Recently, the news has shown light on many outbreaks of violence in the classroom. One of the latest stories was that of a student beating up a teacher, while another student taped the whole thing on a cell phone. The footage was then posted on the internet for everyone to see. When news stations picked up the story, they interviewed the teacher who was victimized. She explained that she had spoken with a principal about the incident, but the principal’s reply was unsympathetic. In fact, the principal even told her that perhaps she had motivated the student to act this way by using a “trigger word.”How are our schools supposed to function with discipline cases like these? And how can we expect teachers to work in an environment where they are threatened? I was able to find postings on blogs on the topic of physical confrontations in the classroom to which I posted comments of my own. Since I plan on joining the teaching force, this issue is obviously one of importance and concern. I anticipate having to deal with a lot of behavior issues, but I seriously hope that I am never confronted with any forms of physical contact.
My first comment is about students being violent with teachers, which is what we see more often. My opinions seem to be much in line with others that are posted. With general agreement about what should be done, it makes one wonder why we are still having so many of these behavior cases. My second post, however, is in response to the question, “Should a teacher be allowed to physically punish a student?” It is an interesting topic, and the question was directed toward members of different cultures in order to see the variations of punishment across the world. I think you will find both comments interesting and encourage you to visit each site.
Comment: As someone who is looking forward to teaching in public schools, the thought of being assaulted by a student scares me to death. No one should ever be afraid to go to work, and the classroom is no different. Just because the majority of the students are under eighteen does not mean their violent actions should be taken any less seriously. In fact, their young age only makes a lenient punishment worse; they need to suffer consequence that force them to realize that violence will not be tolerated in this country.
I completely agree that students who are threats in the classroom should be sent to alternative schools. If other students see that this behavior is tolerated and does not call for expulsion, then the message being sent is that it is okay to act this way. Instead, students should be expelled if they show any acts of violence that are considered threats to teachers, administrators, or other students. If not expelled, they should at least be suspended for a period of time during which they must go to the alternative school. Ideally, these schools would be boarding schools with structures comparable to that of prisons. Let us give these students a taste of true punishment, so that they learn their lessons.However, I do wonder about the funding for the schools. I have heard all the statistics about more money being spent on prisons than on schools. I would hate to see the funding for alternative schools be taken from public schools so that they suffer. Would it not be great if the parents had to pay to send their children there? Most would agree that most behavior issues are a result of a bad home life. If a student is willing to assault a teacher, he or she obviously has no respect for authority, which most definitely stems from bad parenting.
At any rate, these students cannot under any circumstance be allowed to remain in the classroom after proving that they are violent threats. If there are no consequences for bad behavior, then students will never understand that it is not tolerated.
Comment: I too remember the days when principals had a paddle in their desk, and any behavior that was completely unacceptable would constitute a paddling on the behind. These days, any physical punishment by adults is completely unacceptable. Considering that most parents would be uncomfortable with other adults giving this kind of discipline, I agree that paddles probably should not be used at school. Along the same lines, teachers should not be slapping wrists with rulers.
Not to say that I am against this kind of discipline; I just think these methods should be used at home by parents and at their own discretion. My mom’s spankings were quite effective, and as long as they are given properly, I see nothing wrong with that form of disciplining. With the way law suits occur in this country, it is best that this discipline is only used cautiously by a student’s parent. Let me clarify that by “this type of discipline,” I mean a slightly stinging slap on the behind—anything else would be too much.
All in all, I think that any violence, whether it be a slapping on the behind for disciplinary reasons or a student pushing around a teacher should stay completely out of the classroom. The environment should be a learning environment that is a safe place for everyone. Any student who touches anyone else inappropriately should automatically be removed from the classroom. The same goes for any teacher who touches a student or another member of the faculty. While I realize that sometimes teachers end up needing to discipline students because they have not been disciplined at home and that I just admitted spankings are an effective punishment, the truth is that the teacher is NOT the parent. Therefore, he or she should sent serious discipline cases to the administrators who can then use detention, parent conferences, or suspension as they see fit.
2 comments:
I find this topic to be very interesting as it expresses several concerns in various areas. I completely agree with you that the classroom "environment should be a learning environment that is a safe place for everyone," however I am not so sure if agree that "any student who touches anyone else inappropriately should automatically be removed from the classroom." I can see your concerns, especially as a hopeful teacher, about this issue of violence in the classroom, however I do not think there should be any all-encompassing rule that expels students from schools, primarily for two reasons. First, there are always cases where violence is not necessarily "cold blooded," but much more pressured provoked by someone else; in these cases it is sometimes the attacker who is really the victim. Secondly, my concern is that once students are expelled for committing an act of violence, they may ultimately be set on a difficult path where there is very little hope and inspiration to succeed. I entirely agree that all violent students need to be punished and disciplined; it is simply such a difficult issue to deal with on a generalized basis as there are so many factors that come into play for each case: the student's parental support (or lack of), the reason for committing violence, the effectiveness of the alternative schools, etc. Your post and the issue instigates various thoughts and discussions as this is definitely an area up for debate.
Personally, I think it all boils down to the quality of these kids' parenting. As a devout libertarian, it is difficult for me to say this, but I feel as if this country could benefit from stronger, more effective social service. I am fully aware that overhauling this component of government is a daunting task to say the least, however, it just may be one of the few ways we can get to the root of this problem. Placing troubled youth in home environments tailored to each individuals needs is possibly idealistic and impractical, but I think I'll try and take a stand on this issue: We need stronger goverment intervention SOLELY with respect to social service.
These educators and administrators can inflict corporal punishment to their hearts' content, but if the troubled youth aren't receiving the proper guidance at home, I doubt ANY amount of punishment of ANY form will even begin to help this situation. A true reactionary could argue that many years ago, these problems were less common (although I'm sure they always have and always will exist) when our society upheld more traditional values.
Honestly, there are probably a few different ways to approach this, but I hope most of us can agree that the government (state, local, or federal) needs to really analyze this situation and derive the most uniformly effective plan.
We can't afford for education in the US to deteriorate any more than it already has.
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