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MSP takes on teacher's appeal over assault conviction



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Published Date: 14 January 2009
By KURT BAYER
AN MSP has taken up the case of a schoolteacher found guilty of assaulting two pupils who subjected him to "extreme abuse".
Mike Barile, a maths teacher whose house has been targeted by teenage vandals, was convicted in December of assaulting two disruptive pupils in his classroom.

Barile, an associate director of Dundee United Football Club, is appealing the decision
and has received a wave of support since the court case.

A petition in support of the teacher is being circulated in response to public reaction at a rally in Dundee City Square on Saturday.

About 250 people attended the rally to highlight concerns about Barile's conviction and the wider issues of pupil indiscipline in schools.

Now, the Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick has confirmed he has taken up the case of Barile, who remains suspended from his post at St Paul's academy in Dundee, that was known as Lawside when the assaults took place last year.

Mr FitzPatrick, who met Barile last week, had previously declined to comment on the case due to constituent confidentiality.

However, the Dundee teacher has now given Mr FitzPatrick permission to reveal that he has taken up his case.

Mr FitzPatrick has also arranged a meeting with Fiona Hyslop, the education secretary, to discuss the wider issue of classroom indiscipline raised by the case.

He said: "We need to make sure we have mechanisms in place to support our teachers. There is increasing concern that this may not be the case in Dundee."





The full article contains 257 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 13 January 2009 10:22 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Tracker,

14/01/2009 00:24:38
A teacher who assaults pupils and who threatens to throw a pupil through a blackboard is not fit to teach. I am surprised that the sheriff did not send him on an anger management course.
2

Malc Dow,

14/01/2009 02:09:21
Tracker; quite agree. Wrong person wrong 'job'.
3

Malc Dow,

14/01/2009 02:10:53
Mr FitzPatrick said: "We need to make sure we have mechanisms in place to support our teachers..."

What about supporting the kids?
4

Anne,

Eaglesham 14/01/2009 08:11:30
What about zero tolerance for abuse of teachers?
It's about time these little barrack-room lawyers ("You can't touch me!" "I'll get you sacked!")were cut right down to size.
This case has given out all the wrong signals to the
disruptive elements in our schools.
It's about time the majority of pupils had their well-being considered above the so-called rights of a fwew young thugs.
5

Vincent-W,

14/01/2009 08:20:40
There is not a single shred of evidence that Mike Barile is a poor teacher. No-one has ever criticised his subject knowledge or his ability to teach mathematics to students. In fact many of his former pupils hold his teaching ability in high regard.

The only issue of any relevance here is Mr Barile's treatment by disorderly and criminal pupils and poor and vacillating management.

Here's some quotes from the Courier (4/7/7)

> The situation involving Mr Barile, which started with an allegation of assault on him by a pupil, ended up in a dispute with management and the teacher’s subsequent suspension. The pupil involved was later cautioned by police.

> then an allegation of assault by Mr Barile on a pupil was made. After investigations took place the procurator fiscal at Cupar made it clear that were to be no criminal proceedings against Mr Barile in the matter.

> The unresolved grievance relating to the former rector cites a lack of discipline, threat of malicious complaints faced by teachers, and a failure to support staff on discipline issues. Last year (2006) it was claimed in a report from education inspectors that tensions among some senior staff undermined their ability to work together and inspire staff confidence. It was even said that the majority of staff had “lost confidence” in the ability of senior promoted staff to work together.


Given such a situation, unscrupulous and nasty kids have targetted Mike Barile and hounded him from school to school. The latest allegations against him (proven in court) were the result of extreme harassment and antagonism against him, his disabled wife and his property. (Two children have been arrested as a result).

Unless the children who have criminally pursued and libelled this teacher are brought to account and disciplined then there will be a carte blanche for copy cat bullying.

Idiotic apologists like Malc Dow and Tracker will also be partly responsible for the consequences of not coming down h
6

Vincent-W,

14/01/2009 08:37:16
Idiotic apologists like Malc Dow and Tracker will also be partly responsible for the consequences of not coming down hard on these despicable bullies.

Tracker - you say Barile should have anger management - how would you feel if your disabled spouse shouted at and abused in the street? Anger management? You total muppet!

Malc Dow - How about protecting the majority of kids in Bariles classes who have had their education disrupted by badly behaved pupils? You are a disgraceful drivelling dolt!
7

Vincent-W,

14/01/2009 08:51:16
From todays Courier:-

According to the principal teacher at one of Fife’s largest secondary schools, any physical contact, however minor, can be construed by some pupils as assault and grounds for police charges, a situation many teachers have faced.

The teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Via social education, the pupils are taught to recognise their rights and responsibilities, but with some the responsibility part is conveniently forgotten.

“Also ignored are the rights of other people apart from themselves.”

He emphasised that teachers should be made more aware of their rights, as well as their responsibilities, through contractual law and the Health and Safety at Work Act.

He said, “A local council, as an employer, has a statutory duty to provide a ‘safe and healthy working environment,’ and failure to do so can lead to prosecution.

“Imagine if a group of teenagers went into the Bank of Scotland every day for three months and verbally abused staff.

“It wouldn’t happen because the police would be called after the first incident.

“In schools, the same pupils abuse the same staff on a regular basis without any real fear of sanctions.

“Staff need to be proactive in standing up for their own rights, involving senior management and union officials if a serious situation is clearly not being resolved.

“If a violent or abusive incident occurs, it must be recorded on a Violence at Work form, and the local authority must respond to this within a short space of time to the satisfaction of all parties concerned.

“Under new and recent guidelines, if such a situation is not resolved… then a request can be made to carry out a risk assessment on the pupil.

“If the situation continues, then the staff who may come into contact with that pupil are legally entitled to refuse to teach him or her.”

He said that often the problem is that some teachers are perceived to be soft.

“They have a sense of duty, they are reluctant to ‘
8

Vincent-W,

14/01/2009 08:51:47
“They have a sense of duty, they are reluctant to ‘rock the boat,’ to admit defeat, to get others involved,” he said.

“The opposite should be the case. Each education authority should have a policy of regular in-service training to educate teachers.

“Remember—a violent pupil always has witnesses on their side. The victim almost never has.”

9

john birkett,

St Andrews 14/01/2009 12:00:25
#1,2 & 3 : just grow up, for pity's sake.
10

Goodbye labour,

sunny moray 14/01/2009 17:15:59
'Malc Dow' and 'Tracker' - clearly you two have no regard for the place of teachers in our society. Yes pupils need rights. But 'support' Mr Dow? The kind of support that allows them to terrorise one member of staff, verbally abuse his family, throw bricks through his windows, slash his car tyres, and glue his locks?

Pay attetion in class next time. Ya bams.
11

Poetess50,

14/01/2009 19:58:29
#1, #2, #3 - what about parents who SHOULD be teaching their kids to have respect for authority, such as teachers? And I say this as a former teacher!

 

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