A teacher attached to Insti-tute of Business Education (IBE), located at Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara, says he is leaving the profession after he was attacked by an angry parent yesterday morning.
Jamain Hatton yesterday announced his decision to quit the teaching profession after eight years on his personal Facebook page, where he also detailed the events that led to the attack.
Hatton told Sunday Stabroek that the attack occurred close to 9 am, while he was making his way to the school, where he teaches science on a part time basis.
Hatton, who is also a full-time medical student, said the parent stopped him and at the top of his voice began demanding what problem he had with his son (name given).
Hatton said he told the parent, whom he had seen for the first time yesterday, that he had chosen an inappropriate place to voice his concerns and he proceeded on his way to work.
However, this reportedly angered the parent, who stopped following and ran to his car, from which he pulled out two lengths of metal pipes. Hatton said he faced the parent as he approached him with the two lengths of pipes. There was a brief tussle, he added, and his glasses fell to the ground and broke. “In a split second, the man hit me with the fat iron pipe across the left side of my neck and ran to his car and drove off,” the teacher wrote in his Facebook post.
Subsequent to the attack, Hatton said he visited the hospital for the injuries he suffered as well as the Vigilance Police Station, where he made a report.
The teacher told Sunday Stabroek that he believes the attack has its genesis in him upbraiding the man’s son on Friday over his attitude.
“…My words to him were, “If you do not address your attitude, you won’t reach far in life. Attitude determines altitude,”” Hatton said. “The young man in question has been heard many times cursing up and behaving in ways unbecoming of a student. I do not know what he told his father,” he added.
Commenting on the injuries he suffered as a result of the attack, Hatton said the medical certificate did not show anything significant, but there was some swelling and tenderness in the area where he was hit. Asked if he was serious about his decision to quit the profession, the man said he is in the in process of marking School Based Assessments (SBA) but has every intention to leave once this process is complete.
Hatton told the Sunday Stabroek that he had experienced a similar incident a few years ago with another student where the parent threatened his life.
“I think today marks the sad day that I leave the teaching profession. It was a wonderful experience impacting the lives of hundreds of children,” he wrote at the conclusion of his Facebook post.
