Archive · Issues · Violence against teachers
Pages describing physical assault, sexual assault or harassment, weapons, threats, spitting, property damage linked to threats, or serious intimidation against teachers or school staff.
This archive preserves historical reporting, personal accounts and commentary from the former Bad Apple Bullies website. Inclusion or classification does not establish that every allegation is correct. Readers should consult original decisions, official records and contemporary reporting where available.
Bullied Academics website, July 2010. Canberra Institute of Technology - former and current staff allege "a culture of bullying and harassment" at the institute. Juliana Knight and her former Canberra…
1,122 words · 6 min read
Joe, Reader's Comment, Fee-paying uni students bully academics for good marks, Tracey Spicer, The Punch, 9 March 2010: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/fee-paying-uni-students-bully-academics-for-g…
501 words · 3 min read
A NSW science teacher has been refused Workers Compensation for 'workplace bullying'. - Bad Apple Bullies Bad Apple school principals and departmental officers bully classroom teachers into ill health…
11,442 words · 57 min read
Bad Apple school principals and departmental officers bully classroom teachers into ill health and out of work. A Workers Compensation loss. A northern NSW story. Other VIC principals say... A teacher…
1,025 words · 5 min read
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School students 'buy drugs, including marijuana, speed and ice with their lunch money' - but their teachers are blamed for their poor behaviour. - Bad Apple Bullies B…
1,209 words · 6 min read
Katherine High School teacher David Arnold had to have his leg amputated after a brutal student attack. - Bad Apple Bullies Bad Apple school principals and departmental officers bully classroom teache…
873 words · 4 min read
1989: Karen Carey was appointed Director of Music at MLC. In 1989 Karen Carey was appointed Director of Music at MLC School in Burwood. She set about developing a comprehensive music program for all s…
1,633 words · 8 min read
Reader's Comment, The human cost of NSW's teacher oversupply, Anna Patty, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 2014 East Hills Boys High: teachers worried about security. A group of teachers at East …
1,071 words · 5 min read
Buck Rodgers of Sydney, Reader's Comment 19 of 25, Millions wasted training teachers, Justine Ferrari, The Australian, 25 March 2013 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/millions…
601 words · 3 min read
He arrived to find the school was very dysfunctional. The principal working at the school before 1995 had verbally abused the children, especially 12-year-old girls. "During his time child molesters a…
641 words · 3 min read
Saphire of Sydney, Reader's Comment, (Editor's Note: Saphire actually made two comments, so I have combined them here.) 'Toxic teacher' warning as debate rages on lifting uni entry marks, Catherine Ar…
394 words · 2 min read
uptightoutasight, Reader's Comment, The reality of teaching 'in the trenches', Lachie Gaylard, The Drum, ABC, 25 January 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3790748.html A NSW student threatened to …
529 words · 3 min read
Dedicated of Classroom, Comment 67 of 122, Vicious little thugs in class of chaos as principals and teachers are abused, threatened or bashed in NSW, Bruce McDougall, The Daily Telegraph, 7 November 2…
151 words · 1 min read
Teacher of Central Coast, Reader's Comment 91 of 122, Vicious little thugs in class of chaos as principals and teachers are abused, threatened or bashed in NSW, Bruce McDougall, The Daily Telegraph, 7…
178 words · 1 min read
Walter of Newcastle, Reader's Comment 104 of 122, Vicious little thugs in class of chaos as principals and teachers are abused, threatened or bashed in NSW, Bruce McDougall, The Daily Telegraph, 7 Nov…
174 words · 1 min read
Ash, Reader's Comment 44 of 56, School management gets the power to hire and fire dud teachers, Simon Benson, The Daily Telegraph, 11 February 2012: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/schools-to-hi…
275 words · 1 min read
Mick, Reader's Comment 11 of 22, SOS sent to young teachers across NSW, Kate Sikora, The Daily Telegraph, 8 December 2011: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/sos-sent-to-young-teachers-a…
201 words · 1 min read
A teacher of NSW, Comment 4 of 12, Deafening silence from pollies about declining student performance, Ben Jensen, The Australian, 5 July 2011: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/comment…
341 words · 2 min read
Editor: This is the first time that I have heard of the police arresting a person for making false allegations against a teacher. Well done, NSW police! It is far, far too easy for a classroom…
1,744 words · 9 min read
Bec, Reader's Comment, Teachers are powerless to stop schoolyard violence, NSW High School Teacher, 01 September 2009: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/teachers-are-powerless-to-stop-schoolyard-vio…
1,084 words · 5 min read
Gapuwiyak School in Arnem Land: Stephen Ferguson, teachers' union representative, asks the school principal to stop pestering the teachers for money. The principal threatens to spear him and burn his …
289 words · 1 min read
Top Territory Teachers of NT, Reader's Comment 69 of 81, Spear threat to NT teacher, Nigel Adlam, NT News, 24 January 2012: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/01/24/285031_ntnews.html Ex Northern T…
263 words · 1 min read
Another bashed up ex teacher of Darwin, Comment 20 of 81, Spear threat to NT teacher, Nigel Adlam, NT News, 24 January 2012: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/01/24/285031_ntnews.html Northern Ter…
159 words · 1 min read
John and Doni of Gove, ex teachers, Reader's Comment 74 of 81, Spear threat to NT teacher, Nigel Adlam, NT News, 24 January 2012: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/01/24/285031_ntnews.html Norther…
973 words · 5 min read
Another frustrated teacher of Darwin, Comment 99 of 114, Student stabs teacher in class, Alyssa Betts, NT News, 23 March 2011: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/03/23/219661_ntnews.html Kormilda C…
444 words · 2 min read
Victorian school principals say the department needs to give them more support. - Bad Apple Bullies Bad Apple school principals and departmental officers bully classroom teachers into ill health and o…
531 words · 3 min read
Bad Apple school principals and departmental officers bully classroom teachers into ill health and out of work. A Workers Compensation loss. A northern NSW story. Other VIC principals say... A teacher…
841 words · 4 min read
Coober Pedy Area School, South Australia. - Bad Apple Bullies Coober Pedy Area School: a 'tough gig' for principals. Sue Burtenshaw joined Coober Pedy Area School in 2008 on a five-year tenure, after …
1,428 words · 7 min read
On Tuesday 29 November 2011 a 56-year-old Hamilton Secondary College teacher asked a student from another school to leave the school grounds. The 16-year-old male student punched the Hamilton Secondar…
179 words · 1 min read
Terry Polglase of The Australian Education Union: teachers suffer their whole life after being accused of 'assault'. Three Tasmanian teachers, from three different schools, were each accused of assaul…
313 words · 2 min read
Robyn, Reader's Comment, Teacher entry ranking tumbles, Benjamin Preiss and Craig Butt, 18 January 2013 Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/data-point/teacher-entry-ranking-tumbles-20130117-2cwb5.html#ix…
548 words · 3 min read
PG, Reader's Comment, Hey politicians, leave those teachers alone, Jane Caro, The Drum, ABC News, 12 March 2013: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4565396.html I discovered that I was not emotionally co…
296 words · 1 min read
stj911: Reader's Comment, Hey politicians, leave those teachers alone, Jane Caro, The Drum, ABC News, 11 March 2013: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4565396.html Teacher's Aide: The three teachers at …
198 words · 1 min read
Mawson, Reader's comment, Hey politicians, leave those teachers alone, Jane Caro, The Drum, ABC News, 11 March 2013: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4565396.html I got hit, kicked, spat on, head-butte…
597 words · 3 min read
Reader's Comment, A little respect: attracting top teachers is not rocket science, Jane Caro, The Drum, Opinion, ABC, 4 October 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4293550.html A message from a teac…
303 words · 2 min read
1) the way WA public schools manage behavioural issues at the school level; 2) workplace bullying - often in relation to concerns and issues about / related to student behaviour management; and 3) the…
739 words · 4 min read
Michele, Reader's Comment, A little respect: attracting top teachers is not rocket science, Jane Caro, The Drum, Opinion, ABC, 4 October 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4293550.html Teachers are…
226 words · 1 min read
A Reader's Comment: A little respect: attracting top teachers is not rocket science, Jane Caro, The Drum, Opinion, ABC, 4 October 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4293550.html Graeme Sleeman, for…
1,773 words · 9 min read
Exhaustion. Fatigue. Overwhelmed. Lack of support. No wonder I don't feel like writing much these days. School is chewing me up and going to spit me out. Overly dramatic, yes, but that's how I feel. T…
328 words · 2 min read
Vic Toria (working interstate), Comment 52 of 62, Five teachers a day assaulted by students, Callie Watson, Adelaide Now, 16 July 2012: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/five-teachers…
803 words · 4 min read
Tas, Reader's Comment, The reality of teaching 'in the trenches', Lachie Gaylard, The Drum, ABC, 25 January 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3790748.html I abandoned teaching after twelve years -…
218 words · 1 min read
Bruce the Goose, Reader's Comment, The reality of teaching 'in the trenches', Lachie Gaylard, The Drum, ABC, 25 January 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3790748.html Sacred Heart Parish School, S…
711 words · 4 min read
DB, Reader's Comment, Teachers are powerless to stop schoolyard violence, NSW High School Teacher, 01 September 2009: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/teachers-are-powerless-to-stop-schoolyard-viol…
363 words · 2 min read
Aaron, Reader's Comment, 19 March 2011: Pay-rises and productivity: getting the best out of teachers, Winston Smith, Unleashed, ABC, 18 March 2011: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/45264.html I have an…
268 words · 1 min read
Jim A, Reader's Comment, 19 March 2011: Pay-rises and productivity: getting the best out of teachers, Winston Smith, Unleashed, ABC, 18 March 2011: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/45264.html Lyneham, …
246 words · 1 min read
Polony, Reader's Comment, 19 March 2011: Pay-rises and productivity: getting the best out of teachers, Winston Smith, Unleashed, ABC, 18 March 2011: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/45264.html Classroo…
241 words · 1 min read
John, Comment 72 of 93, Queensland schools fall short of national rivals, My School website reveals, Tanya Chilcott and Andrew MacDonald, The Courier-Mail, 5 March 2011: http://www.couriermail.com.au/…
599 words · 3 min read
Nagle Catholic College, Geralton, West Australia: teacher tackles aggressive 16-year-old boy to the ground. Geralton's Nagle Catholic College is in Western Australia's midwest. A Nagle College teacher…
255 words · 1 min read
I send a student who has just told me to go 'F*** Yourself' down to the office. Half the time they're back within ten minutes as no one wants to mind them down there. In one…
1,500 words · 8 min read
Teaching Widower: 30 Apr 2010 2:13:05pm, Reader's Comment: The Drum Unleashed: A day in the life of a teacher, Winston Smith, ABC, 29 April 2010: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2884844.htm T…
919 words · 5 min read
Rob Wiltshire is an Indooroopilly State High teacher. Yesterday Rob Wiltshire said that Education Queensland had failed to act on repeated warnings that asbestos and debris had fallen from damaged cei…
1,028 words · 5 min read
and enrolling him in the school when it is not safe for his teachers or for the other students. Nine-year-old dragged teacher by hair, court said, Kim Arlington, The Independent Weekly, 13 Oct 2009: h…
341 words · 2 min read
DB, Reader's Comment, Teachers are powerless to stop schoolyard violence, NSW High School Teacher, 01 September 2009: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/teachers-are-powerless-to-stop-schoolyard-viol…
978 words · 5 min read
"I resigned after teaching for 6 years and have now been a police officer for 10 years. As nice as it is to be all warm and fuzzy about what a rewarding job teaching is, the…
1,105 words · 6 min read
I taught in Sydney primary schools during the 70's and 80's. Children simply were not disruptive and violent in those days. I began teaching in Queensland at about the time that the cane was banned in…
2,526 words · 13 min read
He got out of the NSW system the day he turned 55. He doesn't get much in the way of superannuation but he is a lot healthier and a lot happier. At his last school, the…
2,342 words · 12 min read
Bogan parents rage and abuse teachers, refusing to listen to the facts. - Bad Apple Bullies In 2000 I was employed as a specialist Indonesian teacher. I had arranged an excursion for three Grade 7 cla…
517 words · 3 min read
Coober Pedy Area School, South Australia. - Bad Apple Bullies A teacher's story: Victoria Help Robina A message for Coober Pedy Area School principal Sue Burtenshaw and all South Australian public ser…
1,723 words · 9 min read
How false allegations ruined one young teacher's life. - Bad Apple Bullies Bad Apple school principals and departmental officers bully classroom teachers into ill health and out of work. A Workers Com…
1,144 words · 6 min read
How your Education Queensland "official records" can be extensively falsified. And how decisions concerning you can be based on these falsified "records". An abusive school principal can "edit" the do…
62,486 words · 312 min read
Walgett is a northern New South Wales community of about 2300. More than 98 per cent of Walgett Community College's primary and secondary students are indigenous. More than 90 per cent of the students…
1,513 words · 8 min read
28 April 2009: Werribee Secondary College Humanities teacher Paul Unsworth sued the Victorian Education Department. In 2005 Werribee Secondary College Humanities teacher Paul Unsworth became depressed…
2,731 words · 14 min read
A University of Queensland former PhD student's story. - Bad Apple Bullies A teacher's story: Victoria A former University of Queensland PhD student's story. Editor's Note: This story was sent to me i…
1,588 words · 8 min read
He had spent 18 months trying to survive in a toxic, bullying working environment in the Victorian State Education system. The Department of Education had failed to deal appropriately with workplace b…
377 words · 2 min read
Science Teacher of Ringwood, Reader's Comment, Baillieu plan to get rid of bad teachers, Jewel Topsfield, The Age, 21 June 2012: http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/baillieu-plan-to-get-rid-of…
239 words · 1 min read
Grad Teacher of Melbourne, Reader's Comment, Teachers seeing no future in state system, Jewel Topsfield and Bianca Hall, The Age, 30 May 2012: http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/teachers-seei…
317 words · 2 min read
Disheartened, Reader's Comment, November 3 2011, Exodus could lead to teacher shortages, Yasmine Phillips, Education Reporter, The Sunday Times, 5 February 2011 Victoria: teachers put up with a workin…
1,042 words · 5 min read
3. Their financial insecurity makes it hard to get a mortgage or make long term commitments The tenuous nature of teacher contracts makes teaching an unattractive career option for people who have spe…
492 words · 2 min read
Margaret of Melbourne: Reader's Comment 13 of 13, Teacher seeks bullying payout, John Masanauskas, The Herald Sun, 20 July 2010: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/teacher-seeks-bullying-payout…
684 words · 3 min read
When I met John Ryan in Brisbane on 13 October 2004, he asked me if I wanted to make a 'Victim Impact Statement'. At the time I told him that I was very reluctant to describe…
6,222 words · 31 min read
Roebourne, WA: Male student punches his teacher in the head several times. On Thursday 16 February 2012, at a Roebourne, WA school, a teacher asked a seventeen-year-old male student to leave the class…
462 words · 2 min read
cd44, Reader's Comment 29 of 65, Teachers flip parents the bird, Yasmine Phillips, Education Reporter, PerthNow, 13 November 2011: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/teachers-flip-paren…
511 words · 3 min read
You call the story again, Reader's Comment 1 and 2, Dozens of assaults on teachers each month, Daniel Emerson, The West Australian, 23 March 2011: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/9056864…
374 words · 2 min read
Kristine Ellis of Gosnelle, WA, Reader's Comment 6 of 6, Editorial: Lessons to end teacher exodus, The Sunday Times, 19 February 2011: http://www.perthnow.com.au/opinion/editorial-lessons-to-end-teach…
250 words · 1 min read
I am a fixed term WA primary school teacher with 8 years experience and I am currently unemployed. I have called the department on several occasions only to be told that something 'may' come up soon…
720 words · 4 min read
Phil of Perth, Reader's Comment 4 of 53, 280 assaults at WA schools in two terms, Yasmine Phillips, PerthNow, 26 November 2009: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/assaults-at-wa-schools…
159 words · 1 min read
Craig, Reader's Comment 27 of 53, 280 assaults at WA schools in two terms, Yasmine Phillips, PerthNow, 26 November 2009: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/assaults-at-wa-schools-in-two…
187 words · 1 min read
Alex ( not my real name ) of London, formerly of Beverly, Reader's Comment 53 of 53, 280 assaults at WA schools in two terms, Yasmine Phillips, PerthNow, 26 November 2009: http://www.perthnow.com.au/n…
149 words · 1 min read
Working conditions for teachers in Australian TAFE colleges. - Bad Apple Bullies Gippstafe: Letter to Peter Hall MLA, Matt Viney MP, The Ombudsman, AEU -TAFE Branch, NTEU -TAFE Branch, ABC Gippsland, …
1,062 words · 5 min read
How can Queensland teachers protect themselves against workplace bullying, harassment, mobbing, victimisation, and discrimination? Are you at risk of being bullied at work? Sue Bushell writes that the…
6,431 words · 32 min read
It is not sufficient simply to run are-training course and hope that Bad Apples will change their behaviour. Bad Apples do not understand their own behaviour. That is the problem. Any re-training cour…
1,401 words · 7 min read
I did not want to work at Lynch-Mob State School in 2000. FOI Document 2733 File G Administrative Law Services Branch documents 49-51 (using the numbers at the bottom of the page) are copies of my…
2,103 words · 11 min read
What happens when you try to make a Public Interest Disclosure (PID) to the CMC Liaison Officer in Education Queensland Head Office? The CMC Liaison officer may not respond to your email. The people t…
3,508 words · 18 min read
Bad Apple Bullies inservice: Dealing with Workplace Psychopaths - An inservice course for Queensland Department of Education and the Arts administrators. Why do Queensland Department of Education ( DE…
3,547 words · 18 min read
The Bad Apple Bullies webmaster has come to the conclusion that what teachers who are dealing with workplace abuse really need is good legal advice. Teachers - you need good legal advice right from th…
2,379 words · 12 min read
In Dangerous Liaisons Robert Needham has reminded us of the words of Aldous Huxley - "the means employed determine the nature of the ends produced". If I were invited to speak to the APSACC conference…
27,082 words · 135 min read
Meetings with the Bad Apple and members of the mob. If you receive a letter from the Bad Apple that says something like, "I would much prefer that this matter did not become a disciplinary one...…
1,920 words · 10 min read
Bovver-boy bosses are a menace to society. Their autocratic ways and narcissistic personalities crush those who work for them. A survey of 3000 workers by the ACTU in 2000 found more than half had exp…
2,373 words · 12 min read
Research into the working conditions of New South Wales teachers. - Bad Apple Bullies A teacher's story: Victoria Help Robina How many New South Wales teachers were attacked at work during the first t…
462 words · 2 min read
3rd-year-out NSW high school teacher: I have to move to a new town every year 3rd-year-out NSW high school teacher: I have to move to a new town every year. It is exhausting and expensive. I'm…
1,865 words · 9 min read
Gapuwiyak School in Arnem Land: Stephen Ferguson, teachers' union representative, asks the…… Gapuwiyak School in Arnem Land: Stephen Ferguson, teachers' union representative, asks the school principal…
286 words · 1 min read
Research into the working conditions of Australian teachers. - Bad Apple Bullies A teacher's story: Victoria COAG Report: many Australian adults lack the basic literacy and numeracy required to functi…
6,464 words · 32 min read
South Australian public schools - research into the working conditions of teachers. - Bad Apple Bullies A teacher's story: Victoria Help Robina There were 1062 assaults on teachers in the South Austra…
468 words · 2 min read
On Tuesday 29 November 2011 a 56-year-old Hamilton Secondary College teacher asked… On Tuesday 29 November 2011 a 56-year-old Hamilton Secondary College teacher asked a student from another school to …
158 words · 1 min read
What happens when you make a Stage 1 Grievance to an Education Queensland District Director? The person whose behaviour you are complaining about may be asked to investigate their own behaviour. Educa…
4,591 words · 23 min read
Half of all adults in Tasmania can't read. But they have the vote. Tasmania spends a greater proportion of its budget on schools than any other jurisdiction. But half of all Tasmanians aged 15 to 74…
276 words · 1 min read
Frank of India of legally rumaging around in others' email accounts, Reader's comment 78 of 81, Spear threat to NT teacher, Nigel Adlam, NT News, 24 January 2012: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012…
320 words · 2 min read
Australian teachers: their stories of classroom violence, workplace bullying, harassment, etc…… Australian teachers: their stories of classroom violence, workplace bullying, harassment, etc. - Bad App…
3,341 words · 17 min read
Before I describe how a Bad Apple Bully administrator prepares to attack a teacher, I want to make it clear that working as a teacher in Queensland is not all bad. The opportunities to live in…
1,615 words · 8 min read
What happens if Education Queensland appoint a Verifact Investigator to investigate your complaint about workplace bullying or harassment? Verifact investigation records are excellent. You can underst…
28,942 words · 145 min read
Research into the working conditions of West Australian teachers. - Bad Apple Bullies A teacher's story: Victoria How many West Australia teachers are being assaulted at school? There were 464 physica…
1,120 words · 6 min read
Kalgoorliegirl of goldfields, Reader's Comment 51 of 97 Special Report: Teachers reveal why they walked, Yasmine Phillips, Education reporter, Perth Now, 19 February 2011: http://www.perthnow.com.au/n…
168 words · 1 min read
Roebourne, WA: Male student punches his teacher in the head several times Roebourne, WA: Male student punches his teacher in the head several times. On Thursday 16 February 2012, at a Roebourne, WA sc…
961 words · 5 min read
Teachers who have tried to report misconduct and corruption in Queensland schools. - Bad Apple Bullies Bad Apple Bully school principals and departmental officers can bully Australian teachers into il…
706 words · 4 min read