Rob Hammond says teachers with the Near North District School Board have been scratched, punched, kicked, spat on, and even suffered life-altering concussions due to violence from their students.
Hammond is president of the Near North Teachers Local with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO). He gets an incident report every time one of his members experiences violence in the classroom.
But Hammond says violence in the classroom is a problem across the province.
“The Near North is only one example, but if you go to any of the other locals, they are experiencing the exact same thing,” he said.