|
|
Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
|
More males should be
recruited into primary school teaching, despite warnings from a former John Timothy Edgar, 38,
warned men yesterday against entering the profession, as most allegations of
sexual misconduct "seem to focus on men". Dr Edgar suggested one
solution might be for men to team-teach, meaning they were not left alone in
a classroom and so had a legal safeguard. But New Zealand
Educational Institute president Liz Patara said she
was a "100 per cent supporter" of recruiting more male teachers and
that the issues needed to be kept in perspective. "All teachers --
not just men -- are vulnerable to allegations of misconduct, particularly
when dealing with younger students," Ms Patara
said. "Primary teachers
in particular, because of their nurturing and caring role, have to be very
careful about their behaviour with students to ensure that their actions are
not misconstrued." Ms Patara
said the NZEI had in 1993 developed a code of practice for physical contact
with students. Among other things, the
code recommended that teachers, for their own protection and as much as
common sense allowed, should avoid physical contact and being alone with
students. "Men should not
feel discouraged from becoming teachers --misconduct allegations remain a
rare occurrence," she said. Tai Tokerau
Principals Association president Geoff Skudder said
male teachers had to be careful that anything they did was not misconstrued,
Mr Skudder said. With an increasing
number of solo parent homes in the community, sometimes children wanted
reassurance and would seek out someone to give them a hug. Mr Skudder
said he believed men played an important role in primary teaching and was
concerned Dr Edgar's comments would discourage them from entering the
profession. He said male teachers
were scarce enough as it was, with some schools having none. Yet for some
children, male teachers were the only men in their lives. Dr Edgar's comments had
come at a time when interest among young men in teaching appeared to be
increasing, as pay rates went up and some other occupations became harder to
enter, he said. -------------------- CAPTION: |
