{"id":27371,"date":"2021-10-30T04:26:32","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T04:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=27371"},"modified":"2021-11-02T21:41:48","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T21:41:48","slug":"teachers-must-often-face-student-attacks-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/teachers-must-often-face-student-attacks-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Teachers must often face student attacks\u00a0alone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charles Bell<\/a>, Illinois State University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When \u201cMs. Kyles,\u201d a social studies teacher in a suburban district, heard her colleague scream in a nearby classroom, she ran to her aid. It appeared that a female student had attacked a classmate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grabbed the student to restrain her, and I said to the teacher, \u2018You go back to your students, I\u2019ll take care of her,\u2019\u201d Ms. Kyles said. <\/p>\n

After locking herself in an empty classroom with the student, Ms. Kyles \u2013 that\u2019s a pseudonym to protect her privacy \u2013 learned the student stabbed a female classmate four times in the chest and back, killing her. Then the student threatened Ms. Kyles.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe trashed the room and screamed at me and said some pretty horrible things,\u201d Ms. Kyles told me. \u201cI was in fear that she would try to hurt me to get away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Kyles\u2019 experience is one of dozens that I document in my forthcoming book, \u201cSuspended: Punishment, Violence, and the Failure of School Safety<\/a>.\u201d The book is part of my ongoing research<\/a> about how Black families<\/a> and teachers view school punishment<\/a>, violence and safety in K-12 schools<\/a>. In addition to students and parents, I interviewed 50 teachers from urban and suburban high schools throughout Michigan who were threatened or attacked by a student. I used fake names to protect their confidentiality.<\/p>\n

What I learned carries implications for the safety of America\u2019s schools in general, and the mental health and well-being of the nation\u2019s teacher workforce in particular.<\/p>\n

Dangerous conditions<\/h2>\n

Some of the teachers told me that students experienced frustration with challenging assignments, which led students to lash out at teachers.<\/p>\n

Several teachers also believed students threatened and attacked them to gain attention from their peers. Regardless of the underlying cause, these events left teachers in dire situations that made them question their commitment to the profession.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., many K-12 schools feature a variety of safety measures, such as metal detectors, guards, security cameras and law enforcement officers. Yet, when I interviewed 50 teachers, I learned they did not feel safe regardless of whether one or several of these security measures were in place.<\/p>\n

In one interview after another, teachers told me that being threatened or attacked by a student left them shaken and made them want to transfer to a new school. For example, Ms. Kyles told me the fatal stabbing of a student in her school triggered symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime I hear a scream or a loud noise in school, I have a physical reaction. I jump.\u201d Ms. Kyles explained. \u201cAnd any time there are any kind of police in the school I cry. I\u2019m not a crier, but I have cried more in the last year and a half than I\u2019ve ever cried.\u201d<\/p>\n

This episode has also affected how Ms. Kyles copes and her willingness to intervene in conflicts at school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drink more than I\u2019ve ever drank,\u201d Ms. Kyles told me. \u201cI don\u2019t sleep as well. In terms of teaching on a daily basis, I no longer will break up a fight. I can\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrying firearms<\/h2>\n

In his classic work \u2013 \u201cCode of the Street<\/a>\u201d \u2013 Elijah Anderson<\/a> found that some individuals use violence to protect themselves on the streets. Similarly, in my upcoming book, \u201cSuspended<\/a>,\u201d I describe how some educators felt obligated to use violence to protect themselves through what I have referred to as \u201cthe code of the school<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

A teacher I will call Mr. Turner, who works in an urban district, described an incident where he defended himself when a student attacked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI picked him up, and I said, \u2018This is what\u2019s going to happen if you want to come at me again.\u2019\u201d Mr. Turner said. \u201cAnd he backed off and apologized. It was over that quick. This was during transition time in the building, and it happened so fast [other students] thought he had tripped, and I was helping him up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Turner also told me that several colleagues began to bring guns to school in their car or bag after another colleague became embroiled in a fight that resulted in a trip to the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my female colleagues come to the building armed,\u201d Mr. Turner said. \u201cLegally we\u2019re not supposed to have a gun on the property, and that includes in your car.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the district\u2019s leadership \u201ckind of looks the other way because they know how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy law, I can\u2019t take a gun into the building because of the CPL (concealed pistol license) that I carry,\u201d Mr. Turner said. \u201cBut, some of my peers in that building who have the same license I have, I know for a fact they have their gun in their purse or backpack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lack of support<\/h2>\n

Most of the teachers I interviewed expressed feeling unsupported by school administrators.<\/p>\n

A teacher I will refer to as Mr. Ford, who works at a suburban high school, told me a student threatened him, used the internet to find his home address and escalated the incident outside of his home. Despite the seriousness of this incident, the school administration allowed the student to return to school, where the student subsequently became more popular for attacking the teacher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ended up moving high schools because they didn\u2019t do anything,\u201d Mr. Ford explained. \u201cThe administration was just so weak.\u201d <\/p>\n

A few teachers told me their principal often minimized incidents where students threatened or attacked them and shifted the focus to the teacher\u2019s actions. For example, a teacher I\u2019ll call Ms. Evans told me whenever a student attacked her, administrators would ask what she did or said to provoke it.<\/p>\n

She said they also downplayed any injuries she may have suffered, saying: \u201c\u2018You\u2019re not hurt, are you? You\u2019re OK. You can still make it, just ignore them or don\u2019t talk to so and so.\u2019 It was that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rethinking school safety<\/h2>\n

Although my research focused on teacher experiences in Michigan, I found evidence that similar altercations have occurred throughout the U.S.<\/a> and internationally<\/a>.<\/p>\n