Backstory: I’m a 5’2" blonde girl. I teach high school (9th graders). Most of my students are a full head taller than me when I’m in heels.
One of them felt the need to swiftly and rapidly punch me in the arm 3 times today instead of working on his practice problems like I said. I sent him from the room and down to the office with a referral in hand.
The referral comes back to me crumpled in the student’s hand and he tries to sweettalk me with an apology, and I see through it and take the papers. After checking on it, he did see his assistant principal and she simply wrote on the referral “Schedule a conference with student, teacher and administrator” as the action taken. for assault on a teacher.
I’m upset, I know my students are going to suffer from it tomorrow when I’m not on my A-game.
Although no permanant physical harm was done, such an action undermines authority, as does the inaction of the administration, who allowed him to return to classes not 20 minutes after the incident.
Now, I open the floor to those who will tell me it’s my fault for trying to relate to my students, and keep a relaxed learning environment, and pay some attention to the other 30 minds in the room. Silly me. I should have the yardstick out and smack some knuckles all old-school-like.
There was no reason behind them that I could see other than to punch me and punch me hard. He wasn’t upset with me or otherwise angry, but I was not under the impression he was joking around with me.
Irrelevant. Students don’t lay hands on teachers. Ever. Period. The student should have been suspended immediately until such time as this prent conference could be scheduled. There is no way in hell the student should have been back in class like nothing happened.
The police officer on duty in my school will be hearing from me first thing tomorrow. By the time I was thinking straight enough to think to file it, she had already left for the day, and it’s easier on everyone if we go through her rather than another officer.
Really? That’s it? And yet in other schools we’re arresting kids for minor offenses. The kid should definitely not have been sent right back to the teacher he hit.
To clear it up, he did this toward the end of class. He came to see me during the class change and was allowed to go to his next class. Still, why would they put him in another teacher’s room? I just can’t grasp any of it.
Gotta agree with you. He should have been suspended immediatly- not just because the act itself is bad enough (which it is), but because if you allow any physical assault on a teacher to go unpunished you completely undermine the authority of the school system. Maybe the assistant principal will change their mind when s/he gets socked in the mouth by some kid who thinks that they can take advantage of a slippery slope.
Call your union rep ASAP, if you at all anticipate getting blown off by the administration about this. No way should a kid hit you with no consequences or just an apology. You might also want your union person to meet with you and the assistant principal, just in case it gets ugly. I hope you have tenure, too, so you can make a big deal about it if they don’t support you without worrying about it flying back at you. If I had a kid seriously punched me, I know in my school that kid would be suspended so fast his head would spin. Good luck to you in this no doubt upsetting situation.
I have an e-mail in to my union rep. I asked him for an application several times over the last few weeks, and need to actually be able to join.
As far as tenure, I’m a recent college grad, so it’s my first year. I can be axed pretty quickly, but I have job offers outside of education in case this all goes sour.
unrelated: Only Mostly Dead informed me at dinner that i’m supposed to curse in the pit.
Please do stand up for yourself, El Perro Fumando. Beyond that, I’ve got nothing to add other than my sympathies. Oh: you do have a very amusing handle.
When you go in tomorrow be sure to show off your bruises to the AP. I bet the kid softplayed the whole thing as just horsing around. If it was just a stupid teenage male thing, he may not even realize that he really hurt you. He might not understand how strong he is, yet.
But even so, the AP (& the Officer and any other relevant authorities) needs to get in his face with the mother of all wakeup calls.
I’ve been trying to get her to file criminal charges regardless of the administration’s actions. Granted, the aggressor is a minor, but a juvenile criminal penalty is better than nothing. If nothing else, it’s a good civic lesson: “The rule of law in American society.”
I was scared when she came home and said through her tears “a student assaulted me.” There’s a wide range there, and I was really afraid this was a “touch inappropriately” assault (as there was no clear indication of “punched to the point of breaking a nose or causing significant bruising” assault). I am almost ashamed to say I’m really pretty glad she got punched in the arm compared to other degrees of assault.
I knew this was only a matter of time before one of the (not so) little fuckers became aggressive. And I want to see this wretched shit get punished to the full extent of the law for an unprovoked, unwarranted attack.
She wasn’t perfectly clear on this. There isn’t a bruise. It was a series of targeted short punches in the arm, none of which were strong enough to cause a bruise. But which certainly caused physical soreness and emotional distress.
There is, however, an entire classful of students that saw him approach her, hit her, and receive her responsible reaction.
Oh, and Perro. It’s spelled “Barbra.” If you’re going to curse, do it properly!
Allow me to pile on with a “get the authorities and your union involved right now.” Take pictures of your arm tonight and file a police report first thing tomorrow. I would also inform the higher-ups of what happened, if that’s possible (your location says DC area, does DC Schools even HAVE a superintendent?!?).
There is no excuse for striking a teacher, ever. I hope the kid gets racked but good.
“Teacher-student-admin conference” my ass. How about having the cops and a lawyer there as well? And you’d better include the kid’s parents, because this could get serious and they will flip out if they aren’t informed and/or involved.