Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think folks are following the original thread that prompted this one when they claim it's over reacting.

The OP of the original thread has a 2nd grader who was choked by a classmate; the same classmate also told the kid he had a knife and would "cut him open."

These are not run of the mill behavior problems in 2nd grade. Considering a 6 year old bought a gun to school and shot their teacher in VA last year, I'd say I'd take that degree of physicality (choking, threatening with a weapon) super seriously and consider a police report.

That's because you are a nutter, equating the one 6 year old in the history of the country who shot a teacher with every other 2nd grader.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think folks are following the original thread that prompted this one when they claim it's over reacting.

The OP of the original thread has a 2nd grader who was choked by a classmate; the same classmate also told the kid he had a knife and would "cut him open."

These are not run of the mill behavior problems in 2nd grade. Considering a 6 year old bought a gun to school and shot their teacher in VA last year, I'd say I'd take that degree of physicality (choking, threatening with a weapon) super seriously and consider a police report.

Anonymous wrote:Teachers here have suggested that by reporting it, the problem is escalated in the school's view which ultimately can help keep other students safe.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recall another poster at one point saying "the first time, you tell the hitter to stop. The second time, you go to an adult. The third time, you have my blessing to hit back harder and I will defend you."

No one is advocating calling the police on run of the mill bullies. Teachers are allowing kids to throw chairs at others, attack others from behind while they are listening to a lesson, or dangerous assaults like choking. FYI, most kids aren't going to be able to hit their way out of being choked.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recall another poster at one point saying "the first time, you tell the hitter to stop. The second time, you go to an adult. The third time, you have my blessing to hit back harder and I will defend you."

No one is advocating calling the police on run of the mill bullies. Teachers are allowing kids to throw chairs at others, attack others from behind while they are listening to a lesson, or dangerous assaults like choking. FYI, most kids aren't going to be able to hit their way out of being choked.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recall another poster at one point saying "the first time, you tell the hitter to stop. The second time, you go to an adult. The third time, you have my blessing to hit back harder and I will defend you."

No one is advocating calling the police on run of the mill bullies. Teachers are allowing kids to throw chairs at others, attack others from behind while they are listening to a lesson, or dangerous assaults like choking. FYI, most kids aren't going to be able to hit their way out of being choked.

Anonymous wrote:I recall another poster at one point saying "the first time, you tell the hitter to stop. The second time, you go to an adult. The third time, you have my blessing to hit back harder and I will defend you."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at a school and I absolutely recognize that behaviors are out of control, but calling the police here is crazy to me. You wouldn’t believe the amount of he said/she said and tattling that occurs every day. He pushed me, she cut in line, he kicked me, she grabbed my hair. The tattling never stops. Often the kid will waltz back to their classmate and sing-song “I told the teacher on you!!” Bringing police into situations with no witnesses and only 7-year-olds to tell the tale is insane.

+1, and the counselors and social workers are stretched thin.

I do think an actual choking incident needs to be addressed more so than it probably is by many administrators. One reason I recently left teaching was I was trying to handle too many behavior issues on my own. There were the constant disagreements between ES students and relatively minor behavior issues (not listening, blurting out, wandering, backtalk) that wore me down. Counselors were helpful, but their workload was crazy and there was only so much time in a day. We were told we shouldn’t refer students to the office because in doing so we undermined our own authority as the teacher in the classroom. So, I usually held off and tried to deal with things the best I could. When I did actually have an incident of assault in the classroom and had to call for assistance, it ended up in a situation where I was under the spotlight. “Why didn’t you know about this sooner? You need to work on building better relationships so this doesn’t happen”, etc. I probably handled hundreds of disciplinary issues to the one time I asked for help and that one time resulted in a reprimand.