June 25, 2007
Dramatic Rise in School Violence
in German Capital
Berlin
Violence at schools in immigrant-dominated districts of Berlin has
soared in recent months, with the opposition Christian Democratic
Union (CDU) party accusing the city government of turning a blind
eye to the violence at the city's educational facilities.
The violence reached a peak recently when two masked youths burst
into a classroom at the Dag Hammerskjoeld School in the city's
Tempelhof district to attack a 58-year-old woman teacher, who was
discussing the great late Indian leader Mahatma Ghandi's political
philosophy of "non-violence" at the time.
One beat the terrified teacher on the head and body with a steel
rod, while the other tried to make off with her handbag. Pupils
intervened, driving the intruders from the classroom.
Later it transpired that a girl in the class, who had learned she
was to be kept down a class, had urged the youths to carry out the
attack.
In another act of violence, a 54-year-old male teacher at the
Roentgen Secondary School in the city's Neukoelln district was
beaten up by a 17-year-old Serbian-born youth who surfaced at the
school, demanding to see his ex-girlfriend.
Ordered to leave the premises, the youngster went berserk, punching
and kicking the teacher to the ground in the schoolyard, before
fleeing.
Three other bouts of school violence have occurred in Berlin in the
past few days.
A 10-year-old boy of Palestinian descent called Abdul was set upon
by a group of older pupils at the Kurt Tucholsky School. Singled out
for "mobbing" by older pupils on previous occasions according to
witnesses, he was slapped and kicked as he lay on the ground while
an 11-year-old boy filmed the events on a mobile phone camera,
intending to show it on the Internet.
Two years ago a puerile "game" dubbed "Happy Slapping," which became
popular in some English schools, spread to Germany. This involved
older pupils grabbing a younger child for so-called "slapping"
sessions - with the scenes captured in mobile camera phone
sequences.
Reports of "mobbing" of teachers and pupils by students became
widespread as a result, with bullying sequences appearing on the
Internet. In one film extract in England, a pupil was seen to
approach a teacher from the rear, to yank down his trousers.
In subsequent sequences in England and Germany, teachers were made
to look ridiculous by the antics of out-of-control students.
In another recent incident, a 19-year-old pupil at the Mildred
Harnack Comprehensive School in Berlin-Lichtenberg, threatened a
teacher who had repeatedly ordered him to put away his mobile phone
by screaming, "you will be dead by this evening!"
Even Berlin's renowned Humboldt University has not escaped violence.
A 34-year-old former student recently assaulted a 40-year-old woman
professor and Harvard graduate, thrusting her to the ground and
spitting in her face. He'd allegedly harboured a two-year grudge
against the lecturer for her "low" assessment of his doctoral
thesis.
In March last year the city's Ruetli School, dominated by Arab and
Turkish youths in the tough Neukoelln district, made international
headlines when a teacher published a letter claiming conditions at
the school had become so bad that it should be closed down.
School psychologists were called in "help" problem pupils,
especially Arab male students, some of whom refused to respect the
authority of women teachers. Today, the Ruetli School no longer
makes negative headlines, with pupils evidently happy in the "new"
environment.
"Surprising progress has been made here," claims a member of the
school staff. Berlin's education senator, Juergen Zoellner does not
see a serious situation developing but concedes violence prevention
programmes at city schools will have to be expanded.
CDU politicians, on the other hand, claim he is not doing enough to
stem school violence. Whereas, in the year 2001 to 2002, there were
250 cases of school-related violence, the figure leapt to 1,500 in
2005 to 2006, they say.
City prosecutors confirm they have files on 342 youths, aged between
14 and 20, who have been involved in recent criminal activity. In
ten cases, serious crimes were committed, such as robbery or causing
serious bodily harm. Of those apprehended, 144 remain in youth
custody.
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