Teacher censured for ear-pulling

A teacher has been censured after a young student alleged she ‘‘always hit kids in class’’.

Ngamata Kay Maeva was accused of hitting one 7-year-old student on the back, and the leg, and of pulling him up by his ears when he misbehaved in class in July 2015.

In a decision released yesterday, the New Zealand Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal found the Flaxmere Primary School teacher’s use of force to correct the student’s behaviour amounted to serious misconduct.

‘‘Although in this particular case the degree of force might not have been great, we see it as a demeaning way of treating a student ... It has no place in the education of children and young people,’’ the decision read.

Maeva denied the charges, saying she tapped the student to get his attention, and did not pull his ears, but placed her hands over his ears and massaged them to show he should listen.

However, a witness in the investigation said she saw Maeva pull the student’s ear to make him stand up.

She said the child was not hurt, and seemed to find it funny. When the witness told Maeva after class she should not have pulled the student’s ear, Maeva replied: ‘‘I know. I shouldn’t have done it.’’

Maeva had been warned in the past about her behaviour.

In 2009, she received a warning for grabbing a student who swore at her and, in 2013, a teacher aide raised concerns about Maeva using inappropriate and abusive language in the classroom.

In December 2014, she received a second warning for speaking to students in a way that was threatening and unprofessional.

In defending the latest charges, Maeva said she had tapped the student’s arm and back to get his attention.

Prior to the 2015 incident, Maeva accepted she would tap students on the arms, legs, bodies, torsos, and heads, and that sometimes it looked like hitting.

She said she had a naturally loud voice, and used a firm tone.

Maeva has been censured for two years, and is required to have a mentor to help her with ongoing professional development.