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UK Teacher’s Plight Raises Questions on Discipline Process
Despite using ‘passive control techniques’ to deal with an unruly student, a British teacher was put through a series of disciplinary hearings for misconduct.
William Stuart, a science teacher from Graham School in Scarborough, England, has been cleared of assault charges against a 15 year-old student, The Telegraph reports. Six months ago, Stuart, who has been teaching for 23 years, was arrested after one of Graham students made an allegation that Stuart pushed her to the floor after she refused his request to clean up the mess she and her friends made in the school cafeteria. Stuart denied pushing the girl, and according to him, it was she who took a swing after he blocked her path several times.
The judges in the case heard both versions of what happened. They also heard how the accuser already had a record of disciplinary problems and had already been suspended once that term. When he testified, Stuart said he had been using commonly accepted passive-control techniques like blocking the girl’s path in order to diffuse the situation while, at the same time, getting the students to follow his directions.
This Thursday, the judges sided fully with Stuart, acquitting him, and adding that the accuser’s prior behavioral issues had a negative impact on her credibility. Although this outcome was expected by Stuart’s supporters, they still questioned why the case got to the judicial stage at all, and why the police chose to pursue it in spite of the fact that an internal investigation of the incident found nothing amiss.
The arrest had a tremendous negative impact on Stuart and his family, the Yorkshire Post reports. He was suspended from his job and barred from school property which prevented him attending his daughter’s music recital.
After the case, Mr Stuart revealed how embarrassment forced him to stay in a caravan each morning to avoid answering questions about why he was not at school.
He said: “I took myself off every morning to stay on a local caravan park to give the impression I was going to work as I didn’t want to set tongues wagging.”
William Stuart is now at the center of a push for legislative reform, called Bill’s Law, that would keep teachers anonymous who have been accused of misconduct by students until they are convicted, an effort now taken up by his lawyer, Nick Turner and Graham Taylor, a best-selling author. Turner said that although the law currently protect the accuser, no such benefit is afforded the accused. As demonstrated by the Stuart case, the social ramifications of even an accusation that’s later proven groundless, can be devastating.
“We had a man with an unblemished career almost destroyed on the whim of a child and her parent with the help of the police. It was a typical 21st century case where it was politically correct to bring it.”
Monday
September 19th, 2011
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Comments
But here we see a man calling for anonymity by someone who is advised by a legal team that engineered the whole press story before, during and after the trial.
It doesn’t wash to see a man calling for anonymity when he is whacking out press releases and negotiating payments with papers and TV for his story.
I know the truth in this story.This man has a record of chasing pupils around school,he should handle situations better,did he know that this girl had not put the food on the wall before he pursued her in a rage?does he know that she is a Christian girl,who wasn t allowed to defend herself in court,but he had his wife giving a character reference.Does he know that the girl very nearly took her own life over this as she feared that she would not be believed,and was extremely ill over all this?Did he know that one hour previous to the incident,she was in a therapy session to help her deal with a horrific incident of her past?NO.Do your readers know that he was so afraid of losing everything that he went to extreme lengths for representation,even though he knows what he did that day.Do people know that since the verdict,a witness has admitted that she changed her statement to suit Stuart?Do people know that another girl came forward who saw the incident through a door,and the story tallied exactly with that of the victim?NO,NO,NO.There is more to this story.He is making out to be the victim,and calling for Bill s law!He has used his position as a long standing teacher to abusethis vunerable child,just because she had incidents of bad behaviour against her name.What,flicking plastercine,playground scuffle?does this not happen everyday?What a complete case of injustice,and the media do not know the true facts,they just want a sensational story to sell the paper!Trust me,this man is a bully,and justice will prevail,and the school are worse for defending him,to avoid scandel.Do people know that this man broke a young lad s phone the very next day after this incident,becase he pushed him so hard?Stuart can get the top barrister inthe WORLD TO BRING SLANDER CHARGE AGAINST ME!!!!!but,he wont win this time,because the truth is written here.YOU HAVE DESTROYED OUR FAMILY,AND LEFT THIS GIRL A WRECK.Never mind getting an MP involved who knows nothing about this,just because you are friends,and also your wife s head of school!You amaze me,the incredible lengths you have gone to,when you knew you had done wrong.How bloody well dare you.I hope you absolutely rot in hell,and oh,please ask for God s forgiveness in all this .You are a LIAR.
Proof?
As a recent former student, I find the slander frankly disgusting. This man has no such record of chasing pupils around the school. Gary Handcock is an EXTREMELY credible head teacher and if you can convince yourself for a second, a man with a reputation like his, would allow a teacher to chase pupils around school and risk ruining his reputation, I question your common sense. As for Bills Law and him throwing his name around in the media, I find no such issue with a man using his publicity to swing a fantastic idea of a law into the public light. It calls only for anonymity until the accused is found guilty, and considering the tactics of media in fragile situations like this and their inability to repair lifes they break, this law will only do well to help bring a better quality of teachers for the young generations into the profession.