Editor: This is the first time that I have heard of the police arresting a perso

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 teachers' health and career to be ruined with 'fun', malicious or 'payback' allegations.

Dharruk, Western Sydney, New South Wales: 58-year-old male teacher verbally abused and then assaulted by 15-year-old student.

A 58-year-old male teacher was trying to coax a 15-year old student into class at a school in Stuart Rd, Dharruk, Western Sydney on March 25 2009.

The boy verbally abused him.

Later that day, the student, from Lethbridge Park, allegedly confronted the teacher in his office and pushed him, causing the teacher to fall backwards into a closed door.

The teacher sustained a fractured shoulder and neck and back injuries.

He underwent surgery and has not been able to work since.

Teen charged with assaulting teacher, AAP, The Courier-Mail, 30 July 2010: http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/teen-charged-with-assaulting-teacher/story-e6freonf-1225898784906 Historical link preserved from the original page.

Ashfield Boy's High School, New South Wales: student points a gun at teacher, yelling "Die b-tch, die".

Helen Alkan had been teaching a maths class at Ashfield Boys' High School in Sydney's inner west on July 27, 2001, when she says a student pointed the gun at her, yelling "Die b-tch, die" as he pulled the trigger up to eight times, according to documents tendered to the NSW District Court.

It was only after Ms Alkan discovered she had not suffered injury that it became clear to her that the gun was a toy.

The toy gun was produced "without warning" after Ms Alkan had confronted two boys who were passing an item between them.

Ms Alkan was medically retired five years after the incident, in August 2006, and suffers from depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder.

She has been admitted to hospital on several occasions due to her symptoms.

She is suing the department for damages over the incident, claiming the school was negligent in failing to warn her of Ali Farhat's violent history and for allowing him to remain at the school, knowing he had a propensity for violence.

Ms Alkan told the court today of her difficulty in coping upon her return to work.

I was consistently scared if he was going to come into the room... I was scared of other kids, " she said.

The noise of a student slamming their book on a table or a car backfiring would make her jump and she had difficulty thinking of anything but having what she believed to be a gun pointed at her head.

'Die b-tch die': teacher sues over student's 'pistol threat', Bellinda Kontominas, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 June 2010: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/die-bitch-die-teacher-sues-over-students-pistol-threat-20100616-yfb4.html Historical link preserved from the original page.

New South Wales teachers warned not to go into new classrooms or halls that smell.

New South Wales schools and health groups have raised the alarm about the installation of 3000 unflued gas heaters in buildings constructed under the federal governments Building the Education Revolution program

Studies have shown that the heaters release a potentially poisonous stew of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and formaldehyde.

They are being phased out of schools in every state except NSW and Queensland.

''These are new buildings going up at significant cost to the taxpayer, '' NSW Teachers Federation president Bob Lipscombe said.

''Heating is a very small component of the overall cost of building work. It would not cost a huge amount to put alternative heating in these new buildings. The Department of Education is not acting in a reasonable way at all. ''

The NSW Department of Education and Training says the heaters are safe, provided doors and windows are kept open to provide ventilation. Schools in cold-climate zones say this is impractical.

A 2007 Commonwealth health report on unflued heaters found exposure to the fumes they emitted causes increased respiratory symptoms in children with asthma, and were also associated with new asthma cases in children.

About 11 per cent of children in NSW have asthma.

The Asthma Foundation NSW has called on the Department of Education to remove the 51,000 existing unflued heaters in NSW schools and stop ordering new ones.

A NSW Department of Education spokesman said there was ''no substantiated instances'' of heaters causing illness when properly operated.

The combination of exposure to unflued gas heaters, as well as fumes emitted from paint, new carpet and building materials, could cause toxic overload in children, according to environmental scientist Jo Immig of the National Toxics Network.

''We are concerned about the overall toxic load, '' she said.

''This is particularly important as far as children are concerned because they are much more sensitive to toxins than adults.

New buildings also posed a risk of volatile organic compounds being released from carpet, paint and new furniture, Ms Immig said.

''Carpets are potentially one of the most toxic things in the indoor environment. ''

Professor Margaret Burchett from the University of Technology, Sydney, said it could take months for indoor air quality to improve. ''If you smell that newness smell in a building it's a nice smell but it's also toxic. ''

Murdoch University environmental toxicologist Peter Dingle said the rooms should be allowed to air before being used.

''If the teachers and kids walk into a new classroom or hall and there is a smell in the room they should not go into it, '' Dr Dingle said.

Tile supplier Richard Earp and slip resistance expert Carl Strautins have raised concerns about the type of tiles used in toilet blocks, canteens and entrances, which they say can lose their grip over a short time and become a slip hazard.

Lessons in toxic overload, Rachel Browne, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 May 2010: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/lessons-in-toxic-overload-20100501-u0a1.html Historical link preserved from the original page.

Beecroft Primary School, New South Wales; principal successfully sues parent for defamation.

Beecroft Primary School principal Jennie Ryan last year successfully sued a parent for defamation after he described her as "incompetent, dishonest and untrustworthy" in a widely circulated email.

In other unrelated incidents, a NSW principal had a two-year apprehended violence order taken out against an aggressor, and a woman was twice assaulted by a female parent in Sydney's southwest.

The New South Wales Primary Principals Association says it has been told of at least 11 incidents, mostly in the past year, where NSW principals or teachers have been harassed, defamed, intimidated or attacked by parents or community members.

In one case, 12 months of harassment culminated in the physical assault of a NSW woman principal.

In two other cases harassment was so bad that principals were advised by senior departmental officials not to remain alone on school premises after hours.

The NSW Education Department's legal services chief, Michael Waterhouse, was asked to address principals on taking legal action.

We felt that it would be appropriate for our principals to hear, directly, what course of action was open to them if they were subject to these sorts of allegations that were unfounded or malicious or vexatious, " NSW Primary Principals Association president Geoff Scott said.

Now schools can sue parents, Sharon Labi, The Sunday Telegraph, 28 March, 2010 Historical link preserved from the original page.

NSW teachers can be 'EPACed' and labelled child abusers on the word of vindictive students.

New South Wales teachers now have little control.

The consequences for students of bad, even violent behaviour, are now so insignificant students simply don’t care.

A teacher cannot restrain a student at all, they can’t yell at students or else they will be accused of emotional abuse.

A teacher must simply say “please don’t do this” and then hope they are obeyed.

Step outside this rigid set of rules and you risk being “EPACed” - every teacher’s worst nightmare.

To be “EPACed” is to be investigated by the Education Department’s Employee Performance and Conduct Unit, a Gestapo-like division.

Any teacher who physically intervenes in a physical fight in the play ground risks being reported by a student for physical assault and marched off to EPAC, where the onus is on the teacher to prove their innocence.

EPAC acts as policeman, prosecutor, judge, jury and then executioner.

EPAC do not make final decisions using the words 'Guilty' or 'Innocent'.

Unless a student actually admits they were lying when they complained about their teacher, then the most a teacher can expect if they are innocent is if EPAC finds “there is insignificant evidence to prove the conduct occurred” the teacher then has this black mark on their record for life.

A primary school teacher and friend of mine in Sydney’s North Shore broke up a fight by physically restraining a student who was bashing another student.

That teacher was then EPACed and although it was found that the teacher trying to exercise their duty of care, the record of this incident is on their EPAC file for the rest of their teaching career.

After two accusations where there is “insignificant evidence” the teachers name is reported to the Commission for Children and Young People, (CCYP).

Essentially they are labelled a child abuser on the hearsay of often vindictive students.

The DET student discipline policy and EPAC procedures are to blame.

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-violence/ Historical link preserved from the original page.

NSW teacher was EPACed. The student who lied about him was not even put on detention. The teacher is looking for a new career.

Teenagers today have nothing to fear.

They laugh at detention, laugh at suspension and if they are expelled ( in very, very rare cases ) they just go to another school and start all over again.

They are vexacious bush lawyers who seem to know every loophole and get away with everything.

I have been ‘EPACed’... a student claimed that I hit him - this, in retaliation for me sending home a letter for his lack of work and cooperation in the classroom.

After months of distress to myself and my family, this boy admitted that he had lied.

I receive a mark against my name and he gets absolutely nothing but the satisfaction that he had rung me through the ringer.

He does not get a detention or a suspension or even removed from my class.

Nothing.

He does not even comprehend the consequences of his actions.

I love teaching, I am good at what I do and I believe I have a lot to offer, but more and more I am beginning to hate the majority of students who ruin it for everyone else and I am looking for a new career.