Schools and security.

It's been no secret that the UK's education is coming under close watch by everybody these days as last week news reached us about a terrible incident in which a teacher was stabbed in a classroom (while teaching). She was taken to hospital but later lost her battle and passed.

The news was awful to here and i don't know one person that wasn't shocked by the news. Since then of course the media has done all the digging it can on violence and threats against teachers as several reports since confirm the police in wales are looking into a possible plot to kill a teacher and today's news that a primary school teacher had a bleach-like substance poured in her drink. What is going on? Is this new?

In short, the answer is no. It's sad to say that incidents of threats and violence against teachers in the UK isn't a rare thing. Granted, union's etc wouldn't agree with me on that, but that's because most of these incidents are not reported and delt with as they should be, with many teachers just excusing the incident as children being silly... but how much "silly" can be tolerated.

With the teacher who lost her life after being stabbed infront of her class, it was apparently no secret that the pupil who carried out the murder, didn't like the teacher. What could have been done to prevent this incident from happening then? Since i went to school, didn't like all my teachers, but not once would i have ever even thought about carrying out such actions.

Metal detectors.

Good - schools staff would be able to stop item's like knives and blades getting into the school.
Bad - it would take too long to scan each pupil and be sure that they were not carrying anything. Airports can scan alot of people at once, school's were never built to have such systems in place, so at entrances and exits, there's just not the room to be putting such systems.

Report every opinion.

Good - schools would be able to moniter certain pupils actions around staff where it was known that a pupil didn't like the staff member.
Bad - It's not possible because not all opinions are vocalised in a school environment and it would also make alot of pupils scared to speak up about their own thoughts and feelings in an environment which is supposed to help pupils with this kind of behaviour.

CCTV.

Good - schools would be able to watch pupils and their actions around members of staff.
Bad - it doesn't stop incidents from happening, just records them when they do.

So, what is the answer?

Well, this is where we all come in, and of course our education department of the government has let the ball slip on this, but, erm, EDUCATE.

Not just in the school environment, i'm on about at home... infact, mostly at home.

Many children these days are brought up not knowing right from wrong. While many parents may be sat reading this at the moment thinking "well, my child is well behaved" ask yourself this.... when was the last time you sat your child down and went through some of the do's and don't's of the real world? Explaining to them that knives harm people and it's not a good idea to stab people?

Don't think it needs saying? It's common sense? Is it? Just because you may take it for granted that stabbing somebody is a bad thing, please don't presume that children know it too. Children learn and they need to be taught what is acceptable behaviour and what isn't.