IQALUIT - Over the course of two weeks, one Kivalliq teacher was punched and had a padlock thrown at his head. Fortunately the student missed.

James Jacquard, president of the Nunavut Teachers Association, is trying to call attention to the problem of violence in the classroom. The teachers union has launched a "Make Learning Safe" campaign to drive the point home. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo Reporting attacks: 68 reports of teacher abuse were filed in 2006. 50 per cent (34) of these reports were physical attacks against teachers 22 were reports of insults, abusive language or obscene gestures (largely underestimated as most teachers do not report these) 14 were reports of threats Three were reports of damage to personal property Seven were reports of harassment due to gender, race or religion - Source: Nunavut Teachers Association

A Qikiqtani student made a gunshot gesture at a teacher after being disciplined.

Another Kivalliq teacher was confronted by a student's angry family members making "extremely violent threats."

Nunavut's 650 teachers reported 68 acts of violence in the classroom in 2006 and the territory's teachers' union wants to put a stop to it. Today they launched the "Make Learning Safe" campaign.

"The goal of this campaign is two-fold," said Nunavut Teachers Association president James Jacquard. "To ensure teachers have a safe place to teach and students have a safe place to learn."

At the union's office last Wednesday, piles of posters and bookmarks bearing the campaign's logo - an apple with bandages on it - lay in piles ready to mailed. Jacquard said the union will distribute some 550 posters and more than 9,000 bookmarks to every school in Nunavut.

Historically, teachers have under-reported acts of violence committed against them in class, Jacquard said. The union didn't see a spike in incident reports until after a September workshop in which the union pleaded with its membership to speak up. The teachers' association now keeps a running count of violence in the classroom.

"Even though there were incidents of abuse that we know happened because we hear about them, most teachers have not traditionally reported them," Jacquard said. "One of the reasons is teachers felt information might have been shared. They also felt that if they reported incidents of being sworn at that it would reflect badly on their handling of their own discipline in the classrooms."

According to the union's figures, half of reported incidents involved violence ranging from spitting to punches and kicks.

One teacher who taught in the Qikiqtani region for six years and didn't want his name used said classroom violence was a major reason behind his decision to leave Nunavut.

"Violence in schools in Nunavut is a major problem, probably more than what anyone wants to admit," he wrote in an e-mail. "I was physically attacked and assaulted (in class), at which point I had to defend myself." He did not give any other details.

Jacquard is quick to point out he believes 90 per cent of Nunavut students are good kids. He just wants people to know that violence in the classroom is not a "normal" part of the job.

"This campaign is not to point fingers, it's to raise awareness," he said. "By and large, the student population is great."

The bad apples also tend to be bullies, Jacquard said, and he wants to include anti-bullying programs in any solution to violence against teachers. Other measures he hopes to see include workshops and curricula that "promote responsibility."

Education minister Ed Picco said he supports the teachers' campaign. Picco points to a number of national and territorial anti-violence and anti-bullying programs already in place.

He also pledged that the new version of the education act will include measures to deal with school violence.

That legislation should be ready before the legislative assembly meets in the spring, Picco said.