phone call to her and believed her, despite another complaint alongside mine.

 

I just hope people realise from reading this thread

 

1. Don't assume a professional body membership on its own grants safety in terms of safeguarding

 

2. Look out for warning signs of closed doors and no windows to see through discretely and no cameras/cctv

 

3. Look out for mood swings of own children and other children

 

4. Reassure your dance children that there are always other options if something doesn't feel right.

 

Thank you everyone who has contributed to this thread

[Flora]

Goodness I would be hopping mad if this was done to my DD. Smacking to leave anything like an enduring mark or pain is not just assault but actual bodily harm. If the mark is transient or trifling it is assault. Both are in any event a criminal offence. Totally disgraceful.

[Nicola H]

Goodness I would be hopping mad if this was done to my DD. Smacking to leave anything like an enduring mark or pain is not just assault but actual bodily harm. If the mark is transient or trifling it is assault. Both are in any event a criminal offence. Totally disgraceful.

 

exactly , although  interestingly there is  hypocrsiy in case law of enforcement of this - as  apparently  within the context of organised Sports one can consent to assaults but  you can't in other settings  see the 'Spanner ' case  ( point of order  here i've not linked  resources on that case as it  discusses 'adult content' ) 

[Flora]

Yes true- rugby results in quite serious injuries sometimes. I gather there is a sort of internal system of enforcement managed by the RFU under the "laws of the game".  

[annaliesey]

Just popping back to this thread to say thank you to BianaNero for the article that has appeared in Feb's RAD Gazette. It represented us well and protected our identity for fear of further backlash in our community whilst getting key points across. 

 

My daughter was very pleased to read this and we have bought a copy for her to put on her bookcase and feel that she has done something to make a difference.

 

Even though the complaint was dismissed by Social Services she does feel that after reading the article that RAD teachers will consider their touching policies where smacking, grooming and emotional and physical abuse are the end result. 

 

It also highlights the benefits of balletco forum as members supporting each other with difficult questions and scenarios to talk with others about.

 

I just wish the article was made available online to a wider audience so that parents and dancers who are not members or who don't get the magazine could also enjoy the article and talk amongst their dance colleagues about it more. 

 

There is an email address at the end of the article that says "What are your rules around touch? Have you ever felt uncomfortable in the studio? Let us know at gazette@rad.org.uk so perhaps it would be good on the back of this thread for dancers and teachers or parents to email the RAD. 

 

Edited February 10, 2017 by annaliesey

[drdance]

It was an interesting article to read, however I was slightly concerned by the way that the topic of physical abuse was in the same article as "whether it is ok to touch as part of teaching". I think that it is ok to use appropriate touch as a teacher and am fairly hands on, especially with younger students (I am more wary of intruding on teenagers' personal space). But in no way do I condone abusive teaching, either physical or emotional. The two things are very different and I don't understand how one can ever be misconstrued as the other. The implication that teachers could ever hit students as part of 'normal' teaching is astounding. 

[Nicola H]

DrDance exactly... it is not behaviour that should be tolerate in the teaching of YP at all. What grown ups do to each other with full understanding of risk , awareness and consent is a different matter but it still shouldn't feature in normal teachin...

[taxi4ballet]

It was an interesting article to read, however I was slightly concerned by the way that the topic of physical abuse was in the same article as "whether it is ok to touch as part of teaching". I think that it is ok to use appropriate touch as a teacher and am fairly hands on, especially with younger students (I am more wary of intruding on teenagers' personal space). But in no way do I condone abusive teaching, either physical or emotional. The two things are very different and I don't understand how one can ever be misconstrued as the other. The implication that teachers could ever hit students as part of 'normal' teaching is astounding. 

I agree, after reading the article yesterday I was left with much the same impression. 

[Bluebird22]

Just wanted to share something that was discussed in a class I taught yesterday.

 

The students were age 7-10. I had partnered them up to work on steps at the barre, we had talked altogether about what we should be looking for, what would need correcting what was important etc and off they went in their pairs as I walked round giving help where it was needed. In hindsight I probably should have told them more about how to correct, instead I just told them that they had to be constructive and help their partner,

At the end of the class we sat down to discuss what we had understood from the lesson and what was good/bad about having a partner. One little girl said her partner kept speaking to her but because she was so focused on getting it right she couldnt concentrate on what she was being told so her partner touched the bit that needed correction. She said that really helped. Another child said they really liked that their partner held their hips so they could feel the position they should be in. Someone else said that their partner kept giving them a nudge when they started leaning towards the barre, which was the only reminder they needed to stand upright.

 

The general consensus was that touch helped them far more than being verbally given instructions.

Sometimes I think adults spend far too much time deciding what is the best way of teaching kids and what teachers should and shouldn't do. Kids are great they just tell you exactly what works for THEIR learning , hands on correction obviously works best for that particular group. Obviously common sense should be employed and no teacher should be physically or mentally harming their students but aside from that there is only really what works best for the class you have in front of you!

[Nicola H]

Contact in  teaching has  been made an issue thanks to  over zealous  interpretation of  policies aobut unwated  contact ,  it;s not just been schools  and youth stuff that has had this,   in the modern ' fluffy' military world of  recruit  training ...  you'll often hear  " stand still i'm going to touch you "   in a variety of settings, whether that;s an inspection , on the drill square or in a teaching -  to forewarn the  student that they are going to get a physical correction .  

Touch can be very useful in teaching a physical  skill  as if you can 'set' the position or posture  correctly  it's  far   more striaght forward to reach that point   even compared to working with big mirrors etc.

The point about the ease of teaching those who display  talent  is  a valid one -  an accusation often laid towards PE teachers in schools  as well , then there is the  fact  that in other subjects in school , becasue the rules require  study of the subject higher than as -level  teaching those who don;t 'click' with the subject at KS3 or GCSE  can be a challenger for some teachers ... 

 

Hopefully in teaching dance there  shouldn't be the issue of  teaching the unwilling to be there  learner  like there can be in school or workplace training.

 

Edited February 15, 2017 by mph

[Pups_mum]

Without doubt it's easier to teach those who want to learn, whether we are talking adults or children, school, workplace or hobbies/interests. But I think there are those who have a talent for learning, not necessarily just a talent for the subject being taught. (though the two do often go hand in hand I suppose.) I think there are some very talented people who are probably nightmares for their teachers/coaches!

Neither my dancing daughter nor my sporty son have the most natural talent in the world (though obviously they must have some as they are doing ok) but they have both regularly received praise for how easy to coach they are, how readily they accept and pick up corrections etc. They both have or have had peers that without doubt have a lot more natural talent, but who lack something, be it application, the ability to self critique or to accept external criticism, or something else that stands in the way of them perhaps reaching their full potential.

In my own field of work I have over the years taught some phenomenally bright young adults who have been extremely difficult to get through to for various reasons.

Sorry....going off the topic, and I don't smack even my most frustrating junior staff I promise...but I just wanted to challenge the concept that those displaying the most talent are necessarily always the easiest, or indeed most rewarding, students to teach.

[Bluebird22]

Pups_mum I absolutely agree with you! Sometimes the most talented kids, are too used to being told how fantastic they are that anything given to help them better themselves be it correction or just a different way of doing something is ignored as they think they are beyond it!