Always On My Toes

I'm on duty again this week. Since it is approaching the end of the school term, I am especially wary about discipline in school.

Last week, there was an incident whereby 2 girls fought, resulting in one of them being injured. The following day, a boy fell off the table and dislocated his arm.

To me, those incidents foreshadow the many other unexpected things that can happen if we are not watchful. This week, I caution my team of teachers to be especially vigilant. They are to make their rounds during recess. As the last bell goes off, some male teachers are deployed to the school gate just in case. I also make sure that the timetable committee arranges for every sit-in so that there are no classes unsupervised.

I am extra cautious these 2 days, as there is no principal in school. The Senior Assistant is having a meeting at the Education Office. And the Discipline Teacher is having a course. And so the whole weight of the school falls upon my shoulders. It is a very heavy responsibility indeed.

This morning, an investigation into a truancy case led to something bigger and nastier. A boy was accused of a serious offense. The hot-tempered boy got angry, and stormed out of the counselling room, shouting vulgarities, kicking and stamping at whatever is in sight.

A few male teachers tried to restrain him, but he fought back. Other students were crowding the corridor, watching with interest. It took the Senior Assistant to coax the boy to cool down. His guardian was contacted immediately and the boy was brought home.

This case requires a deeper investigation by the Discipline Teacher. But, the rest of us teachers feel that the boy has been wrongly accused.

In the meantime, there is only so much I can do to ensure that the school runs in an orderly manner this week. I can only keep my fingers crossed so that there are no more untoward incidents that occur till the school officially closes on 20 November 2009.