[ad_1]
An early childhood teacher was censured for assaulting her daughter after hearing that she had been with a boy who had put marks ‘of a sexual nature’ around her neck.
The Teacher Disciplinary Tribunal found that his behavior amounted to misconduct and was far below the conduct expected of a practicing teacher.
The teacher’s name has been permanently deleted, as has any detail that could identify her or her children.
In March 2019, the teacher had an argument with her 12-year-old daughter in the suburbs of Wellington.
“During the discussion, the defendant pushed her daughter in the face and scratched her on the chest and neck area,” the court heard.
“As a result of the incident, the defendant’s daughter suffered an injury under her right eye and scratches and redness in the shoulder and chest area.”
The teacher put her daughter in her car and drove her home, where the frightened teenager ran inside and hid until police arrived.
An early childhood teacher at the time admitted to officers that she had “lost the plot” during the discussion.
The woman pleaded guilty to one count of assault on a person in a family relationship and was released without conviction.
She told the council that on the day of the assault her sister had texted her to tell her that the 12-year-old had been “having sex with a boy and that she had ‘placed marks that were sexual in nature around his neck. ‘”.
The teacher felt sad that her daughter had not told her about the situation and was concerned that her daughter was sexually active with the boy, she said.
She felt “a sense of emotion washed over her” before the assault, the court heard.
While the incident did not happen while the woman was teaching, the vice president of the court, Jo Hughson, agreed that the woman’s behavior was unacceptable as a teacher and indicated a lack of judgment and self-control on her part.
“However, the Court is convinced that the conduct was a unique and sudden loss of composure by a frustrated father towards his pre-adolescent daughter, in circumstances in which the defendant was concerned about the sexual behavior of her daughter in the 12 years “Hughson wrote in a recent decision.
“It appears to have arisen out of the interviewee’s overwhelming concern for her daughter’s safety, rather than with the intention of causing her harm.”
Hughson found that ultimately, women’s behavior did not negatively reflect a woman’s aptitude to be a teacher, nor did it discredit the teaching profession.
For her behavior, the teacher was censored – to express the Tribunal’s disapproval of her conduct, with the conditions recorded in the Teacher Register.
The court heard that the teacher had expressed remorse and knowledge of her behavior and had cooperated during the criminal proceedings, pleading guilty to the charge at an early stage.
She told the court that the ordeal had “changed her point of view on parenting and establishing clear lines of communication between her and her daughter” and the two had participated in a positive restorative justice conference, where she apologized for his actions.
The teacher had also completed a 16-week family violence program, had been open about the criminal charge with her employer, and had voluntarily agreed to participate in tutoring and provide updates to the Teaching Council.
