I pit students who punch their teachers

The BBQ Pit
121

[QUOTE=El Perro Fumando]
I sent a firm e-mail to the AP last night for which I was promptly reprimanded (yelled at). She didn’t like that I insinuated she wasn’t doing her job properly. I didn’t like that I was punched in class and she didn’t handle it as carefully as she should have. Excuse: “I was busy running to and from meetings” - then refer him to another administrator, we have four others. I’m sure one of them was at least slightly less busy than her. Meeting with the principal tomorrow - she’s more tough love than the AP. I gave the AP a day to rectify the situation and she still hasn’t.
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You are getting yourself into a lot of trouble. Seniors in the hierarchy don’t like being told that they are not doing their job properly, especially when these comments come from a just-out-of-college first year teacher. You’ll end up having no support at all from the administration.

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[QUOTE=Dog80]
You are getting yourself into a lot of trouble. Seniors in the hierarchy don’t like being told that they are not doing their job properly, especially when these comments come from a just-out-of-college first year teacher. You’ll end up having no support at all from the administration.
[/QUOTE]
Sometimes the truth hurts, i guess.

123

[QUOTE=Dog80]
You are getting yourself into a lot of trouble. Seniors in the hierarchy don’t like being told that they are not doing their job properly, especially when these comments come from a just-out-of-college first year teacher. You’ll end up having no support at all from the administration.
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I know. But frankly, don’t really care. I’m a certified math teacher in an area where we’re in an extreme shortage. I will have no problem getting another job if I need to, and the administration knows it. (At my college job fair when I found this job, I had a prominent school district in Virginia basically chase me as I was leaving the room because I was certified in math . . .literally, the woman representing them ran after me.) Plus, I also have standing job offers out of the field of education, so even if my educational career is ruined (over a student hitting me in class and me getting upset that it’s not handled properly), I’m ok.

If I were a social studies or English teacher where there’s a surplus, I might be a little more cautious.

124

The next time I have to come in here, I’m cracking skulls!

125

[QUOTE=El Perro Fumando]
-Student in question was overheard in the office telling another student that “Next time, I’ll punch [Ms. Fumando] in the mouth. And you’re next Ms. Smith. . .” in the direction of his math teacher from last semester. (other teacher’s name changed.)

-Because of this most recent development, I am requesting that his schedule be changed for the remainder of the school year. I do not want him in my class if he makes verbal threats to harm me or his previous teacher.

Additionally, Only Mostly Dead was slightly misinformed. This is the third instance of a referral for some sort of “agressive physical contact” that I have written for the student while he was in my class. The first two acts were against students, and the third is the one being discussed at length.
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Listen to the polcie and file charges. This brat apparently has alrady learned he can get away with this and that will NOT do.

[QUOTE=El Perro Fumando]
I sent a firm e-mail to the AP last night for which I was promptly reprimanded (yelled at). She didn’t like that I insinuated she wasn’t doing her job properly. I didn’t like that I was punched in class and she didn’t handle it as carefully as she should have. Excuse: “I was busy” - then refer him to another administrator, we have four others. I’m sure one of them was at least slightly less busy than her. Meeting with the principal tomorrow - she’s more tough love than the AP. I gave the AP a day to rectify the situation and she still hasn’t.
[/QUOTE]

Didn’t like it??? Tough shit.
Too busy??? Again, tough shit.
Get the union involved. Get this idiot’s superiors involved. If necessary, get an attorny too.

This is bullshit. You got hit. It’s that simple.

126

[QUOTE=whole bean]
No it doesn’t.
I used the number of school days in a year to arrive at the number of weeks in a school year because we were speaking in terms of average hours worked per week – never in that example do I assume someone only works on school days
.
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You used the number of student days in the school year. Depending on the district, teachers will have anywhere from 5 to 15 in-service days added before, during, and after the student year. Many districts, like mine, also have extended days where the teachers must stay several hours later for various reasons.

127

[QUOTE=treis]
I’d just like to quibble with this though. Sealed or not, there is almost always a question on an application asking about criminal history. For example warning pdf Virginia Tech (pg 23) and UVA both ask about criminal and disciplinary history. I was incorrect to say charged with a crime though, both ask about convictions. Sure the records are sealed, but lying on an application is grounds for denying the application, or dismisal after enrollment. Its similar for employment applications.
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But if it’s his first offense and he stays pretty much in line in the future, he likely won’t have to say he was convicted of a crime. The Anne Arundel County judge will probably put him on what’s called “Probation before Judgement.” He’d be released to the custody of his parents, and he may or may not have to check in periodically with a county officer (I’m guessing he wouldn’t). It works just like any other probation: keep your nose clean for a specified time period (one year, two years, until you’re 18, whatever the judge rules), and the charge will be dropped. If you get into more trouble between now and then, then you’ll be charged for that trouble and this at the same time. This kind of probation specifically helps the kids you’re concerned about - basically good kids who made a mistake.

Of course, if he does “hit her in the mouth next time,” all bets are off. treis, does hearing about what he said in the office make you rethink anything you’ve posted?

128

In New York State, secondary teachers now have to have a Masters degree. The within 5 years of hiring clause is over now.

[QUOTE=treis]
Its nothing that jumps off the page, but there are a lot of hidden benefits to that. The first are simply the health and other benefits that come along with the job.
[/quote]

My health benefits are not as good as you think they are. No eyeglass or eye exam coverage. My dental coverage is utterly crap. We joke that we’re supposed to teach kids while being blind and toothless. Not that I’m not grateful to have health care, believe me, but it’s not as good as it’s being depicted.

Are you kidding me? $100,000/year? No bloody way, nohow. I will never make that much, not if I work the entire 35 years until I retire. Maybe in other places, this is true, but not anywhere I’ve worked. I have 2 Masters degrees, also, and my starting salary was still below $40,000.

Here’s the thing about the summer vacation: we do not get paid over the summer. If we get a check or checks over the summer, we get smaller paychecks over the school year. That’s why most teachers work over the summer-- there is no money coming in, really. I am not complaining about this, either, because I like the time off we get. However, we can’t really take time off at any other time. You take vacations when the school kids have them, and that’s it. Again, it’s still a good deal to me, but this whole “teachers have it so easy” thing is, well, laughable.

For me, the positives of the job far outweigh the negatives, but when people give the ol’ :rolleyes: about how much we work, then it’s no wonder people like the kid in the OP don’t respect teachers. Their parents don’t either.

129

I’m a little suprised that the kid has struck (I’m assuming that’s what El Perro Fumando means by “agressive physical contact”) another student in two separate instances and hasn’t been suspended yet. Suspension would seem reasonable to me at this point.

For those who’ve suggested expulsion wouldn’t be much worse than suspension since the rest of the school year consists of about a month, bear in mind that he probably wouldn’t be allowed credit for this year or at least this semester, and might need to either take extra classes or graduate a year late. I’m not saying expulsion isn’t reasonable or that he may not deserve that, just pointing out that it’s a lot worse than suspension even if it is only a month before school’s out anyway.

130

Just wanted to add some sympathy - I know from personal experience how difficult it can be being a physically small and female teacher. Students seem to be more tempted to see how far they can push you - for various reasons.

The idea that a student would hit a teacher is, to me, incomprehensible. I grew up in a small suburb in Georgia, and went to high school in Korea, and in both places any physical contact with a teacher was very rare (except for the younger elementary grades). The kid mentioned in the OP may be bad news, or he may be simply going through a stage, but either way he deserves to be punished. Hope he gets what’s coming to him.

131

[QUOTE=JustAnotherGeek]
Yes, the retirement funds are a much better pension than social security. I do not know how they compare to the average retirement package / etc. of the average joe (w/ a masters).
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You mean, you don’t know how your pension compares to the average joe’s non-existant pension? Employer funded pensions have pretty much gone the way of the dodo. Most of us have to fund retirement out of our salary via 401k and IRA. Your $40k salary is the rough equivalent to $47k with no pension since the person with no pension (if he’s smart) will put that extra $7k away for retirement (15% of the gross). Of course that assumes the pension + SS provides a reasonable income for retirement.

132

[QUOTE=Rubystreak]
Are you kidding me? $100,000/year?
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One does wonder where some people get their information about jobs they’ve never held. When I worked for Micro$oft, one customer insisted that I made about 4 times what I actually did. He actually called me a liar. He actually got mad at me. When I worked as a bank teller, one guy was shocked that I wasn’t filthy rich. “But you work with all that money!” Yeah, but I don’t get to keep it.

133

[QUOTE=Cheesesteak]
You mean, you don’t know how your pension compares to the average joe’s non-existant pension? Employer funded pensions have pretty much gone the way of the dodo. Most of us have to fund retirement out of our salary via 401k and IRA. Your $40k salary is the rough equivalent to $47k with no pension since the person with no pension (if he’s smart) will put that extra $7k away for retirement (15% of the gross). Of course that assumes the pension + SS provides a reasonable income for retirement.
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Hate to be depressing, but I have heard informed people predict that PERS will be going the way of the dodo within 10 years… just something I’ve heard around the retirement planning water cooler…

134

How in the world did this thread manage to veer off from the original topic of teachers being assaulted to a discussion of how much they work and get paid?

Good hijack, there.

135

[QUOTE=Clothahump]
How in the world did this thread manage to veer off from the original topic of teachers being assaulted to a discussion of how much they work and get paid?

Good hijack, there.
[/QUOTE]

Because teachers get paid so much for doing so little, it is okay for their students to assault them.

136

I agree, the kid was out of line in hitting you and should be dealt with, although “HE ASSAULTED A TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEA-CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!! OMG! OMG! OMG! OH. MY. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWD!” reeks of knee jerk over-reaction when you compare it to the fact that it was just three slugs to the arm that didn’t even leave a mark along your admission that he wasn’t angry. I certainly didn’t read it as an angry kid marching up to your desk and assaulting you. Jesus H people, I am surprised no one has yet to suggest the electric chair!

My youngest is 15 years old and also in 9th grade. He and his friends can’t be together for more than 2 minutes before someone gets slugged in the arm. It’s what 9th grade boys do and sometimes they do it to people they shouldn’t do it it. Kids do stupid things without thinking them through and figuring out if it is right or wrong until it is too late. Granted though, I am not making excuses for this kid, not at all. He needs to learn that there are repercussions for unacceptable actions and performing the buddy slug on your teacher is unacceptable.

But that isn’t my issue with this thread. My issue is this:

El Perro Fumando, you are clearly not cut out to be a school teacher, especially a middle school teacher, not because you can’t take a punch to the arm, but for the fact that you see yourself as the “poor widdle, 5’2”, helpless, defenseless, blonde girl gaa gaa goo goo”. If you see yourself this way, and you clearly do, those kids are going to walk all over you. Frankly, I don’t think you have the gonads for it.

137

[QUOTE=El Perro Fumando]
unrelated: Only Mostly Dead informed me at dinner that i’m supposed to curse in the pit.

[/QUOTE]

It’s a myth.

138

[QUOTE=Diane]
I agree, the kid was out of line in hitting you and should be dealt with, although “HE ASSAULTED A TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEA-CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!! OMG! OMG! OMG! OH. MY. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWD!” reeks of knee jerk over-reaction when you compare it to the fact that it was just three slugs to the arm that didn’t even leave a mark along your admission that he wasn’t angry. I certainly didn’t read it as an angry kid marching up to your desk and assaulting you. Jesus H people, I am surprised no one has yet to suggest the electric chair!

My youngest is 15 years old and also in 9th grade. He and his friends can’t be together for more than 2 minutes before someone gets slugged in the arm. It’s what 9th grade boys do and sometimes they do it to people they shouldn’t do it it. Kids do stupid things without thinking them through and figuring out if it is right or wrong until it is too late. Granted though, I am not making excuses for this kid, not at all. He needs to learn that there are repercussions for unacceptable actions and performing the buddy slug on your teacher is unacceptable.
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If a 15 yo can’t be around friends longer than 2 minutes without hitting each other, then there’s something wrong with all of them. This whole line through this thread of ‘boys will be boys, and sometimes boys hit people’ is a bunch of crap. I would fully expect any 15 year old to know that it’s not ok to hit people, hell most people I know teach their kids that starting at about age 2.

And Diane, if you read the rest of her replies you see that this is the third time she’s had to refer him to the office for aggressive violent behavior. Do you still think it’s a knee jerk reaction?

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[QUOTE=Diane]
El Perro Fumando, you are clearly not cut out to be a school teacher, especially a middle school teacher, not because you can’t take a punch to the arm, but for the fact that you see yourself as the “poor widdle, 5’2”, helpless, defenseless, blonde girl gaa gaa goo goo”. If you see yourself this way, and you clearly do, those kids are going to walk all over you. Frankly, I don’t think you have the gonads for it.
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:dubious: She looks fine from where I’m standing. You, however, and your qualifications as a career counselor? Not seeing it.

Daniel

140

[QUOTE=Antinor01]
If a 15 yo can’t be around friends longer than 2 minutes without hitting each other, then there’s something wrong with all of them. This whole line through this thread of ‘boys will be boys, and sometimes boys hit people’ is a bunch of crap. I would fully expect any 15 year old to know that it’s not ok to hit people, hell most people I know teach their kids that starting at about age 2.

And Diane, if you read the rest of her replies you see that this is the third time she’s had to refer him to the office for aggressive violent behavior. Do you still think it’s a knee jerk reaction?
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First off all, fuck you. Unless you are raising a sissy boy in knee socks and plaid shorts, teenage boys will be teenage boys and teenage boys play rough with one another.

Double fuck you for implying that I haven’t taught my kids well.

JFTR, my oldest son is 24 years old, graduated high honor roll from highschool a year and a half before the rest of his class, and is in the process of owning his own company. As far as I know, he has never hit another person outside of his younger, teenage years when rough-housing, in fun, with his friends.

My youngest son is 15 years old. A “B” student, the school basekball champ, and one of the most popular kids in school, not because he is a jock, but because he is funny and nice to everyone. His teachers all tell me what a likeable and fun kid he is and the girls absolutely love him because he is adorable and charming. I get compliments on what a great job I have done as his mom.

Neither one of my sons have become the person they are by hitting people or by me failing in my duties to teach them not to hit. They have also not become the person that they are by having a mother who packaged them in over-protection mama-bubble wrap and not allowed them to do the typical teenage boy rough play with one another.

So again, my kids (all three of them, I also have an awesome 21 year old daughter) are a very good reflection of my parenting for which I am very proud.

And I guess you missed the part where I said that the boy should be punished for doing something unacceptable.

The knee-jerk reaction comment was directed to the swarm of outraged mob mentality gnashing their teeth for that boy’s head.

My comment to the OP, was directed to her “poor widdle blonde girl” comment and how the way that she visualizes herself isn’t going to give her the skills a good teacher needs.