A Syrian immigrant was attending a public school when he suddenly started punching the female teacher in the face, shattering her jaw. Once school officials investigated the incident, they discovered that the boy had snapped because the educator had apparently offended his “culture.”
Ask anyone over the age of 35 and they’ll likely tell you that the public education system is vastly different from when they were in school. From the controversial curricula to the cultural shift, the student-teacher relationship has been drastically transformed. Unfortunately, this sometimes proves dangerous for educators.
While teaching at a high school in Chestenberg, Switzerland, a female teacher was tasked with doing her own security checks. Since a Syrian student had brought a knife to class in the past, the teacher brought it upon herself to inspect him for weapons. It was then that things turned violent.
According to Aargauer Zeitung, after the 62-year-old teacher told the 14-year-old Syrian immigrant student to empty his pockets since he had repeatedly brought a knife to school in the past, the boy proceeded to punch the woman in her face 5 or 6 times, breaking her jaw. He then proceeded to kick her as she attempted to flee the blows.
The school later investigated the incident, determining that the student had turned violent because he found the teacher’s treatment of him to be offensive to his culture. Additionally, the Syrian student had numerous other issues with Swiss public school, including the “immodest” way his female classmates dressed, arguing that such behavior goes against his religion.
A friend and classmate of the Syrian student confirmed that the boy was recently expelled from school for “disciplinary problems.” School nurse André Schärer also revealed that the student would order his female peers to dress more modestly and frequently preach from the Quran.
“There are clearly certain signs that he doesn’t agree with the way we are cultivating our culture,” Schärer said.
The injured teacher spent a short time in the hospital and returned to class the following week. However, parents weren’t informed of the incident until a week later, leaving some to believe that the school district was attempting to conceal the attack.
“The Monday after the incident she was off. On Tuesday the incident was discussed in the class concerned with the school social worker. At that point the teacher was already present [in the school] for a couple of hours. From Wednesday to Friday she took care of the class.” Schärer did not want to be misunderstood, however: “I don’t want to downplay the incident; it is serious and should be most severely condemned.”
The district insisted that nothing was being hidden, reiterating that school officials were merely complying with the authorities involved in the investigation. The Syrian student was subsequently arrested and forced to spend two days in custody. He is currently under investigation by a juvenile prosecutor.
The immigrant student speaks German well and comes from a large Syrian family with numerous children. The family came to Switzerland five years earlier and reportedly lives on welfare. He has been described as “quite intelligent, self-confident, and quick-witted,” despite his apparent violent streak.
The teacher, who has two adult children and was preparing to retire, is still in shock over the incident. The district confirmed that the student will not be allowed to return to the school because there have been too many incidents involving his aggressive behavior.
It is disturbing that anyone would seek refuge and aid in a foreign country then turn around and attack citizens because of their differing culture. However, when one culture finds the practices of another culture intolerable, that is exactly what should be expected.
