teacher dies from interaction in school

[Anonymous]

I'm a special ed teacher. I teach high school students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, so less disabled than the students this teacher worked with.

I once had a situation where we were at a park on a field trip. One of my students was running around, which would normally be fine, but they were crossing a bike path and I was worried they'd get hit, so I stepped into their path to try to change the direction the direction they were running. I was literally redirecting the student. The student tripped, fell and I broke their fall, and ended up breaking a bone. Luckily, it wasn't my skull, and I recovered. Kid was fine.

If I had hit my head, and I'd died, then the situation would have been exactly as described here. I was redirecting a student, fell, and died. But it wasn't a "violent" student, or a student whose behavior was out of control. It was a student whose disability made it hard for them to appreciate the risk, and to change their running path smoothly.

To argue that the kid needed a more restrictive environment, or an SRO is absurd.

Now, I don't know what actually happened in this situation, but it's quite possible that the incident happened as described, and was just a freak accident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a special ed teacher. I teach high school students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, so less disabled than the students this teacher worked with.

I once had a situation where we were at a park on a field trip. One of my students was running around, which would normally be fine, but they were crossing a bike path and I was worried they'd get hit, so I stepped into their path to try to change the direction the direction they were running. I was literally redirecting the student. The student tripped, fell and I broke their fall, and ended up breaking a bone. Luckily, it wasn't my skull, and I recovered. Kid was fine.

If I had hit my head, and I'd died, then the situation would have been exactly as described here. I was redirecting a student, fell, and died. But it wasn't a "violent" student, or a student whose behavior was out of control. It was a student whose disability made it hard for them to appreciate the risk, and to change their running path smoothly.

To argue that the kid needed a more restrictive environment, or an SRO is absurd.

Now, I don't know what actually happened in this situation, but it's quite possible that the incident happened as described, and was just a freak accident.

I'm sorry you were injured, but I don't think your story really applies here. No one is seriously saying that all SPED students need to be shunned from society. The OP of this post was advocating that students with a history of violence receive placements where they are not dangers to other students and staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A homicide does not always mean a crime, people.The article says that the Union is not blaming the student for the incident but is focused on resource issues and the Texas governor’s refusal to provide adequate funding for training, staff etc.

A couple of thoughts I have are:

Having spent the last 8 years working with elders and now making the transition to working with kids at the YMCA in anticipation of teaching in the public schools this coming fall, I wonder how wise it is for a 70+ year old man to be working with students of high school age who have behavioral issues that very often escalate to pushing/shoving not because they are criminally minded but because they have an inability to control impulsivity, anxiety, anger etc.

It’s very easy for elder to lose balance and fall. I read a piece in the news about the Travis Kelce coach pushing incident at the Super Bowl where the coach admitted he nearly fell having lost his feet from under him. Older folks even when relatively fit begin to have balance issues and lose core strength that would help one maintain one’s position when bumped or shoved by a student and using the body blocking techniques we are taught to redirect such behaviorally challenged students. Once you lose balance and fall and the head impacts the floor, that can be deadly at any age - with zero intent by a child with ASD or some other diagnosis to have caused harm.

I’m 53, solid and strong and have no intention of working with high school sized kids who have serious behavioral issues. I’ll work with HS age kids who are NT and reasonably conforming in behavior, but at present it’s my intention to teach somewhere in the range of kindergarten to MS for the very reason that I have concerns about this kind of issue.

I’m not blaming the deceased teacher but I do think it’s important to bear in mind one’s limitations when choosing the student population one works with.

This is definitely not sounding anything like the incident in Florida where a teachers aide suffered a savage beat down from a very large student who lost his shit over his cellphone or gaming device.

But yes there are a lot of behaviors in school kids these days that I don’t recall seeing when I was in school decades ago - but much of what I’m seeing at the YMCA program I work is diagnosed issues either lead poisoning, ASD, or other organic issues that aren’t about kids just being bad - they’re suffering from disorders that compel them to act out and the older and bigger they are the more difficult and dangerous to manage.

What solution do others suggest?

Yes, yes it does. If you mean it could be some form of reckless or negligent homicide, and not an intentional murder by the student, then fine. But it’s still a crime.

Wrong.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/homicide-murder-manslaughter-32637.html#:~:text=Homicide%20is%20a%20legal%20term,the%20category%20of%20unlawful%20homicides.

I am a former prosecutor, I know a thing or two about homicide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a special ed teacher. I teach high school students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, so less disabled than the students this teacher worked with.

I once had a situation where we were at a park on a field trip. One of my students was running around, which would normally be fine, but they were crossing a bike path and I was worried they'd get hit, so I stepped into their path to try to change the direction the direction they were running. I was literally redirecting the student. The student tripped, fell and I broke their fall, and ended up breaking a bone. Luckily, it wasn't my skull, and I recovered. Kid was fine.

If I had hit my head, and I'd died, then the situation would have been exactly as described here. I was redirecting a student, fell, and died. But it wasn't a "violent" student, or a student whose behavior was out of control. It was a student whose disability made it hard for them to appreciate the risk, and to change their running path smoothly.

To argue that the kid needed a more restrictive environment, or an SRO is absurd.

Now, I don't know what actually happened in this situation, but it's quite possible that the incident happened as described, and was just a freak accident.

I'm sorry you were injured, but I don't think your story really applies here. No one is seriously saying that all SPED students need to be shunned from society. The OP of this post was advocating that students with a history of violence receive placements where they are not dangers to other students and staff.

But there is no evidence this kid had a history of violence. My story illustrates that a student who doesn't have a history of violence can still end up hurting a teacher. That doesn't mean that they didn't belong in their setting, which in this case appears to have been a self contained special education classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a special ed teacher. I teach high school students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, so less disabled than the students this teacher worked with.

I once had a situation where we were at a park on a field trip. One of my students was running around, which would normally be fine, but they were crossing a bike path and I was worried they'd get hit, so I stepped into their path to try to change the direction the direction they were running. I was literally redirecting the student. The student tripped, fell and I broke their fall, and ended up breaking a bone. Luckily, it wasn't my skull, and I recovered. Kid was fine.

If I had hit my head, and I'd died, then the situation would have been exactly as described here. I was redirecting a student, fell, and died. But it wasn't a "violent" student, or a student whose behavior was out of control. It was a student whose disability made it hard for them to appreciate the risk, and to change their running path smoothly.

To argue that the kid needed a more restrictive environment, or an SRO is absurd.

Now, I don't know what actually happened in this situation, but it's quite possible that the incident happened as described, and was just a freak accident.

I'm sorry you were injured, but I don't think your story really applies here. No one is seriously saying that all SPED students need to be shunned from society. The OP of this post was advocating that students with a history of violence receive placements where they are not dangers to other students and staff.

But there is no evidence this kid had a history of violence. My story illustrates that a student who doesn't have a history of violence can still end up hurting a teacher. That doesn't mean that they didn't belong in their setting, which in this case appears to have been a self contained special education classroom.

Okay? But then we would see accidental death and not homicide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a special ed teacher. I teach high school students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, so less disabled than the students this teacher worked with.

I once had a situation where we were at a park on a field trip. One of my students was running around, which would normally be fine, but they were crossing a bike path and I was worried they'd get hit, so I stepped into their path to try to change the direction the direction they were running. I was literally redirecting the student. The student tripped, fell and I broke their fall, and ended up breaking a bone. Luckily, it wasn't my skull, and I recovered. Kid was fine.

If I had hit my head, and I'd died, then the situation would have been exactly as described here. I was redirecting a student, fell, and died. But it wasn't a "violent" student, or a student whose behavior was out of control. It was a student whose disability made it hard for them to appreciate the risk, and to change their running path smoothly.

To argue that the kid needed a more restrictive environment, or an SRO is absurd.

Now, I don't know what actually happened in this situation, but it's quite possible that the incident happened as described, and was just a freak accident.

I'm sorry you were injured, but I don't think your story really applies here. No one is seriously saying that all SPED students need to be shunned from society. The OP of this post was advocating that students with a history of violence receive placements where they are not dangers to other students and staff.

But there is no evidence this kid had a history of violence. My story illustrates that a student who doesn't have a history of violence can still end up hurting a teacher. That doesn't mean that they didn't belong in their setting, which in this case appears to have been a self contained special education classroom.

Okay? But then we would see accidental death and not homicide.

Nope, because homicide can be an accident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alfred Jimenez was killed in his classroom earlier this month. His death has been ruled a homicide. And yet, virtually every school in the U.S. has students who are physically aggressive. While the student in question had an IEP, this is not just about students with disabilities. At some point, teachers, staff and students need legal protections from all the students who are unsafe and do not belong in schools. Period. FAPE needs to be redefined.

https://www.lmtonline.com/news/local/article/brandeis-teacher-death-18681974.php

I hope this kid is tried as an adult. Violent, SN, IEP children should not be in regular school class. Other children are short changed because so much attention has to be given to these trouble makers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alfred Jimenez was killed in his classroom earlier this month. His death has been ruled a homicide. And yet, virtually every school in the U.S. has students who are physically aggressive. While the student in question had an IEP, this is not just about students with disabilities. At some point, teachers, staff and students need legal protections from all the students who are unsafe and do not belong in schools. Period. FAPE needs to be redefined.

https://www.lmtonline.com/news/local/article/brandeis-teacher-death-18681974.php

I hope this kid is tried as an adult. Violent, SN, IEP children should not be in regular school class. Other children are short changed because so much attention has to be given to these trouble makers.

He wasn't in a regular class.