Madam, - I was genuinely dumbfounded to read Mary Hanafin's "all-encompassing" (in my opinion lenient) approach to the problem of student-teacher conflict and all-round discipline in our schools today (The Irish Times, March 14th).
Physical violence towards teachers is virtually non-existent in my relatively large all-girls school. However, verbal abuse and blatant intimidation of teachers are frequent in particular classes.
I am finding my final year in school difficult enough and the added vexation of having to put up with particular students wreaking havoc during the day is making some classes unbearable. Consequently I feel that "a multi-agency holistic approach" involving various Government departments will not curb the despicable misbehaviour seen in our schools today.
Students who have the audacity to showcase their blatant disregard for a teacher's status in a classroom can hardly be expected to possess any level of respect for anyone else in authority, be they school principals, boards of management or ministers for education. The unacceptable actions and attitudes of particular students today should be dealt with by the highest powers that be.
Perhaps a garda or some other strong figure of authority would be able to communicate with those who make others' work and school lives unendurable? Probably not. - Yours, etc,
REBECCA MEEHAN,
Arklow,
Co Wicklow.
Madam - When the problem of seriously disruptive pupils began to emerge some years ago I offered an inexpensive "outside the box" solution. For some reason it wasn't even discussed publicly.
My idea was that schools with this problem should install CCTV cameras in the relevant classrooms. This would rule out parent/school disputes about the nature and extent of disruptiveness. Penalties and curative measures - including sin-bins - could then be tailored justly. Much more importantly, the deterrent effect would tend to reduce if not eliminate disruptiveness completely.
Cameras would not automatically make learners out of disruptive pupils because they don't want to be in school or cannot learn. But they would discourage from disrupting the teaching and the learning of others.
Maybe the time is now ripe to experiment with - or at least discuss publicly - this solution. Cameras would be needed in sin-bin rooms anyway, because of their special potential for disruption of a most injurious sort. - Yours, etc,
JOE FOYLE,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.