Violence | A first-grader gets a sticker if he doesn't punch for a day – Teachers talk about everyday life in classes with violent children

Three the teacher tells what everyday life is like in an ordinary class of an ordinary school, where children who would need professional help study. A child with symptoms affects the teaching and everyday life of the whole class.

A child with symptoms of violence directed at himself or other people may get stuck in the basic education group.

The situation, called a “time bomb”, was discussed in Helsingin Sanomat on Monday. In the article, an adult teaching a regular class struggled with a student who, according to the teacher's assessment, needed hospital school.

Several teachers who responded to the HS survey had similar experiences.

The responses emphasized concern for children: both the student with symptoms and his classmates who did not have a safe learning environment.

Inadequate resources and the inclusion guaranteeing the right to a neighborhood school were widely discussed in public in the fall of 2022 as well.

Already at that time, there was a discussion about how restless and even unsafe studying is in classes where children have special needs, but there are not enough adults to respond to them.

Now three elementary school teachers tell us what everyday life is like in classes where some of the students would need professional help.

The texts were written by the journalist based on the interviews. The names of the interviewees are known to the editor, but HS does not publish them to protect the children.

First grade teacher from Helsinki

I teach a small group where more than one student shows symptoms of violence.

I don't think one would belong to general education at all. The child is violent towards other children, school adults and himself. In the kindergarten, the problems did not appear in the same way.

I have previously worked with slightly older children. I was surprised how everyday rude language and offensive speech is for 7-year-olds. You hear slurs and racist names all the time.

Easily more than half of the lesson is spent going through these situations.

Stickers are an important work tool. In the morning, we think about the goals for the day with the child, for example not to hit a friend with nails or to talk. At the end of the day, you get a sticker for success.

It's an incredibly important thing for these kids.

The public debate blames the school, but I would call for the responsibility of the homes.

If I send a message home in Wilma that someone has cursed or been beaten at school, I hope the family will react to the message. Sometimes I take on a bit of a patronizing role, for example I advise to put the phone in the freezer.

However, if the child has problems at school, the relationship with the parents can easily become inflamed.

Fifth grade teacher from Helsinki

I was as a temporary class teacher in a primary school in Helsinki. I was offered the opportunity to continue with the same fifth grade. I refused.

The children themselves were wonderful individuals, but the class also included children with really strong symptoms. They messed up the everyday life of the whole class.

Violence was a daily occurrence. Chairs were thrown, shoved, swords were thrown. The child also attacked me. Sometimes the child hurt himself.

One child was absent a lot, but when he was there, most of the lessons were spent calming down situations or finding him after he ran away from class.

All possible parties were contacted about the matter and there were weekly meetings. Couldn't get to the child psychiatrist, the child was too fit to go to the hospital school.

In my opinion, the child was not suitable for general education, but there was no other place for him. There was no personal assistant to support the child.

I raised my hands.

Especially during my studies, I was placed in a lot of different schools. Each class had students whose place would be somewhere other than general education. I also felt bad for these children: they were forced to go to school in that condition.

We would need someone who would really help these children. Both parents, child welfare and child psychiatry received the same message: The school should solve these problems.

Middle school special education teacher from Espoo

Our school located in an area where there is a lot of unemployment and mental health problems in families. The education level of guardians is low, and there are many families with an immigrant background. The problems have piled up.

In Espoo, all kinds of children are preferably directed to their local school. That's why we have a school full of students with psychological symptoms. There is constant physical violence between students. The students have also beaten adults at the school.

A large part of the lesson is spent figuring out who hit whom.

The situation is shocking. In Espoo alone, there are hundreds of students who do not go to school because coming to school is stressful. There are too many stimuli and noise at school for some. Young people have depression and panic disorders.

The big problem is the guardians. The teacher is blamed for the children's problems. Sometimes the teacher is labeled a racist.

According to the young people, they have been taught at home that there is no need to respect the teacher. Parents react aggressively to Wilma's messages.

Homes should also commit to the school's rules and bear their responsibilities.

At school, we try to put out fires with pedagogical means. There are few other ways.

The only disciplinary actions are really a parenting discussion or a follow-up session, and that's where the young people mostly come to riot. The resources for student care are minimal, many more adults would be needed.

Now the school is a separate island from the rest of society, where you can, for example, commit violence without the same sanctions as, for example, in a shopping mall.