Student when BERSERK at vice principal

[Kezg1]

IT was like any other routine visit by a vice-principal to a class during the Pastoral Care period.

 

 

TNP PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: GAVIN FOO

But one student suddenly went berserk.

 

It happened when the vice-principal, a woman, visited a Secondary 4 Express class at a school in the east on 2 Apr.

 

While she was addressing the class, the student suddenly stood up and threw a file and then a chair in her direction.

 

He also rushed forward as though he wanted to hit her, but was quickly restrained by his classmates.

 

No one was hurt in the incident.

 

A student from the class, who did not want to be named, told The New Paper that the vice-principal was 'scolding' the class about their poor common test results.

 

She asked those who were confident of scoring at least five O levels or of making it to polytechnic to stand up.

 

All except two boys in the class stood up.

 

The student said: 'She then told the form teacher to take down their names and call their parents.'

 

She told the class to sit down and write down their plans for achieving their goals.

 

The form teacher walked over to one of the two boys who did not stand up.

 

She told him to take out a piece of paper and start writing.

 

It was then that the boy suddenly stood up and threw a file and subsequently a chair in the direction of the vice-principal.

 

This account was verified by another student in the class.

 

She said: 'She (the vice-principal) was trying to help us. She said that since it was our final year, she hoped everyone could get into poly.'

 

The New Paper understands that this was the first time the vice-principal visited the class this year.

 

When contacted, the school confirmed that the incident had taken place.

 

However, it did not answer queries on the details of what happened.

 

Principal confirms it

 

In a written response, the school principal said: 'Together with the form teacher, the vice-principal guided the class to take stock of their progress in their studies, and to plan how they would achieve their targets at the upcoming mid-year exams as well as the year-end O-level exams.

 

'During this time, a boy suddenly stood up and threw a file and a chair towards the front of the classroom. His classmates quickly restrained him. The discipline master and school counsellor were also brought in to calm and counsel the boy. No one was hurt in the incident.'

 

We are not naming the school or those involved, to avoid causing further distress to the boy, who is said to be upset about how he had behaved.

 

But what caused him to snap?

 

The New Paper understands that he had some emotional issues which, however, were under control this year.

 

According to the school, the boy has 'some background with handling emotions and has been referred for counselling'.

 

So could it have been the stress of the latest tests? Or the results he had just received? Or the manner in which he was being addressed at that point in time?

 

The student The New Paper spoke to said the boy later 'admitted to others that he didn't know what he was doing at that time'.

 

He added: 'But I don't think you can judge a person's character simply by whether they go to the polytechnic or junior college.'

 

'Boy apologised'

 

The principal said: 'The boy showed remorse and regret for his behaviour, and apologised to the class and the vice-principal. He also told the (form teacher) that he was grateful for the support from the school, his teachers and classmates in helping him move on.'

 

His parents are understood to be working with the school to provide the boy with the necessary care and guidance.

 

They declined to be interviewed by The New Paper.

 

A teacher of the school, who did not want to be named, felt the boy alone was not to blame for the incident.

 

He told The New Paper: 'As teachers, we don't approve of this act. We feel the boy should be punished for it.

 

'But if only the boy is punished, it's unfair. The vice-principal owes the student an apology because she jumped to conclusions.'

 

The boy is receiving counselling at the moment and it is understood that no punishment has been meted out yet.

 

 

 

IS our education in school getting more and more stressful. It seems to me that every other month we hear of

such unpleasent news.

Was the V-principal sarcastic when addressing the students that cause one of them to snap. This reminded me of the

incident in NTU.

[Xefera]

May not be related to the education system. Could well be the character and emotional make up of the students. Doubt this is the only incident, there are many others which may be under wraps, just that it did not manage to leak out to the media.

[Exowraith]

Small issue.

 

School is a place of learning and students can learn from mistakes. If everything get reported our newspapers would be very cluttered.

[Thug]

"Student went BERSERK at vice principal"

[Prodigysaint]

lucky for the vice principal... we dun have guns.. that would have been a point blank shot... haahahah

[Arowana1]

i felt the reporting was poor and bias.

 

firstly, it stated "While she was addressing the class, the student suddenly stood up and threw a file and then a chair in her direction.", which gives the impression the student went berserk for no apparent reason.

 

then, it reported "It was then that the boy suddenly stood up and threw a file and subsequently a chair in the direction of the vice-principal.", which gives clarity to what actually happened and likely trigger...

 

but this part "But what caused him to snap? The New Paper understands that he had some emotional issues which, however, were under control this year." tries to pin the blame squarely on the student.

 

and we all know the truth was not revealed because of this "A teacher of the school, who did not want to be named, felt the boy alone was not to blame for the incident. He told The New Paper: 'As teachers, we don't approve of this act. We feel the boy should be punished for it. 'But if only the boy is punished, it's unfair. The vice-principal owes the student an apology because she jumped to conclusions.'", which implied the v-p did say more than was reported and it probably isn't pleasant as it touches on a person character.

 

my 2 cents worth of analysis or did i miss something in the report??

[Karoon]

and we all know the truth was not revealed because of this "A teacher of the school, who did not want to be named, felt the boy alone was not to blame for the incident. He told The New Paper: 'As teachers, we don't approve of this act. We feel the boy should be punished for it. 'But if only the boy is punished, it's unfair. The vice-principal owes the student an apology because she jumped to conclusions.'", which implied the v-p did say more than was reported and it probably isn't pleasant as it touches on a person character.

 

my 2 cents worth of analysis or did i miss something in the report??

 

no worries. with over 40 adolescent witnesses, just a matter of time before the full details are publicised

 

[Bigg]

he's a troubled young man lah.

[Sabretan]

From Strawberry generation, now it seems the current generation has downgraded to Kiwis...all easily bruised....But the problem with our Education system is the fact that problems do exist in the school management, but then which companies don't have management issues....LOL

[Blackwind]

hahaha i believe the situation will get worse and worse.... from wad i feel teachers are no longer allowed to be as strict as they used to be cos the focus now is more on emotional well being of the kids. so if the kid feels that his or her emotional well being is not well taken care of they will throw "little" tantrums like this now and then hahaha

 

next time we can follow the US....... show porn movies in school to keep them happy and prevent them from getting angry

 

the best part was that the student claims that he didn't know wad he was doing at that point of time...... such a poor thing he is don't yout think

[Kezg1]

i felt the reporting was poor and bias.

 

firstly, it stated "While she was addressing the class, the student suddenly stood up and threw a file and then a chair in her direction.", which gives the impression the student went berserk for no apparent reason.

 

then, it reported "It was then that the boy suddenly stood up and threw a file and subsequently a chair in the direction of the vice-principal.", which gives clarity to what actually happened and likely trigger...

 

but this part "But what caused him to snap? The New Paper understands that he had some emotional issues which, however, were under control this year." tries to pin the blame squarely on the student.

 

and we all know the truth was not revealed because of this "A teacher of the school, who did not want to be named, felt the boy alone was not to blame for the incident. He told The New Paper: 'As teachers, we don't approve of this act. We feel the boy should be punished for it. 'But if only the boy is punished, it's unfair. The vice-principal owes the student an apology because she jumped to conclusions.'", which implied the v-p did say more than was reported and it probably isn't pleasant as it touches on a person character.

 

my 2 cents worth of analysis or did i miss something in the report??

 

 

 

Just like the SAF doctor case.....until the letter was published by wayang party.com...still we would not know what the dialogue between the officer(interviewer) and the doctor at that time .....saddd

[Ahseng]

wah lau, nowadays newspaper no more topic to write on meh? throw file and chair incident also can appear on newspaper?

 

 

[Sunkidz]

hmm ... the boy could actually be suffering from bipolar syndrome.

 

a person with this bipolar thing will not know what happened during the "outbreak" which could come in the form of aggressive behaviour.

 

its like jekyl and hyde.

[Sosaria]

...

The student The New Paper spoke to said the boy later 'admitted to others that he didn't know what he was doing at that time'.

 

He added: 'But I don't think you can judge a person's character simply by whether they go to the polytechnic or junior college.'

 

...

 

A teacher of the school, who did not want to be named, felt the boy alone was not to blame for the incident.

 

He told The New Paper: 'As teachers, we don't approve of this act. We feel the boy should be punished for it.

 

'But if only the boy is punished, it's unfair. The vice-principal owes the student an apology because she jumped to conclusions.'

 

IS our education in school getting more and more stressful. It seems to me that every other month we hear of

such unpleasent news.

Was the V-principal sarcastic when addressing the students that cause one of them to snap. This reminded me of the

incident in NTU.

 

Yup, boy, you can't judge "a person's character simply by whether they go to the polytechnic or junior college." But you can certainly judge it when the person starts throwing file and chair!!

 

Looks like the VP is also unpopular with the teachers there seeing that one teacher made the remarks above, anonymously of course...

 

Overall, I think we should re-introduce caning and corporal punishment in schools... Counselling and soft-touch approach doesn't work. It has failed in western countries where it originated, and it is failing here.

 

Honestly though, if there were only 2 students in the entire class who are CMI... I wouldn't be too upset or worried. These are 'acceptable casualties', in my view.

 

Our education system is stressful?? Foreign scholars actually find it a breeze and can excel here..... this should be food for thought...

 

 

[Toapayohkid]

the kids sure got blogged about it. the juicy details are probably out there for the very free to find it lol

[Carbonfac3d]

Crazy