How many teachers have been attacked / threatened by students?

[feelingunsupported]

I've been thinking about this a lot over the last few days in light of the sentencing for the murder of Mrs Maguire. I've namechanged for obvious reasons but am a regular - Reasties xmas threads mainly

In my small school this year so far

• teacher's arm jammed in a door. Student made to write a note of apology

-male staff member had to deflect a punch from student. Staff member interviewed by manager for use of force. No comeback on student -student threatened to nut a teacher. Approached teacher looking like he was going to do it. Student suspended for 2 days then back into class -teachers told to fuck off / called cunts etc regularly

In my last school
I was repeatedly attacked including being pinned against a wall, subjected to a lengthy verbal sexual assault by pupils under the influence of drugs, locked in a room, punched in the face breaking up a fight and had my head repeatedly smashed into a wall.

Corrective Behaviour Secondary School units

Coolas no one could persuade me to work in a school again. In 11 years working with prolific offenders I've never been threatened let alone attacked. I don't miss the holidays.

Urgh

Nothing justifies attacks on teachers, traffic wardens or anything else

The rules traffic wardens enforce are not petty/arbitrary, they exist to keep traffic out of city centres and reduce congestion, keep busy highways safe etc. I'm not talking about rules you don't like, but rules that have no foundation in reason or sense (other than to enforce a rule for the sake of it/to assert authority for its own sake)

I totally think that school, the police and society in general need to come down much, much harder on this violence.

I suppose I also dared to raise the issue of the culture of disrespect in schools and why that might have come about. It's very difficult to say that without being pounced on for blaming teachers, which I didn't and don't.

I understand the concern about petty rules. Unfortunately schools are set up to keep the difficult ones in check ( which probably wasn't you Captain). I wasn't sure about it when I first worked in schools but I was converted over time. The main issue remains that management blame teachers for aggression from pupils, saying its their fault. They use phrases like ' talk to Mrs So and So she gets on well with him' implication you're not doing it right. You end up with a culture where the disruptive kids are in charge of the school, teachers have to pander to them all the time and the good kids know the disruptive ones are ruling the roost. That's not a pleasant experience for them and gives them the wrong impression about life.

As for the students, if the parents are anything to go by Im not surprised their offspring behave the way they do.
Not always. My DS was appalling at school in years 7, 8 and 9. DH and I were ashamed, embarrassed, spent hours talking to him about how unacceptable his behaviour was. We tried to support the school, never criticised the teachers, made his life difficult when he was excluded.

He was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome at 12 and although it explained a lot we tried not to let him use it as an excuse.
We already had two other children who had rarely caused any worry throughout their school careers, so we were pretty sure it wasn't our parenting that caused his behaviour.
Eventually he calmed down and became one of the school's success stories. I will always be grateful for all they did on his behalf, and especially to the brilliant SENCo.

I have often been astonished by the differences between how lovely parents are and how badly their children behave. My only hope is that the kids come through this phase and then model themselves on their parents. I'd say at least 70% of the kids whom I think of as having vile behaviour have lovely parents who would be utterly horrified if they knew how they child was behaving and what sort of language they were using.

I have witnessed that too - one child in a family of 2, 3 or even 4 who turns aggressive or misbehaves for not obvious reason. Very difficult to know why.

I think when children have problems, effective communication between school and home is essential. Sadly schools and sometimes parents often take a defensive or even worse "head in the sand" approach, which just spells disaster all round, and the teachers as well as other children in the class/school end up bearing the brunt of it.

I am guessing that part of the problem is that some parents with challenging children see them in one role first and foremost - this is my child and I will do anything to protect him from the scary outside world full of nasty threatening things. It's hard to accept that maybe said child is acting as if he is part of that scary outside world. As I said earlier DH is a teacher and has been subject to many assaults but even now, if I am honest, if a teacher came to me and told me that my son/daughter had hit another pupil or teacher, my first recourse would be denial (oh no, he wouldn't do that!) or excuse (he must be over-tired/unhappy) etc. I hope I would manage to overcome that but that would be my first reaction.

"Not always. My DS was appalling at school in years 7, 8 and 9. DH and I were ashamed, embarrassed, spent hours talking to him about how unacceptable his behaviour was."

Ditto. I have cried many tears over dd's behaviour at school and done all I can to support her teachers and change her behaviour.

PLEASE don't always assume that a difficult child comes from a dysfunctional family. Some children are massively rebellious - at home and at school.

A death stare? fucking hell has the person who said that ever been in a classroom with any of the following

'well on the way to 6ft' towering teens who are tired,
strung out and performing for their mates?
Or how about one that is wearing an electronic tag for aggravated TWOCing? Or that are high,
Or that at 14 are so desperate for their next piggy during period 4 just before lunch
Or sixthformers who've been to the pub at lunch time, which isnt apparent when they walk in and sit down, until they start giggling and mocking?

fucking hell....parents and the public need a bloody big wake up call.

I am so glad I am out.

ciggy

My new school is lovely. At my old school I was hit by a tractor which some year 11 boys decided to take when I said we weren't doing tractor driving that day. Also had excluded pupil threaten to "beat me to a pulp" when I asked him to leave the premises. Only then did school tell me that the child they had me teaching had been arrested for GBH. They did get thempolice in, though (I still didn't leave my house alone for months - he and his friends sat at the corner of our street)

Also had another year 11 boy corner me in stairwell and say "Come on miss, you like a bit of young cock". He was internally excluded for 2 days.

Oh and I forgot the one who was being invesitgate for setting light to pets on the street the night before and that the another kid in their street (younger) had not spoke since witnessing it all

That is what you deal with before your objectives are on the board even.

hedging your bets whether to challenge them Bout not having a pen? I think so, just accept it as another task hand them out, expect to bare the cost of a ny losses.

We don't mini, honestly we don't. I've sat with many a parent whilst they cried over their loved but wayward child.

We know that it's not always the parent's fault x

minifingers

mini - but you see some parents are in denial that such behaviour happens. What is sometimes more disturbing is the quiet teens, who do behave and do their work but you know they are 'gonna go' you pick stuff up.

One teen I taught had serious problems with make-up - huge amounts. Senior staff didnt tell classroom staff - challenging her to remove it invoked a banshee like wrath..it was awful. You know a friend who knew of the family told me about the make up thing and a bit of other stuff and I was horrified - I could have handle things so much differently....ANother child had herself moved forms because I did my job and asked her to remove her makeup. Her mother never even spoke to me about it...just sked and it was done. In these instances I feel the pastoral system failed to support these students appropriately.

Anyone who blames the parent is in denial about the indiviual child and their automacity as an individual.

A colleague had a yr 12 student come at her with a knife and was only saved by intervention of other students. We were not even permitted to call the police.

On the issue of police involvement I think it is very wrong for schools not to involve police.

I think schools should reflect the rules/standards/laws that we are expected to live by in society.

Schools are part of communities and the wider society.

A previous school did involve the school officer - it was an extended school and had a lot of community based worked situated their -police, counsellors, truancy team, nurses (visited) sexual health workers (was in an area of high teen pregnancy rates within the EU)

The things I have posted about re negative student behaviour is not why I ultimately left the profession, but I'm glad i don't have to deal with such stress inducing incidents.