There Be Monsters too

In the UK, in the 1980's, I once worked as a secondary school teacher.

I met [Monsters] there.

[Monsters] are people acting in a terrible way. They bring to light what is important to us. We may hate them for what they are doing, but they also give us an opportuntiy to learn, grow and become who we are; to stand up for what is right.

Excerpt from "An Educator's Journey from Teacher to Coach"

Age 23 There Be Monsters

I was invited into the headmaster’s office to ‘witness’ the corporal punishment of a teenaged student. Standing in the room were the student, the Headmaster, the Head of Year and the offended teacher. The punishment involved the student being made to verbally apologise to the teacher, and then being struck repeatedly with a paddle on his backside by the Head of Year. I watched, horrified and unable to prevent this from happening.

I felt ashamed to be part of this punishment system, and deeply ashamed of my inability to take action when called to do so.

Since then I have endlessly fought to seek other ways of resolving conflicts than the harsh treatment that comes with ritualised punishments. 

You can download and read more of my story at https://www.martinrichards.eu/journey.html