# Teacher assaults student that uses a racial slur against him **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106 "2018-11-07T00:02:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/161 "2018-11-11T19:01:12Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What happened to the student? A three-day suspension aka staycation? If that. He will now be a hero to everyone in the school. As for the class, the teacher will be removed and the kids given a sub. Who’s life will be living hell and I’d bet the school will just give all the kids A’s. Yes, I’ve seen them do it. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/162 "2018-11-11T19:07:31Z")
> [@contradancer](#): > > If I sit down and give it some thought, abusing black people has been a sport in this country for a long time. I don’t know how they have stood it. I couldn’t. And now that we have a despicable POTUS in charge, who condones this, children are saying things they would never have said in the past. I guess he just lost it and in my heart of hearts I think the kid deserved it after insulting and throwing a ball at an elderly black man, when he was the one disobeying school rules. I’m glad he hit him. If that makes me a bad person, so be it. Oh good one… blame it on Trump. And good grief, the teacher is black! You want to know who is really pissed at how bad black youth are today? Older black teachers. When I was a teacher 30 years ago I worked with many black teachers who had gone thru segregation and all with the hope that tomorrows black youth would benefit. I’ve had black teachers talk about how disgusted the kids are and some have even confided that they would rather teach hispanic kids because they respect them more. This crappy student behavior has been happening for years. LONG before Trmp was in office. Some schools nail kids down so teachers dont lose it, some dont. I’m guessing the school in question is a zoo. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/163 "2018-11-11T19:12:40Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Ubanredneck, does your special needs child act out sometimes at school? If so, would you be cool with the teacher snapping and punching him a couple of dozen times and then kicking him a few times once he hit the floor? Because if I had a kid and he was treated like that, the teacher had better pray for the safety of prison. Actually many sped kids have been abused and the teachers prosecuted. This is also why we push for cameras in special education classrooms and 2 way mirrors. Lots of abuse can happen in special ed. Also sped teachers are trained in a restraint method called BIST that doesnt hurt the student. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/164 "2018-11-11T19:24:32Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Actually many sped kids have been abused and the teachers prosecuted. This is also why we push for cameras in special education classrooms and 2 way mirrors. Lots of abuse can happen in special ed. This is non-responsive. The question was not about the factual issue of whether bad things sometimes happen. The question related to you apparently thinking it’s _okay_ for a kid to be beaten up by their teacher. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/165 "2018-11-12T15:00:48Z")
Update on the student that hit the teacher. [It’s being investigated.](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/k-12/bs-md-ci-douglass-teacher-student-viral-1108-story.html) Explain to me why he’s not in jail. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/166 "2018-11-12T20:14:08Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Update on the student that hit the teacher. > > [It’s being investigated.](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/k-12/bs-md-ci-douglass-teacher-student-viral-1108-story.html) > > Explain to me why he’s not in jail. Speculating, but maybe because it’s still being investigated? Maybe the DA is trying to pin down just what to charge the kid with, and get everything in place to do so. And maybe it’s not the highest priority when resources are limited and there are murders and other more violent crimes taking place. It may also be that the teacher has indicated she has no interest in seeing the kid fed into the criminal justice system. Could be none of those things. Whatever it is, some patience is warranted. People often get agitated when a miscreant isn’t charged within minutes of the offense, and I think that’s misguided. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/167 "2018-11-12T20:54:21Z")
Years ago when I was teaching in KCMO the teachers union became fed up with the poor response from the district when students assaulted teachers and they told us just call the cops. Again, I agree the teacher went to far but I can certainly understand what lead to it. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/168 "2018-11-12T20:57:30Z")
LOL ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/169 "2018-11-12T21:07:54Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Years ago when I was teaching in KCMO the teachers union became fed up with the poor response from the district when students assaulted teachers and they told us just call the cops. > > Again, I agree the teacher went to far but I can certainly understand what lead to it. I have seen this all of the time in other districts I’ve taught in and I never understand why teachers don’t press charges when a student hits them. BUT there is the other extreme. In one school I taught at I had confiscated a phone. The student thought about it a second then tried to grab it back. Student didn’t attack me physically but one of her fingernails scratched the back of my finger. I go to the school nurse to clean it with antibacterial soap, put a little ab ointment on it and a band-aid. I had to report it since it happened at work (nurse has to track if people can into her office of “school-related” injuries). 30 minutes later I get called into the principal’s office and he asked what happened. I said exactly what I said here pointing out I never felt threatened just she made a stupid choice. Certainly she never intended to cause me harm. She was expelled before the end of the day for assaulting a teacher. I vehemently disagreed with the decision but was ignored ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/170 "2018-11-12T21:09:37Z")
You should have tried screaming at her, inches from her face. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/171 "2018-11-12T21:10:37Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Could be none of those things. Whatever it is, some patience is warranted. People often get agitated when a miscreant isn’t charged within minutes of the offense, and I think that’s misguided. Never having been even arrested I was unaware how it progresses. I thought with such obvious evidence of a crime the cops would arrest him then leave it to the DA to figure out after what to charge him with. Does that only happen if the cops are present when the crime is being committed? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/172 "2018-11-12T21:25:31Z")
According to [THIS](https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/02/06/when-students-assault-teachers-effects-can-be.html) article in 2015-2016 5.8% of our nations teachers were attacked by students. Many times teachers have to deal with the fact the kid comes right back into their classroom. In the article a 6th grade teacher was attacked, the school did nothing to the kid, so the teacher filed charges. The teacher was then fired for this but sued and got a small settlement. In addition according to [THIS](https://www.ravemobilesafety.com/blog/violence-against-teachers-a-silent-national-crisis) article, 9.2% of teachers are threatened with violence. Clearly something has to be done. Teachers are being assaulted, students are getting off, and nobody wants to talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/173 "2018-11-12T21:30:20Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > This is non-responsive. The question was not about the factual issue of whether bad things sometimes happen. The question related to you apparently thinking it’s _okay_ for a kid to be beaten up by their teacher. And again, my response is teachers are constantly being threatened and assaulted by students and we have some people slamming on the teacher and wanting him arrested. Clearly though the school environment is to blame because if the kid hadnt been such an a\*\*, putting on his little show, if the teacher had known the kid was going to be disciplined, the teacher would not have lost it. Blame the environment, not the teacher. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/174 "2018-11-12T21:33:07Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Speculating, but maybe because it’s still being investigated? Maybe the DA is trying to pin down just what to charge the kid with, and get everything in place to do so. And maybe it’s not the highest priority when resources are limited and there are murders and other more violent crimes taking place. > > It may also be that the teacher has indicated she has no interest in seeing the kid fed into the criminal justice system. > > Could be none of those things. Whatever it is, some patience is warranted. People often get agitated when a miscreant isn’t charged within minutes of the offense, and I think that’s misguided. I dont. Being handcuffed and hauled away in a police car might get the little brat to realize this wasnt a game anymore. I think school safety needs to be a priority. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/175 "2018-11-12T21:33:43Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > IMHO, only one of the two is at risk for a repeat of this kind of incident, and it isn’t Mr. Riley. 😉 The student must have known calling any black person a N will result in a fight. Doesn’t matter if he’s a teacher or not. You don’t direct racist language against another person unless you’re prepared for the consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/176 "2018-11-13T08:14:32Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What happened to the student? A three-day suspension aka staycation? Even if this were to be true, it would have no relevancy to the culpability of the teacher for _his_ actions. Even a complete and total miscarriage of justice for the student and his actions would not justify anything less than full accountability for the teacher and his. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > And good grief, the teacher is black! You want to know who is really pissed at how bad black youth are today? Older black teachers. When I was a teacher 30 years ago I worked with many black teachers who had gone thru segregation and all with the hope that tomorrows black youth would benefit. I’ve had black teachers talk about how disgusted the kids are and some have even confided that they would rather teach hispanic kid’s And I’m sure these same older black teachers would be really pissed at a fellow black teacher who so profoundly failed his students and showed them that the way to solve some problems is thru violence. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > And again, my response is teachers are constantly being threatened and assaulted by students and we have some people slamming on the teacher and wanting him arrested. Clearly though the school environment is to blame because if the kid hadnt been such an a\*\*, putting on his little show, if the teacher had known the kid was going to be disciplined, the teacher would not have lost it. > > Blame the environment, not the teacher. A need for policy change within a school system does not, and should not ever be used to, justify criminal behavior of it’s employees. He committed a violent crime against a child and he needs to take full responsibility. Yes I want him arrested. And tried. And if convicted, to serve the appropriate amount of time typically seen for similar offenses. No more no less. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/177 "2018-11-14T19:05:35Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Even if this were to be true, it would have no relevancy to the culpability of the teacher for _his_ actions. Even a complete and total miscarriage of justice for the student and his actions would not justify anything less than full accountability for the teacher and his. That question was in reference to the Baltimore student that sucker punched his teacher. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/178 "2018-11-15T22:48:56Z")
Just to be clear, I do not think that the teacher should do any jail time. If I was the prosecutor, I would give him some sort of pre-trial diversion in which he takes anger management classes and then dismiss the charge. He did commit a battery on the student, but he was provoked. I would take that in account. Likewise, if the kid had shoved or thrown a punch at the teacher, I fully believe that the teacher has every right to defend himself and throw punches back. I also have no problem with when a teacher tells the student to leave class and go to the principal’s office, and a student refuses, he should be allowed to use reasonable force to enforce his directive, such as grabbing the student by the arm and dragging him down the hall. But none of this is what happened. The teacher allowed the situation to spiral out of control until he blew his top. In my experience, kids will not respect an adult until they know that if an adult tells them to do something, the directive will not be treated like a suggestion and the punishment for not doing so must be immediate. My daughter is getting older, so many times I will say something along the lines of “I think you are making a mistake by doing X, but since you are getting older I’m going to leave that choice up to you.” We can sit and talk about the positives and negatives of doing something. However, when I say you must do Y, that means that discussion time is over and doing Y had better begin immediately. And she does it because I have been consistent in this position for years. With her mother, however, a directive is merely a suggestion and she knows that she can try to argue her way out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/179 "2018-11-15T23:16:18Z")
I hear screaming in someone’s face is highly effective. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/180 "2018-11-17T17:13:50Z")
It doesn’t matter how hard it is to be a teacher, how bad the kids are, how unsatisfactory the consequences for misbehaving kids are. Under no circumstance is punching, slapping, kicking -even “just one”- the answer. Find different ways. Or find different teachers. But never ever assault. The idea that anyone can find justification for this is repugnant. Now, the moment the kid throws a punch, any self defense is entirely appropriate. And the idea that the consequences for kids are minimal “these days” is outright ridiculous. The whole concept of zero tolerance, that last refuge of incompetents and complete abdication of moral responsibility, means kids these days are tap-dancing in a mine field, and the most ridiculously minor offense can have outsized and life-altering consequences. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106.md?page=10)