This guy was CLEARLY out of line and deserved to be fired, and anyone who says otherwise is nuts. (No, this wouldn't have happened if she had just complied, but that doesn't justify this complete overreaction.) But I'm curious: What do you think is the appropriate response to a disruptive child who repeatedly refuses to obey authority figures and thinks the rules don't apply to them? Looking for real-world suggestions, not excuses or details of extenuating circumstances. It used to drive me CRAZY when my bratty peers got away with misbehaving, but obviously escalating the situation is not the answer. I have friends who have given up teaching because they just didn't know what to do with unruly students anymore. It's teachers and law enforcement's duty to figure out the right response, but I can't help wondering what fellow civilians think. Thoughts? Suggestions?
5 comments:
My experience in schools leaves little in the way of respecting authority figures. A hysteria induced federal investigation and victim blaming will do that to you.
If the student refuses to leave, then the officer should do what they do in optimized University protests: Drag her ass out of there in cuffs, holding her under her arms. They do it with sitin protestors, it's okay here. If they struggle, it is okay to pin them and subdue them with more forceful gestures. It is not okay to punch or hit, but a restrained arm up behind the back is an acceptable stress position. If they are violently struggling, pin them with a knee and hogtie them until shackles can be applied.
It is a place of learning. Sometimes, the lesson isn't on the agenda.
Good question, and, this is among far too many examples that ZERO tolerance policies are inherently flawed. Per the girl and fellow classmates, it was still before class began that she had not put her cellphone away. Another recent case, a little girl (white) challenges a little boy (black) to an eye staring contest. He won; she claimed that scared her; and the little boy gets suspended for breaking a rule of disturbing the peace? Or, two little boys playing cowboy and indian, pointing their hands like revolvers, and they suspended for gun acts?
Its easy to blame the kids; but, what about the adults? Maybe the kids would act like better people of their example adults acted like adults mature enough to navigate teens on huge doses of hormones. What pisses me off is just how quickly adults forget their times as teens, forget the messes teens get into and how a guiding hand works better than hypocritical holier-than-thou attitudes.
They should be taken out back and shot in the head. ACTUALLY - they should be suspended or permanently kicked out of the school - the parents can pay for their eduction. Or, they can be shot in the head!
@MikeInAsheville: You make very good points. I was an angel in school -- I have report cards to prove it -- and always found the other kids acting like, well, kids VERY ANNOYING. It bothered me to no end that teachers let them get away with everything or were very inconsistent om doling out punishment. I am definitely looking at this whole situation through the lens of a goody-two-shoes: If a teacher tells you to jump, you say: How high? You don't bait them into calling in for backup.
I once had a student with behavioral problems try to stab me with a pencil. After admin told me he was just a challenge I would have to deal with, I called his mom and asked her to come sit with him or take him home for the afternoon as the incident affected the other students. She asked me what I expected her to do because he doesn't listen to her either. This was a kindergarten class. What this police officer did is wrong, and my heart goes out to this girl for her loss. However, most people don't know what happens in the classroom. I tried to teach around this boy's behavior, which escalated the issue because he was acting out to get attention. Like I said, if I had an answer to Kenneth's question, I would still be teaching.
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