In all six interviews there are reports of either emotional or psychological abuse, or both.
An analysis of literature showed that even though school violence involves an intention to do harm (Berkowitz, 1993:405; Hinkle & Henry, 2000:17), the transgressor may have other goals in mind, apart from injuring someone. There
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are different types of school violence, each having its own purpose for the learner. Sometimes the violence can be seen as an attempt to establish or preserve one‟s power, dominance or social status, but the primary objective of emotional and psychological violence is to do harm.
Educator (In I -1) “Mrs X was most definitely emotionally abused which caused her to cry in the staffroom almost every day after teaching the Grade 8/1s.” On chatting to the deputy principal she shed some light on the mental state of this educator. She claimed that the educator had sleepless nights and that many times learners and colleagues had reported seeing her having coffee opposite the school in early parts of the morning, yet she would arrive late at school. On talking to her she revealed that she felt drained and depressed.
Educator (In-5): “Mrs Y, after had been pushed down the stairs by this learner, had exorbitant medical bills to see to. The parents blatantly refused to pay. This added to the physical abuse that she experienced which ultimately she had a nervous break-down and is on leave now for two terms.”
Educator (In-4): “... the entire staff had to go for debriefing after the mob attacked the principal and his SMT. The male teacher Mr Z, who was held up at gunpoint, had to go for counselling at his own expense might I add, to regain his sanity.” A written journal of educator Mr Z referred to in the above extract: “I had sleepless nights and days where if the wind shut the door of my classroom, I would scream out and jump? The kids laughed at me. I would go to my church every day before going home and cry like a baby for almost one year.”
Educator (In-5): “We get abused all the time. Many of us talk after school. You would be surprised at how many of us are shaken up at the end of each day.” This meant they many educators felt “like crying and disturbed and not returning the next day”.
Educator (In 1): “... after the can throwing at Mrs Z, she had to go for counselling. She suffered emotional, mental and psychological trauma. I remember her saying that she couldn‟t sleep at night”. After chatting to Mrs Z, she admitted without
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hesitation that after 23 years of teaching the incidences that occurred to her in School A, in 2010, provoked her resignation from the profession: “Besides, there is no price to regain my mental state”.
During my interview with the principal in Interview Six, I noticed that he was continually getting out of his chair and peeping out of the window. He seemed edgy and nervous. I was under the impression that it was the result of being interviewed, until the following was revealed:
Me: “Are you alright? You seem a bit tense.”
Educator: “Well, you know that I was forced out of my school. Are you aware of that?”
Me: “Yes, I have been following the media releases”.
Educator: “... um... I do not want to be seen as a weak principal. But today is my third day back after two terms of reporting to the department. So I am a terrified that they may demonstrate and hit me and my SMT again”. This showed the intensity of emotional trauma this robust, well-built principal suffered after being ousted from his school by the learners.
Within this category of emotional and psychological abuse experienced by educators, is a sub-category relating to a specific type of emotional and psychological abuse caused by the misuse of cell phones and by “mob” attacks.
Sub-category A: The emotional and psychological trauma linked to the use of cell phones in creating rumours and defamation of educators’ character This sub-category deals with educators encounter with learners who utilise cell phones to harm educators.
Educator (In-2): “... um Facebook has been used to victimize teachers... I spoke to one teacher about where some teacher‟s sexuality had been placed out there... also some teachers complained to the deputy about comments that kids were
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putting on Facebook and Twitter about certain teachers. The deputy went on and was horrified by what these kids said ...” Examples were given of the sports educator being a lesbian and having made sexual advances towards the schoolgirls.
Educator (In-1): “... that she had overheard girls making comments about her, um, her sexual orientation saying that she was a lesbian, saying that she uses sex toys... shortly after this was placed on Facebook..” Another educator in the same school commented on how this had affected the educator, making her “withdrawn and tearful”.
In another school an educator reported how a colleague‟s photograph was posted on Facebook with her face being superimposed with a pig‟s face. This image made her so emotional that she “cried frequently in front of learners. And she started stammering when she had to address the assembly. The stammering never stopped until she resumed therapy”.
Using a cell phone to capture pictures of the educators and then distorting images or placing gossip on social networking sites is an attempt to humiliate them. This type of information is open to everyone at any place or time, and the intention of this type of violence is to communicate to all learners that the educator is not favoured by learners. It depicts the extent that learners will go to embarrass educators. (In-1): “Ms A has told me on a few occasions that upset her a lot, that she seen herself on face book stating that she is a lesbian and had a sex change”. (In-3): “These learners posted an educator naked on Facebook showing her sleeping with a male learner who did well academically and the rest of the class disliked him. This happened in 2010”.
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4.2.2. THEME TWO: Gangs and their effect on the school
Category 1: The role that gangs play in affecting the school in its functioning