Teacher under fire for ‘abusive’ punishment

An elementary school teacher in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, has come under fire for allegedly forcing two students to slap one another as part of a punishment, Gumi education authorities said Tuesday.

According to the Gumi Office of Education, the physical education teacher is accused of telling two sixth-graders to play rock-paper-scissors and then making the winner slap the other person. The teacher had reportedly made the students do so whenever they lost a sports competition.

Parents have called for the school to expedite an investigation and disciplinary hearing of the teacher, citing the teacher’s similar abusive behavior at a previous school. 

School authorities said that the teacher transferred to the current elementary school from an elementary school in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, in March.

When questioned about the problematic punishment, the teacher said that he had made his students do it “just for laughs.”

The victims under the teacher’s supervision said that they had come to “hate” physical education classes due to the teacher’s punishments.

Despite the complaints against the teacher, the school principal said he gave the teacher a warning and believes the teacher will not repeat the abusive behavior.

Gumi education officials, however, plan to hand down a penalty to the teacher after a thorough investigation.

By Catherine Chung (cec82@heraldcorp.com)