physical aggression towards teachers

[Anonymous]

Do you notice the hitting at certain times of the day? Is there a specials class or teacher that might be a trigger?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you notice the hitting at certain times of the day? Is there a specials class or teacher that might be a trigger?

Lol. I'm a teacher and going to work is my trigger. Maybe I should avoid it.

[Anonymous]

Many schools this is normal and many school admin blame the teacher for being bad te a chess otherwise they would not have gotten attacked. Some admin non renew teachers for this gaslighting. But until the end of the year they will try to get double overtime out of ya.

[Anonymous]

I'd say the only person it is normal for a 5 year old to hit would be a sibling. Maybe a peer very occasionally during an out of the ordinary fight if they play very physically. NEVER a grown up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what age does it stop being within the spectrum of normal for a 5.5 year old student to hit, kick, push teachers when angry?
What is normal for a one time "rare" incident?
What is within normal for incidents that happen several times per week?

Assume that the teachers and staff are responsive, using developmentally appropriate methods of instruction and class routines, lots of recess, lots of SEL lessons, lots of firm kindness.

DCPS K teacher here. Zero times is normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP. I teach kindergarten and am not talking about my own child. I've been hit, kicked and pushed on at least a dozen occasions by a child in the last 8 weeks. My direct supervisor keeps telling me this is in the spectrum of normal. As for the before and after, one time the student kicked me because when he asked for help with his backpack I was helping a student and needed him to wait a minute. He literally walked over and started screaming at me and kicked me.

Hi K teacher. Fellow teacher here. Even though the child is 5, that is a form of assault. That child is likely experiencing violence at home and, if so, parent/s are unlikely to support you. Admin and social worker will need to step in. I’d definitely send it up that ladder ASAP as it will definitely happen again and might be towards another student. But YOUR dignity and safety matter! The child and parent need to know what the consequences will be if it ever happens agin. Also, if you are a new teacher, please consult your social worker before contacting parents. If there is abuse in the home, the abuser might escalate attacks on the child if they think the child might tell on them or is getting in trouble at school. Good luck OP and stay on this without letting administrators off the hook.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is terrible. I agree with a PP that the failure is the school’s. They should not be “normalizing” it. This is a child in need of intervention and likely a different placement. The fault isn’t yours and it isn’t the child’s. The school and the parents have to figure out an alternative solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is terrible. I agree with a PP that the failure is the school’s. They should not be “normalizing” it. This is a child in need of intervention and likely a different placement. The fault isn’t yours and it isn’t the child’s. The school and the parents have to figure out an alternative solution.

Thanks.
So far they are intervening by involving the social worker, bringing in a BCBA, bringing in a full time TA, using a chart, etc. Of course, now instead of hitting just me, he hits the TA too.
We've actually had 4 days in a row where he hasn't hit or kicked either of us, so perhaps we're seeing a glimmer of hope. But yeah, the first 8 weeks of school have been hugely disrupted, my entire class is behind academically and socially because of it (I have spent so much time dealing with his behavior, a lot of other lessons I'd normally do haven't happened). I can't really report an injury to anyone because except for once, he hasn't hit or kicked hard enough to do any true damage. Once though, he kicked so hard and so long that I had to put an object between us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is terrible. I agree with a PP that the failure is the school’s. They should not be “normalizing” it. This is a child in need of intervention and likely a different placement. The fault isn’t yours and it isn’t the child’s. The school and the parents have to figure out an alternative solution.

The parents!!

[Anonymous]

Veteran teacher here. You can report an assault to law enforcement even if there isn’t a mark on you. The other kids in the room are experiencing secondary trauma by watching all this and being afraid for themselves or the adults. I would start calling parents (don’t put it in writing) and telling them that their child might seem a little stressed because the room had to be cleared today because a student hit people or whatever, and you just want them to know their kid might need some TLC. The parents need to push back on this, but can’t if they don’t know.

You also should try to document this in terms of lessons you didn’t get to because of this child, so that your evaluation doesn’t suffer if kids aren’t achieving benchmarks.

I know that calling the police sounds drastic for a little kid, but that’s how kids get moved and access to help and appropriate placements.

In some districts you have the right to request that the child not return to your room because of assaults towards you. Look at your school board policies online.

I’m sorry this is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is terrible. I agree with a PP that the failure is the school’s. They should not be “normalizing” it. This is a child in need of intervention and likely a different placement. The fault isn’t yours and it isn’t the child’s. The school and the parents have to figure out an alternative solution.

Thanks.
So far they are intervening by involving the social worker, bringing in a BCBA, bringing in a full time TA, using a chart, etc. Of course, now instead of hitting just me, he hits the TA too.
We've actually had 4 days in a row where he hasn't hit or kicked either of us, so perhaps we're seeing a glimmer of hope. But yeah, the first 8 weeks of school have been hugely disrupted, my entire class is behind academically and socially because of it (I have spent so much time dealing with his behavior, a lot of other lessons I'd normally do haven't happened). I can't really report an injury to anyone because except for once, he hasn't hit or kicked hard enough to do any true damage. Once though, he kicked so hard and so long that I had to put an object between us.

DP. I'm impressed your district is doing all of that. This should be the norm after the first incidence of aggression, and it shouldn't take 8 weeks of data before it happens. Hopefully the student's behavior continues to improve. If it doesn't, don't hesitate to report it as an assault as others have said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is terrible. I agree with a PP that the failure is the school’s. They should not be “normalizing” it. This is a child in need of intervention and likely a different placement. The fault isn’t yours and it isn’t the child’s. The school and the parents have to figure out an alternative solution.

Thanks.
So far they are intervening by involving the social worker, bringing in a BCBA, bringing in a full time TA, using a chart, etc. Of course, now instead of hitting just me, he hits the TA too.
We've actually had 4 days in a row where he hasn't hit or kicked either of us, so perhaps we're seeing a glimmer of hope. But yeah, the first 8 weeks of school have been hugely disrupted, my entire class is behind academically and socially because of it (I have spent so much time dealing with his behavior, a lot of other lessons I'd normally do haven't happened). I can't really report an injury to anyone because except for once, he hasn't hit or kicked hard enough to do any true damage. Once though, he kicked so hard and so long that I had to put an object between us.

DP. I'm impressed your district is doing all of that. This should be the norm after the first incidence of aggression, and it shouldn't take 8 weeks of data before it happens. Hopefully the student's behavior continues to improve. If it doesn't, don't hesitate to report it as an assault as others have said.

I'm impressed by your school's efforts too. It sounds like everyone, you, the school, even the child too, is trying and it's just an awful situation all around. It sounds like they have the right supports into place now and things will either stabilize or the child will continue to act out and they will have enough data for the child to find a more appropriate school program.

Teacher - You have been a really calm and balanced force in this thread. I've seen a number of other threads like this with teachers launching into hostile rants about the kid and then talking about how much they hate their jobs and aren't paid enough and it's nice to read posts from a person who is trying to be fair to everyone. I hope you continue to be you and keep teaching.

[Anonymous]

Document. You do not need injuries to document. Send messages to the other parents. “I want to make you aware of an incident that happened in class today, where Billy kicked your child. I sent Billy to the nurse and he appears to be ok now with no physical injuries.” That is your documentation. Keep a log of his behavior everyday. The TA can assist with this. That too is documentation. Send every child to the nurse if Billy hits or throws anything at them. The nurse keeps documentation of visits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is terrible. I agree with a PP that the failure is the school’s. They should not be “normalizing” it. This is a child in need of intervention and likely a different placement. The fault isn’t yours and it isn’t the child’s. The school and the parents have to figure out an alternative solution.

Thanks.
So far they are intervening by involving the social worker, bringing in a BCBA, bringing in a full time TA, using a chart, etc. Of course, now instead of hitting just me, he hits the TA too.
We've actually had 4 days in a row where he hasn't hit or kicked either of us, so perhaps we're seeing a glimmer of hope. But yeah, the first 8 weeks of school have been hugely disrupted, my entire class is behind academically and socially because of it (I have spent so much time dealing with his behavior, a lot of other lessons I'd normally do haven't happened). I can't really report an injury to anyone because except for once, he hasn't hit or kicked hard enough to do any true damage. Once though, he kicked so hard and so long that I had to put an object between us.

DP. I'm impressed your district is doing all of that. This should be the norm after the first incidence of aggression, and it shouldn't take 8 weeks of data before it happens. Hopefully the student's behavior continues to improve. If it doesn't, don't hesitate to report it as an assault as others have said.

I'm impressed by your school's efforts too. It sounds like everyone, you, the school, even the child too, is trying and it's just an awful situation all around. It sounds like they have the right supports into place now and things will either stabilize or the child will continue to act out and they will have enough data for the child to find a more appropriate school program.

Teacher - You have been a really calm and balanced force in this thread. I've seen a number of other threads like this with teachers launching into hostile rants about the kid and then talking about how much they hate their jobs and aren't paid enough and it's nice to read posts from a person who is trying to be fair to everyone. I hope you continue to be you and keep teaching.

Yeah, I think you might have missed a post or two. I do hate this part of my job, tbh, while loving other parts. I have had a lot of resentful feelings towards the child. But I am still trying, not allowing any of the students to see how I really feel, making sure each day the child gets positive feedback and a snuggle, and giving him praise for anytime he does not hit. (We've got a little sign language thing going on where I reassure him that I still love him.) We are coaching him through naming his feelings and using more appropriate ways to express them. I have a few more years and plan to retire from the field in a couple of years, way earlier than I really should. I'm just exhausted by it all. This is a job for young kids in their 20's not women in their 50's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Document. You do not need injuries to document. Send messages to the other parents. “I want to make you aware of an incident that happened in class today, where Billy kicked your child. I sent Billy to the nurse and he appears to be ok now with no physical injuries.” That is your documentation. Keep a log of his behavior everyday. The TA can assist with this. That too is documentation. Send every child to the nurse if Billy hits or throws anything at them. The nurse keeps documentation of visits.

Um, teachers can't tell parents the name of the child who is hitting/kicking, etc them.