I’ve written and deleted this post several times, unsure of where to begin, but I have serious concerns about the direction of education in the United States. It’s not just about students underperforming academically or the frequent disrespect shown by students and parents toward teachers. What worries me even more is the increasing concern for the safety of teachers, aides, noon duties, and everyone who works with students and the students themselves.
I’ve worked as a teacher in two very different states, a conservative area in Texas and now in Southern California. Although the Southern California area I am in isn't extremely liberal, it’s definitely more so than West Texas. Despite the differences, the things I’ve experienced and witnessed in both places aren't all that different .
The biggest difference I noticed in Texas was how we handled dangerous situations (and I believe the response differences has less to do with area and more to do with my time in Texas was 10+years ago). I worked with students who had emotional disturbances, and they often became violent, throwing chairs, flipping desks, and grabbing anything dangerous like staplers or scissors. Their outbursts weren’t just directed at teachers or adults, it was anyone nearby. Due to their traumatic histories, once they were in that heightened state, there wasn’t much anyone could do to calm them down.
Did we have to use our Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) techniques frequently? Unfortunately, yes. We often had to go hands-on, not just for the safety of others but also for the safety of the students in my care. They weren’t just violent toward others, they would often try to harm themselves, like attempting to break glass with their hands or banging their heads against walls and floors. Restraining them was sometimes necessary to keep them safe, even though it was the hardest part of the job and something I hated having to do.
And then I heard about an associate principal in the Corsicana Independent School District in Texas who worked with 5th and 6th graders. She was called in for behavior support after an English student injured another student. The teacher had evacuated the class, leaving the disruptive student in the classroom, where they were destroying furniture and causing chaos. The associate principal, along with at least one other person, likely more, went in to try to deescalate the situation.
They had chairs thrown at them, which fortunately didn’t cause any harm, but then the student threw a wooden hanger that struck the associate principal in the right eye, dislodging it from the socket. She was airlifted to the hospital, where doctors managed to reinsert her eye, but they’ve indicated that she is likely to be blind in that eye and might need another surgery, possibly to remove it. This incident hits close to home for me, as I’ve had some frightening experiences where I’ve been caught off guard and injured by students.
As you can see from the picture, I also had an eye injury from being caught off guard by a student I wasn’t directly working with. I was assisting another student in my classroom who was having a bit of a tough time, nothing too unusual, just upset. When another student came in fairly quietly so I assumed they were fine and just taking a break. However, they walked up right behind me and unexpectedly shoved their finger into my eye.
I won’t go into specifics about why I decided to write this post today, in case, in the incredible off chance it gets seen by someone from my workplace. However, I’ll say that we’ve had similar incidents at my school where adults have been attacked and nothing has been done, no suspensions or consequences. Kids are physically aggressive with others or simply walk out of the classroom and are rewarded for it with treats or the freedom to do as they please.
When did we stop believing in the need for consequences? At what point did we begin to disregard negative consequences for negative actions? Both teachers and students deserve to feel safe in the classroom, but right now, it seems that in too many places, they don’t.
I understand that many of these students come from challenging home environments, whether it's due to neglect, broken families, trauma, or disabilities. But that doesn’t give them the right to be mean or dangerous to others. Their rights shouldn't outweigh the rights of everyone else. Unfortunately, it seems like many places in the U.S. education system are leaning too far in that direction. If things don’t change, I might have to leave teaching for a place where I can better support kids, which is what I’m truly passionate about. Hopefully, at some point, the pendulum will swing back, and there will be more accountability for students, parents, administrators, and teachers alike.
What’s your perspective on this? Have you seen something similar, or is your area in a better situation where there’s still accountability for students' actions? Either way, I’d love to hear about it.