On Sky News today (6 February 2010) another step was announced in the demise of our educational system. Teachers need to be trained in dealing with violence! Why? Because there is violence in schools and they do not know how to handle it! I want to bet a crate of decent whisky that if this gets implemented the number of teachers of sick with violence induced injuries will sky rocket. Teachers are what it says on the packet: TEACHERS. To expect of a teacher to be trained in physical restraint techniques, in strategies to deal with violently out of control children and adolescents is WRONG. Today I am restraining one of the little angels and unhindered by any code of restraint the little blighter kicks me where it really hurts and tomorrow I have to grade his assignments….Teachers need to teach and they need to do this in an atmosphere without fear. Children need to learn and need to be able to do so in an atmosphere without fear. Schools with violence problems need to think again. It may be necessary to acknowledge there is a violence problem and introduce ‘school police’, staff especially employed and trained to deal with violent situations.
As a teacher to be able to call on physical reinforcements by people trained and perhaps equipped to deal with violence is a much better solution. following this doomed path to train teachers in dealing with violence will lead to other silly initiatives:

• all citizens need to be trained in hostage negotiation techniques in case of a home invasion;
• all dogs need to be trained as sniffer dogs to deal with the growing drug problem;
• we all should get a black belt in karate so we can deal with violent offenders.
  Well today was another day towards an ever madder world!