My 68 year old, retired dad had to call security thrice and was shoved while subbing

[Anonymous]

My 68 year old retired dad was shoved while subbing

My sister and I are both teachers in Title I schools in an (ostensibly) affluent district. Our experiences as teachers are full of violence and difficulty. Nevertheless, my dad (a retired prosecutor) wanted to be a substitute.

His first 3 weeks were wonderful. He chose his schools strategically. Avoided some of our harsher selections. He loved it. He shared stories of making connections, returning to the same classes, making an effort to build relationships with the most disengaged students. He was really proud of his work.
On Friday, while subbing at one of our most successful middle schools, he had to call security three times and was shoved by a student.

If a 68 year old man who is (essentially) volunteering his time to support in schools that are (allegedly) safe and exceeding standards can still be assaulted WHAT HOPE IS THERE?

When will this end? How can we end this? This is absolute insanity, anarchy, and does not bode well for future societal norms.

[Anonymous]

Tell him to stick to K-2

[Anonymous]

I teach elementary and kids age k-2 have caused me: to need boosters due to spits and bites, permanent occasional shoulder pain from my first restraint where my form wasn’t stellar, to learn new curse words, threatened me with scissors, etc etc.

MCPS is so broken

[Anonymous]

Your dad had three wonderful weeks and one bad day and that constitutes insanity and anarchy? Hardly. Kudos to him for helping in the schools. I hope he can get the support he deserves if he chooses to continue.

[Anonymous]

What qualifies as one of the most successful middle schools? This doesn’t sound like Pyle or Westland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your dad had three wonderful weeks and one bad day and that constitutes insanity and anarchy? Hardly. Kudos to him for helping in the schools. I hope he can get the support he deserves if he chooses to continue.

How many times do you think a sub needs to be showed in a 3 week period in order to call it insanity and anarchy?

[Anonymous]

Title one schools in affluent area hum…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your dad had three wonderful weeks and one bad day and that constitutes insanity and anarchy? Hardly. Kudos to him for helping in the schools. I hope he can get the support he deserves if he chooses to continue.

How many times do you think a sub needs to be showed in a 3 week period in order to call it insanity and anarchy?

Right? I think once is too many. Any times above zero and we are simply normalizing the ferality of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Title one schools in affluent area hum…

I included the identifier in order to explain; my sister and I teach at Title I schools (as an aside, my school is a 5 min drive to pike and rose. So yes, we have Title I in affluent zones). At our schools, violence and assault is the norm.

I simply wanted to convey: my dad was NOT at a school like ours. The school he was at is one where this type of behavior would NOT be expected (it shouldn’t be expected anywhere, anyways). And it STILL happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title one schools in affluent area hum…

I included the identifier in order to explain; my sister and I teach at Title I schools (as an aside, my school is a 5 min drive to pike and rose. So yes, we have Title I in affluent zones). At our schools, violence and assault is the norm.

I simply wanted to convey: my dad was NOT at a school like ours. The school he was at is one where this type of behavior would NOT be expected (it shouldn’t be expected anywhere, anyways). And it STILL happened.

That’s fascinating. I’ve worked in multiple Title I schools in some extremely challenging urban neighborhoods in Mid-Atlantic cities. In none of them were “violence and assault…the norm”. In any case, “norms” don’t always correlate perfectly with individual behavior.

Since you haven’t provided any details about what happened, perhaps your Dad isn’t cut out to be a sub — or would benefit from support and training in classroom management. Going from being a prosecutor to a job that requires the ability to immediately connect in positive ways with kids — both individually and in groups — is a huge shift, and might require a decidedly different skill set for everyone’s safety and well-being. Subbing is hard. Viewing it as “essentially volunteering “ despite presumably collecting a pay check might not be the best tack to take. Your conclusions about “absolute insanity and anarchy “ don’t bode well for our future as a community if people holding such views are teaching our kids.

[Anonymous]

If he is assaulted, he should call the police, not the principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title one schools in affluent area hum…

I included the identifier in order to explain; my sister and I teach at Title I schools (as an aside, my school is a 5 min drive to pike and rose. So yes, we have Title I in affluent zones). At our schools, violence and assault is the norm.

I simply wanted to convey: my dad was NOT at a school like ours. The school he was at is one where this type of behavior would NOT be expected (it shouldn’t be expected anywhere, anyways). And it STILL happened.

Are you new to DCUM? Parental entitlement is why I would expect that kind of behavior toward a sub or any adult working in a school. At home, the kids aren’t disciplined, plus they learn contempt for teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title one schools in affluent area hum…

I included the identifier in order to explain; my sister and I teach at Title I schools (as an aside, my school is a 5 min drive to pike and rose. So yes, we have Title I in affluent zones). At our schools, violence and assault is the norm.

I simply wanted to convey: my dad was NOT at a school like ours. The school he was at is one where this type of behavior would NOT be expected (it shouldn’t be expected anywhere, anyways). And it STILL happened.

That’s fascinating. I’ve worked in multiple Title I schools in some extremely challenging urban neighborhoods in Mid-Atlantic cities. In none of them were “violence and assault…the norm”. In any case, “norms” don’t always correlate perfectly with individual behavior.

Since you haven’t provided any details about what happened, perhaps your Dad isn’t cut out to be a sub — or would benefit from support and training in classroom management. Going from being a prosecutor to a job that requires the ability to immediately connect in positive ways with kids — both individually and in groups — is a huge shift, and might require a decidedly different skill set for everyone’s safety and well-being. Subbing is hard. Viewing it as “essentially volunteering “ despite presumably collecting a pay check might not be the best tack to take. Your conclusions about “absolute insanity and anarchy “ don’t bode well for our future as a community if people holding such views are teaching our kids.

Just tell us you do not know what a prosecutor does for a living-

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title one schools in affluent area hum…

I included the identifier in order to explain; my sister and I teach at Title I schools (as an aside, my school is a 5 min drive to pike and rose. So yes, we have Title I in affluent zones). At our schools, violence and assault is the norm.

I simply wanted to convey: my dad was NOT at a school like ours. The school he was at is one where this type of behavior would NOT be expected (it shouldn’t be expected anywhere, anyways). And it STILL happened.

That’s fascinating. I’ve worked in multiple Title I schools in some extremely challenging urban neighborhoods in Mid-Atlantic cities. In none of them were “violence and assault…the norm”. In any case, “norms” don’t always correlate perfectly with individual behavior.

Since you haven’t provided any details about what happened, perhaps your Dad isn’t cut out to be a sub — or would benefit from support and training in classroom management. Going from being a prosecutor to a job that requires the ability to immediately connect in positive ways with kids — both individually and in groups — is a huge shift, and might require a decidedly different skill set for everyone’s safety and well-being. Subbing is hard. Viewing it as “essentially volunteering “ despite presumably collecting a pay check might not be the best tack to take. Your conclusions about “absolute insanity and anarchy “ don’t bode well for our future as a community if people holding such views are teaching our kids.

MCPS admin has entered the chat. Always blame the teacher, not the children, for their bad behavior.

[Anonymous]

My DD said most of the subs she has had in her h.s. are older, retired folks. Maybe some additional training and support is needed. Sorry about what happened to your dad.