ANPE warns that the work of teachers is becoming “unbearable” and asks to lower the ratios and improve attention to diversity in the classrooms
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Attacks on teachers in the Canary Islands increased by 11% in the 2022/23 school year to a total of 157 and are already close to 2,000 since 2008, according to data collected in the Report of the Teachers’ Ombudsman prepared by the ANPE union.
The details have been presented at a press conference by the president, Pedro Crespo, the coordinator of the service, Domingo Rodríguez, and the vice president of the union, Víctor Rodríguez, who have demanded that this service be provided directly by the Ministry of Education to provide legal advice. and psychological treatment to the affected teachers quickly.
Most of the cases occur in Secondary Education with a total of 86 (71%), mainly in the first and second years of ESO, to which are added another 27 in Vocational Training, while in Primary there have been 36 and in Children’s seven – here all linked to the parents -.
In total, 115 attacks correspond to students and 42 to parents or family members, and 17 of them are physical, which continues the upward trend of recent years, while 69 threats and 57 disrespect have also been documented.
Likewise, in up to 80 cases the attacks have prevented teachers from teaching normally and in 117 there have been health problems such as anxiety, stress or depression, to the point that up to 30 long-term absences have been recorded.
Crespo has pointed out that these are “specific” but “very serious” cases, and has said that they are “quite concerned” about the lack of support from families and the “insufficient” drop in ratios, which prevents the “diversity” from being well attended to. “what’s in the classrooms.
Along these lines, he has recognized the efforts of the last Legislature to reduce the number of students but maintains that we must continue working until reaching around 30.
Domingo Rodríguez has also warned of the increase in complaints and “unfounded accusations” towards teachers and regretted that there is not “good dialogue or coordination” between families and teachers, who suffer “quite painful” cases, giving as an example a grandmother who attacked physically to a teacher.
He has pointed out that on many occasions it becomes “unbearable to teach”, even more so when there are “overcrowded centers”, such as those in the southern areas of the capital islands, which represents a “ticking time bomb”, especially because there is no “accompaniment”. ” in diversity and there are always three or four students “who are left behind” and begin to engage in violent behavior that makes coexistence in the classroom difficult.
STUDENTS “ABANDONED” BY THEIR PARENTS
Likewise, he has linked the high number of cases in Secondary to the fact that many students are “abandoned” by their parents “in the squares of the islands”, unlike the interest they show when the children are young. “It’s a shame,” she commented.
Víctor González has pointed out that the “complexity” of society has been transferred to the classrooms and there are attacks in both rural and urban centers or in depressed areas and with higher economic income, which is why he has called for a multi-year plan to reduce the ratios given that there is
“direct relationship” between conflict in the classroom and mental health of teachers.
For this reason, they have also demanded that anxiety, stress or depression be a “professional illness” if they are associated with the teaching function and that the care protocol be “faster and more efficient”, and with a direct telephone number from the Ministry to facilitate legal and adequate assistance.
