Student verbally assaulting teacher in front of class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers get “assaulted” all the time. It’s different when kids do it. Basically you just secure everyone’s physical safety and then try to manage it as a behavioral problem.

Can a teacher report an assault to the police? If so, this is what I'd do every time. Seems like that is a major PIA for the parents. Maybe it would result in parents insising kid gets moved to another classroom.

A teacher can call police, but I have never heard of an MCPS teacher doing it. Admin has pretty strict protocols to follow about when to call police. Physical assault on a staff member is certainly one. Verbal assault is not.

However, repeated disruption of a school is a chargeable offense under Maryland law. A few years ago I think a police officer called the cops after his daughter's classroom was repeatedly disrupted by a student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an elementary school teacher and sadly, this isn't rare. I've always built great relationships with students and usually have a way with hard to reach kids. However, the last five years has been a revolving door of students with little to no respect. Yes, the pandemic hasn't helped but this started well before March 2020. I've been hit more times than I can count, called every horrible thing under the sun, and still parents dismissing our calls and calling us racists. I remember in the fall of 2019 I got punched in the face by a student because I leaned down and asked him to stop threatening a peer. I ended up with a bruised face and my DH was furious. He actually wants me to quit but I LOVE teaching.

I just wish the general public knew how often bad stuff goes down even at the elementary level. I know the school to prison pipeline stats and understand the theory behind restorative practices, but we need to start inconveniencing these parents who let their kids go ape shit on us at school.

I agree with you that this started well before the pandemic hit. My guess is the push to mainstream kids with "behaviors" (which has been going on since the early 2000s?) and then the implementation of restorative justice (2018ish?) have been a one two whammy on behavior in schools. We had an issue with the bathrooms being destroyed at our kids' MS (literally kids would rip sinks off the walls). Nothing is done. It just kept happening. MCPS being slow to repair bathrooms was supposed to be a "natural consequence". WTF.

Yes to all of this. I have two kids in MCPS and this has seven my experience. There were instances in both ES and MS where bathrooms were destroyed, kids were assaulted on the school bus, etc. Kids are back in school practically the next day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kids are just going through a phase. A little restorative justice and the assaulting will end.

Yep. Some anti-racism training for the teachers and it will all be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also want add that when a kid acts like this I think of them as a puppy that poops and pees in the house. If I can still like the puppy then I can like a kid like this.

I know the kid can be a manipulative donkey-hole but he probably has a difficult life that you cannot imagine.

How is this kid ever expected to hold down a job after graduation if this kid never leans societal standards?

They will not hold a job. That is what public assistance is for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My MS child came home with a story about a student calling a teacher an a-hole and telling her to shut up in class today in front of everyone. This student isn't from the community and comes on a special program. It took 15 minutes for security to arrive, and the boy has been talking to the teacher like this all week. Kids said the teacher was crying. If the kid is back in class on Monday, I hope the teacher goes straight to the union.

There is a real conversation to be had about the types of behavior teachers have to endure from students.

But the bolded is absolutely irrelevant to that conversation.

[Anonymous]

You go to the principal first, making it very clear that you are not blaming the teacher.

What would you like to see happen, OP? Put that in your email. CC whoever is above the principal- get that person's name.

If nothing changes, request a change of class for your child. This "Oh he can't help it for 12345 reasons" means other kids' opportunity to learn is taken away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You go to the principal first, making it very clear that you are not blaming the teacher.

What would you like to see happen, OP? Put that in your email. CC whoever is above the principal- get that person's name.

If nothing changes, request a change of class for your child. This "Oh he can't help it for 12345 reasons" means other kids' opportunity to learn is taken away.

As a teacher who has been through this more than once, I say reach out to the teacher first. Pose it as “I am so sorry to hear about this. Please know that I support you. How can parents support you?”
Then you take it to administration. Always making it clear that your goal is to support the teacher and the other children in the class. And then encourage other parents in the class to do the same. In my experience, this is the only thing that will make a difference.

[Anonymous]

This is no news, happens all the time and likely the parent of the dear child/abuser would blame the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Straight to the union and do what? I am a teacher and this is common, along side throwing stuff at us. It’s part of the job.

really? Is this normal behavior in the classrooms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is no news, happens all the time and likely the parent of the dear child/abuser would blame the teacher.

Why can't the parents or school system get help for the students?
There may be many reasons why children behave the way they do. Craving for attention, Insecurities and lack of confidence, medical situations.

We have seen this on one of our DC's ES where there were constant disruptions due to similar situation as OP describes and more (hitting and throwing books at other students). Despite all this we really found it difficult to complain because we do not know the reason why child behaved that way. As hard as it is for the teacher and the students, I feel for the parents too as no one wants to see their child behave this way.

So, What is MCPS doing to support the child so that there is a path for course correction and acceptance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You go to the principal first, making it very clear that you are not blaming the teacher.

What would you like to see happen, OP? Put that in your email. CC whoever is above the principal- get that person's name.

If nothing changes, request a change of class for your child. This "Oh he can't help it for 12345 reasons" means other kids' opportunity to learn is taken away.

As a teacher who has been through this more than once, I say reach out to the teacher first. Pose it as “I am so sorry to hear about this. Please know that I support you. How can parents support you?”
Then you take it to administration. Always making it clear that your goal is to support the teacher and the other children in the class. And then encourage other parents in the class to do the same. In my experience, this is the only thing that will make a difference.

Yes, of course. I should have said the principal is second. Pp, out of curiosity how do you respond to parents in this situation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also want add that when a kid acts like this I think of them as a puppy that poops and pees in the house. If I can still like the puppy then I can like a kid like this.

I know the kid can be a manipulative donkey-hole but he probably has a difficult life that you cannot imagine.

How is this kid ever expected to hold down a job after graduation if this kid never leans societal standards?

They will not hold a job. That is what public assistance is for.

Public assistance barely exists anymore. Parents with very young children get some. Even then, the pressure is to get the parents into employment as soon as possible. And as soon as they start getting an income from work, their assistance is reduced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My MS child came home with a story about a student calling a teacher an a-hole and telling her to shut up in class today in front of everyone. This student isn't from the community and comes on a special program. It took 15 minutes for security to arrive, and the boy has been talking to the teacher like this all week. Kids said the teacher was crying. If the kid is back in class on Monday, I hope the teacher goes straight to the union.

MCPS will say that the teacher should have built a better relationship with the student.

This is not an exaggeration.

They will say that if the teacher has engaging lessons, students won't behave that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These types of incidents are fairly common at the MCPS HS where I teach.
It sucks and is one of the reasons teaching is so draining these days.
Sometimes I wish I worked in a normal office environment where you don’t get yelled or cursed at.
It doesn’t happen that often but when it does, it rattles you

If it makes you feel better, office workers sometimes get yelled at and cursed at too.

[Anonymous]

Can't this go like detention, suspension, then expulsion?