“They can be quite aggressive”: School teachers ‘commonly’ abused by parents

The president of the Victorian Principals Association says abuse of teachers has become unfortunately all too common, with some teachers forced to go to Victoria Police to intervene.

Ann Marie Kliman, president of Victorian Principals Association, told Tom Elliott she was physically assault by the male parent of a student.

“Unfortunately abuse of teachers is common, we know parents want the best for children but so do schools,” Ann Marie said.

“They can be quite aggressive, quite abusive.

“I personally have been physically assaulted by a parent.

“I was pushed around by a parent who wasn’t happy, it did go to the police.

“In the case I had, the parent was under the influence of something and wanted to see his child during to school hours and just wouldn’t accept that he did not have permission to be on the school premises.”

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“It’s quite often, well I’m not the teacher, you’re the teacher,” she said.

“We know that the most formative learning years are between zero and three so they are the first teachers and we need them to support what we’re doing.”

“It’s not acceptable,” Tom said.

“When teachers say, work with us to help your child, and they react like this, I just think that’s unacceptable.”