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[quote=Anonymous]I teach at a public middle school in the DMV. The biggest reason why I might stop teaching is that the level of physical danger has increased dramatically between now and when I first began teaching 15-20 years ago. School shootings are dramatic and scary but they aren't what scare me on a day-to-day basis. What I'm scared about every day is that the level of physical actions by students tolerated by the school system.

Last year we had students bring nunchucks, knives, and BB guns to school. The students were suspended for a few days and then allowed back into the classrooms without a word to their teachers about why they were out. I've witnessed students hitting teachers with fists, kicking them with feet and throwing books or desks at the teachers, and those students are suspended for a few days and then allowed back into the classroom. The pushing and shoving in corridors is unbelievable. We've had weeks where there have been multiple fights before the homeroom tardy bell. We had false fire alarms and lockdowns because of students causing fake incidents. We had students watching porn on their tablets and then mock the teacher who corrected them on it.  We've had male students call female teachers ho's, tell them to suck their c*cks, tell the female teachers that they will be coming back to r*pe them, etc. Our custodians reported finding used condoms in a few of the student bathrooms. We had one student start a fire in a bathroom two different times.

I love my job and I know that I'm very good at it...but I won't work if I'm scared of my students AND if I think that school administrators aren't going to take my safety seriously. I'm fortunate that none of the above happened to me or in my classroom; however, last year there were probably ten days that I almost walked out the door because I was so frightened by what I heard happened in other classrooms.

I've been thinking about it a lot this summer. I'm not doing putting up with all of that again this coming year. I'll quit and go to a private school to teach or I just won't work. If I contribute to the teacher shortage then so be it. My life and my quality of life has value to me and my family. I am not going to work in a place where I am scared all the time or where I don't feel like my safety is important.[/quote]

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