Safe Schools

I'm not sure how I've avoided venting on this issue for so long. I probably feared that I might offend someone or violate some protocol or requirement. Now that school is almost over for the year and after reading about another incident in another Alternative Ed. Program, I've decided to vent. I will avoid mentioning specifics myself and instead will let the news articles stand (mostly) on their own. Then I will gripe about the overall inefficiency of "The System" in regards to these events.

Most recently, students in my class mentioned that they heard a "teacher" at "Five Star" had been fired for beating a student. I immediately assessed this at about 5% chance of being accurate (or 95% BS). Googled it. Found --

Cops: Student choked teacher

By Amanda O’Rourke
The Daily Item

SUNBURY — A Winfield teenager faces assault charges after he allegedly choked a teacher at a city school Wednesday morning.

This is local news. Not something happening in the big city or on the west coast. Granted, Five Star is an alternative ed. program similar to the PATH AEP where I work. We get troubled kids with lots of anger issues. Still, it is not expected that they will just attack teachers. Why is this happening? And what is to be done?

Our program has had a similar incident.

Cops: Mom kicks man's face
Middleburg woman attacks son's teacher

By Wayne Laepple
The Daily Item

MILTON -- A Middleburg woman kicked a fallen teacher in the head and face, and pulled his hair, after her student son had gotten into trouble over a cell phone, Milton police said.

Obviously, I was there. The story is not entirely accurate. I didn't get kicked. Mr. Matt did. We did restrain the youth. No one was hurt. From the PATH end, we acted very professionally.

The question, again, is "how have we gotten to the point were students and parents have no qualm with assaulting teachers"? I have heard that Five Star had an incident about two weeks after mine that involved a parent. And if you google "student attacks teacher" you'll get (drum roll please) thirty-four million hits. Why?

Our judicial system, which is suppose to provide an expeditious and timely trial, is bogged down. In my case, the assault happened in mid-February. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for the 10th of July. I suspect that the result of that hearing will push the trial back into October. By the time anything is resolved . . .

I'd like to blame national apathy. Perhaps this trend is due to a swing back towards moral relativism. My students often justify their behavior by claiming that they don't feel like they have to treat us (the teachers) with respect because we don't treat them with respect. Maybe the confusion is in understanding what "Respect" is?

(TBC)