Mélanie is a primary school teacher in special education in Andrimont, near Verviers. On Thursday, December 19, during a Christmas meal between teachers and students, she suffered a blow to the head while trying to calm down an altercation between children. Shocked and helpless, Mélanie wants to draw attention to her situation.
Mélanie is a teacher at the “La Court’cale” school in Andrimont, in the Liège region. This specialized school supervises students from nursery to primary school, with specific needs such as mental or motor disorders. “We manage a lot of children with anger management problems who can be violent. When you work there, you have to know what to expect“, explains the teacher, passionate about her profession. However, this Thursday, December 19, her daily life found itself violently disrupted.
I stayed in the hospital for two days
While a Christmas meal is organized just before the winter holidays, the situation gets out of hand between two students. “The atmosphere was very festive, everything was going well. But at one point, two children argue and seem to come to blows. My colleagues are managing the situation, but need help. So I approach one of the children, I speak to him calmly and I try to calm him down. That's when he gains momentum with his head and hits me“, explains Mélanie.
The blow is so strong that she collapses and has trouble seeing. Very quickly, she was taken to the infirmary and then to the emergency room in Verviers. “The doctors performed a CT scan of my head and discovered a serious concussion. I stayed in the hospital for two days because they absolutely wanted to monitor me“, says Mélanie, just out of the hospital. “According to them, it could have been worse, I was lucky“.
I wish people would realize our conditions
Today, very shocked, Mélanie feels helpless, although her school supported her. “My management took direct action. The student stayed with the principal all day the next day. His parents were informed and for my part, I was supported“, she believes.
The teacher is having difficulty recovering from this event and denounces the situation of teachers in the specialized network. “I would like people to realize our working conditions. We know what establishment we are entering, but putting up with insults and violence is very difficult. In addition, we cannot protect ourselves correctly and use certain gestures, otherwise it turns against us“.
Special education, threatened?
Mélanie is also afraid of the next measures taken on special education. The new Community Policy Declaration (CPD) provides for potential budget cuts in differentiated supervision, which it considers ineffective.
This could negatively affect resources allocated to special education. “We are lynched and abandoned by everyone. These students have specific needs and not all teachers are prepared for this“Indeed, Mélanie fears that certain students with specific needs will be redirected to “classic” education.
For her part, Mélanie plans to file a complaint against the student. “Not so that he gets in trouble, but so that there is a trace in his file“.
If you need to be listened to regarding the situation you are experiencing or additional advice, contact the toll-free number “School Listening” on 0800 95 580. This number is free, anonymous, confidential and accessible from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. .
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