Il-pedamenti tat-taghlim ta’ uliedna jibdew min eta zghira u l-kinder school ghandhom bzonn mhux teaching warrant biss imma anke first aid courses.

Nispera li jieqfu l-abbuzzi ghax f’dik l-iskola kien hemm mhux ftit, kemm ghalliema kif ukoll bullying eccesiv.

Issa naraw kemm jinvestigaw il-warrants St. Michael Foundation jew jghidux li l-ghalliema ghandom meta fil-verita ma jkollomx. Kaz car bhal kristal rajna hawn.

Grazzi, Daphne, talli tajtna l-opportunita biex nitkellmu.

We know, because many friends, one in particular, wrote in here that Lisa, God bless her soul, ‘survived because of him. And came alive because of him’. I am sure that whoever wrote that didn’t say this for the very first time here.

This statement is a mea culpa – a mea culpa for not being vigilant, especially after the Vella Gera episode, for failing to pick up the signs, or worse, for detecting the signs and letting them slide.

If I were her father, I would sue their a$$ till kingdom come for dereliction of duty.

‘The Council for the Teaching Profession in a separate statement said Mr Tanti did not hold a temporary warrant and never applied for one.
St Michael’s School Foundation said yesterday that the teacher, Erin Tanti, 23, a supply teacher, was recruited in terms of the law and normal procedure.’

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140327/local/updated-council-says-drama-teacher-in-cliffs-incident-had-no-teaching-warrant.512450

Note to Ministry of Education:

Register to be taken by each different teacher/ different class NOT allow a situation where a child can “cover for another” by marking a missing friend in.

A friend is going to feel guilty either way: if he /she covers or if he/she doesn’t.

The responsibility lies with the school and therefore with the teacher of the class: a child is a child and the onus remains with the teacher. A child should never be exposed to that choice.

That’s exactly what I meant.

All professional establishments especially those who give a service, should know their people well because technically, it’s their people – the teachers – who are running the show.

Lisa, God bless her soul, was often seen in the drama lessons of other classes not her own. She would have been there to spend more time with her ‘teacher’.

How can the school have failed to notice that she wasn’t in the classroom she was supposed to be in, but was going to Erin Tanti’s drama lessons for other classes instead? If other pupils noticed, then the school should have noticed.

The school released a statement to hide their faults but that poor girl is dead.

It looks like he was employed in a rush, barely a week before school started last September.

First time round it was Mark Vella Gera who received a suspended sentence for “sexually propositioning primary-school boys” at the primary school.

This time round its is Erin Tanti who was in blatant breach of his responsibilities as a teacher by being with a pupil (let alone an underage one) in circumstances that were outside those of a normal teacher-pupil relationship.

The actions of these teachers is not even a case of teacher negligence. It is a case of criminal behaviour by the same of the teachers who spend their day with our children.

With all due respect to the management of St. Micheal’s Foundation, you have clearly not addressed the weak link in the armour that should be protecting our children from exposure to the likes of Vella Gera and Tanti.

It’s not like these schools have classes which amount to more than 30 pupils per class.

These schools have very small classes so it’s even easier for problems to show, if a child is going through issues or if things aren’t right. The smaller the class, the more chance there is for the children to receive individual attention.

I very much believe that people were aware of the situation surrounding the girl and her teacher.