(Canada) El ed teachers union: "70% of its members have...experienced violence"

Jan 24, 2018, (Canada) CBC: Teachers' union calls for action to address classroom violence http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/violence-in-the-classroom-survey-1.4500675 Experiencing or witnessing violence on the job is the reality for many elementary school teachers, according to their union. The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario says, across the province, 70 per cent of its members have either personally experienced violence or witnessed it on the job. The union surveyed its members last fall. "The rates for kindergarten teachers and our designated early childhood educators is even higher" Barb Blasutti, the ETFO representative for the Rainbow Board in Sudbury. "We're talking about a range of violent actions such as throwing things, hitting you, spitting on you, biting, kicking, punching [and] threatening." … Blasutti says there's a number of reasons why violence is occurring in classrooms. "We have a lot of students in our system with mental health issues and who don't have the skills to manage," she said. … Pregnant teacher 'terrified' Blasutti says violence in the classroom creates a scary situation for teachers and students. She says she recently spoke with a Sudbury based teacher who is pregnant. … Blasutti says she's also heard of teachers having to empty their classrooms to keep their students safe from another violent student. …