The teachers are burned out. They believe that they are not respected enough, that the parents are not on their side, nor are the management of the centers or the administration, they are overwhelmed by the bureaucracy, by the uncertainty of the application of successive laws. And that the emotional and social problems of the students fall on their shoulders, regardless of their emotional situation, which is not good.
This is indicated by the report of the Teachers’ Ombudsman, of the Anpe union, which analyzes 1,947 cases of teachers who used this service in the 2022-2023 academic year, although these figures are only “the tip of the iceberg”, the national vice president of ANPE, Sonia García. 47% of the cases correspond to the Secondary stage.
According to this report, physical attacks (pushing, slapping or throwing objects) and false accusations against teachers have increased slightly during the 2022-2023 academic year, a professional group suffers from anxiety (77%), symptoms of depression (13%). and sick leave (12%).
As for students, 22% of teachers report lack of respect from students; 21% problems teaching class and another 20% false accusations, which consist of saying, for example, “that the teacher has not explained a topic and has put it on the exam or looks at me badly.” “They are false accusations that undermine their authority, which generates a high level of anxiety in the teacher who finds it difficult to prove the falsehood of this type of accusations, even being afraid to enter class,” the report states.
Cases that have to do with cyberbullying of the teacher, identity theft on social networks to ridicule them, sending threats or pressure to raise grades have also increased.
Although, explained Guadalupe Pérez Pérez, coordinator of the ANPE Madrid Teacher Ombudsman, cyberbullying has decreased by half in this community, which has been linked, among other factors, to the ban on mobile phones in classrooms. But few communities have banned it.
Teresa Hernández, state coordinator of the Teacher Ombudsman service, has highlighted the increase in cases of physical violence, which she described as “worrying” and which this year has reached 7%, compared to 6% the previous year. .
In these cases, the majority professional union in the education sector requests an immediate sanction and that it be classified as a very serious offense with expulsion and change of center.
As for families, what is most repeated are false accusations (25%) and lack of respect in 17%, while 33% report problems with the administration.
It is also true, according to statements by the teachers themselves, that currently the teacher feels more legally protected thanks to regulations that clearly establish the powers and actions to be followed through the coexistence decrees in force in the educational centers of the different autonomies.
Thanks to them, the teacher does not need to resort to anything other than the established law to apply the norm and restore a climate of coexistence and normality both in the classroom and in the educational center.
Teachers complain that educational administrations continue without applying a priority need such as the reduction of ratios, without providing the support and deployment of fundamental groups to be able to alleviate the learning deficits accumulated in the three covid courses, “measures that must be be complemented with the reduction of the teaching day of the teaching staff, in order to be able to dedicate a greater part of their working day to the coordination, preparation and resolution of the demands of the students,” the report states.
And they request a State Pact for Education. “It is necessary to preserve education from the permanent and increasing political and ideological confrontation. Education is used as a throwing weapon between the different political options, which hinders any possibility of a pact or agreement that grants improvements, stability and durability to our system educational and socio-laboral conditions of teachers and deteriorates the school climate.
