korero

The trial of a Masterton teacher who was last night cleared of indecency charges against a pupil will damage the profession's appeal as a career, the school's principal says.
Masterton Intermediate deputy principal Russell Thompson was yesterday acquitted by a Wellington District Court jury on two charges of committing indecent acts on a 12-year-old pupil.
It was alleged he touched the girl's bottom on the outside of her clothes on a number of occasions when they were alone. It was also alleged he bent down and kissed her on the mouth.
Mr Thompson had strong support throughout the trial from family and many of his work colleagues, including the school's principal Frazer Mailman.
Many took the stand as character witnesses and spoke about Mr Thompson's high standing among his peers and popularity with the school's pupils.
Mr Mailman said today incidents such as the one in question had a negative impact on all teachers – particularly males. "I believe it has a significant impact in terms of the numbers of male teachers that are in our teaching force," he said.
As mentioned previously, I trained with Russell and I am pleased for him that he has been declared innocent. Teaching is surely not a safe place for men to work. The rules are simple. Never be alone with less than 3 students no matter be they male or female. If you must, make sure there is another staff member with you. I do not blame him that he is looking at his options and would not be surprised if he decided to retrain and embark on another career. It will most certainly have a negative effect on men choosing to be teachers.