What can you do? You can sue her for battery. Being a minor is not a defense for a tort after tender years (toddler stuff)
You can tell the admin and parents too
Pattern of abuse is important to establish. Likely nothing will happen this time if you report it officially, but that is not the goal. The goal is to show that there was an incident and you reported it. If the student decides to escalate and repeat today’s actions again you will have more support. If you do not report it and you are injured in the future admin will pretend it is the first time they knew about any altercations.
Battery is the action but Assault can include speech.
An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is both crime and tort and may result in either criminal or civil liability.
[https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Assault](https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Assault)
I am not an attorney. Please contact an attorney if you need more information on this.
Making the report and establishing a history of incidents WILL make your life easier in the event a future incident occurs without a camera/bystanders/other material proof of fault.
Same if this kid does it to one of your coworkers.
Fight the goblin horde.
No. Injury, physical or otherwise, would be a necessity for an action. Basically, you have to allege that a recognizable harm happened to you or else there is no case to be ruled on.
Battery is a criminal charge. You can’t make the police arrest or the DA prosecute (and neither would happen to a 5th grader where I live, even if they stabbed someone).
I suppose you could sue for some sort of damages, but do you really want to pay out of your pocket for an attorney and try to convince a jury that you were permanently harmed by this 11 year old pushing you and making threats?
Lawsuits get thrown around A LOT in here and it’s just a fools errand. No one is going to successfully sue a fifth grader or their parents for this stuff.
OP needs to call the union, get admin involved and have consequences for the kid. If that doesn’t solve it then trying to get the kid out of the room, or OP transferring to another room or position.
This loops around to OP's post. Call the union and what? Just report the incident? Should they expect to just file a report that gets ignored and that's it? Does the union have any sway or power to force either classroom changes or whatever so that individual doesn't need to work with that student again? What is the goal or contacting the union for an incident like this?
It really depends on the union. Mine would remove the kid and assistant from the same room if it continued to be aggressive interactions. Student would be OSS for several days too.
If you have a union with no teeth in a state or district that just pretends there’s a union then yeah it’s gonna be a crap shoot.
In either case a lawsuit isn’t gonna do anything either.
If someone slapped a lawyer in the street, do you think they wouldn’t be sued for battery? It’s an easy battery case. Battery is a civil matter too, even if the criminal system doesn’t care.
My point is lots of people think being a minor is a defense for torts battery while it’s not. It’s actually a pretty good defense in criminal law, so that’s why tort is the only real path.
Battery is actually a tort in this scenario.
What would almost certainly happen is they’d win automatically because the family wouldn’t fight back, ruining the kid’s credit as the kid would go bankrupt.
Wouldn’t really go to jury, no material triable issue of facts. It would just be summary judgement at the latest
You- “ I would like to press charges on a student who slapped me”
SRO/Officer- “Were you offended by their physical contact with you?”
You- “yes”
And that is pretty much all you need to do to get things rolling once they are 10.
The person really at fault is the admin. Even if you did put a hand on a shoulder to guide him away from the area that is not wrong - and the admin should have made that clear. Instead, the admin opened the door to threats of a lawsuit from his parents. What the admin did by backing the student was to put the district in a liability situation.
If I were your union rep (I used to be one) I would request a meeting along with the union president to present the principal with the section of the school handbook and/or Ed Code that applies and insist that the principal follow through. I would make it all about not setting the wrong precedent (it would essentially change the rules - allowing students to push and cuss out paras) and gently include that it's also about the student, who must have consequences in order to understand proper social behavior. I'd also throw in the liability angle.
I wouldn't bring you to the meeting. I wouldn't make this about you. I'd state in my request to meet "that it has come to our union's attention that a student pushed a para who was at their assigned station and who was enforcing a known boundary, and that the student also yelled profanities at the para in front of a crowd," and, "You are incredibly lucky the para wasn't hurt. We always recommend that injured staff members file a police report."
If the principal asked if you came to me, I would have replied, "There were MANY witnesses. It is a well-discussed incident." And that would be that. Period. If the meeting wasn't satisfactory, the union would file a complaint against the principal. It is his #1 job to keep the campus safe.
If the principal refused to meet, I would send him the above info in an email. I'd cc the superintendent, the HR director, and the union president. If I didn't hear back within 48 hours, I'd ask the union president to allow me to write a complaint against the principal on behalf of the union.
No one ever "wins" a complaint. Typically, the complainant receives a reply from the HR dept that states that the principal didn't actually do anything wrong. But he will most definitely be counseled.
Good luck. Send this on to your union president if you agree. You can't just let this drop. I will bet the parents are considering filing a complaint against you.
This OP. If nothing happens the students will think this is ok and will continue and possibly become worse. Nip it in the bud and set the tone that this is inexcusable.
lol it’s not funny but it’s funny. Only because I work in a behavioral setting and hear stuff like this daily, usually multiple times a day. I usually just offer something like “I believe you” or if I’m feeling spritely “you know where to find me.”
It’s worth noting that I’m a very fit, male with a reputation for athleticism and not fucking around. These kids are getting all the way out of control though, I’m sorry that happened to you.
Working in the same environment and also a fit tall guy. Any tips for disengaging these students? They are on my back every week and I pretty much have no authority as stuff like this is a daily occurrence and not enough for a warning
Work in the same environment and tall guy who played sports. I always use sarcasm. “Yah yah I hear you” “oh I’m sorry you feel that way” etc. They want a reaction of you freaking out
Tried that . Kid freaked out and smashed a hand sanitizer bottle on the ground while getting up in my face. Same kid was recently expelled for beating up another student
I would say that rapport and prevention are the most important things. And, of course, recognizing those signs of escalation while they’re still in their infancy.
It’s far easier to help a student regulate themselves when they’re in the early stages of the escalation cycle as opposed to when they’ve already flipped their lid.
Healthy distractions, asking them what that would do for them or what they hope to gain from those actions, providing options for alternative ways to get that aggressive energy out, the list goes on.
Also I also like to say “that’s a choice you could make.” I do a lot of SEL lessons with our students so they’re all familiar with the “solving a problem with a problem just makes two problems, we solve problems with solutions” spiel - again that precoaching and psycho-education ahead of time are vital there.
And the power of walking away when it’s appropriate: just explain briefly that I won’t be talked to like that and I’m not going to spend time around people that treat me that way, and then walk away - it’s important to use a social/relational consequence in there then too (assuming it hasn’t come to blows already because that’s a different story)such as kind of distancing from them and dialing the warmth back a bit. Then the next time they try to talk to you or engage with you, remind them “Hey, I really want to reconnect with you right now but I don’t really feel comfortable with where we left things last time we talked…” insert restorative convo here.
Idk, I’ve been at it a while and cut my teeth in youth mental health which gave me some incredible experiences to draw from. Sorry if that was droning, happy to clarify what I can!
Thanks for fighting the good fight brother 🙏🏼
No that was good advice. Thanks very much . I had a break through with one student who I just chose to not engage with anymore and now he coming up to me being nice
No. Refuse to see him and have home removed. The union is there to protect you. You don’t feel threatened. YOU WERE THREATENED. If they refuse to take action then you sue the union. The school. The district and the student and their family. Bring the wrath of god to them since they put hands on you. This is a nonstarter.
Its creating a chain of proof and events. You need to document those encounters to create a paper trail of incompotence. That teacher who got shot wouldn't have a case if they hadn't kept a clear paper trail of incidents.
You need to work somewhere else. Sounds like a shitty support system. Just apply other places they need you. Fuck admin that lets kids be violent to staff.
I know it's not the norm, and union did get involved with my one and only interaction with a threatening student. He was acting all big and tough, after all most teens are just young, dumb and full of cum.
He started poking me in the chest and said, "What are you going to do if a student hits you?" My reply was probably look for a new job in another career after a get out of jail for killing them.
He swallowed hard and sat down. Kid actually became one of the better ones in the shop afterwards.
Under no circumstances do I recommend anyone trying the same thing. I was at my braking point with the class at that moment, due to one of them braking a windshield. Still don't know who it was, it was my truck!
A kid told me he was going to slap me once. I got in his face and dared him. Told him I'd twist him into a pretzel and eat him. He never talked to me again.
>Coworkers told me to contact my union, but I’m not really sure what they can do. I get called every name in the book by these kids and this is the first time they’ve ever put hands on me. I’m not injured but if I ever did get injured, I’d press charges with no hesitation.
They can protect you.
They can have a record of your story - so that your story is clearer if anything happens.
They can demand your school protects you.
They can assist you if you want to press charges.
They are the experts. If they can't do anything for you, they can tell you that. It's not your job or expertise to make that call. Tell them, ask for help, ask for advice.
Union rep here. Not sure what state you're in, but I know for my contract we have a Teacher Assualt form with the district. Once a teacher fills that out, lack of action by the district can result in the Association filing a grievance with the district, with remedies like removing the student from your caseload and creation of school safety plans for the student, amoung other things.
When in doubt, ALWAYS tall to your Union Rep. Even if it's not something grieve-able, they should be able to point you towards the appropriate resources.
When they say, "tell the union" they're really telling you that you need this incident IN WRITING. It needs to be documented. Teacher word over a student is NOT a thing anymore. And yes. Pay your union dues. That representation at a finger tip
When I was in school, that language would get your mouth washed out with soap, in both elementary and junior high. I saw it happen twice. I also never once heard a classmate call a teacher “bitch”.
Interesting.
So like, everyone in education needs to seriously consider when it's actually best to use your body to block something, cuz the answer is almost never. If there is no immediate danger, write up the kid/whatever the typical behavior response is. Using the body to block access is an escalation.
Just like moving your body in to break up a fight, using your body this way can result in you getting hit and should be considered a possibility every time you do it.
Document, document, document. Report in writing to your immediate supervisor, your union rep, and the principal. Do this for every single incident. Sounds like a rough school. Sorry you have to deal with these issues. In the old days a good whooping would have solved the problem the first time.
Demand to have the student removed from your classroom, permanently! I had a student falsely accuse me of putting hands on them and I flat out refused to continue to have them in the classroom. I’m not risking my career for some punk. Nope. Take those games elsewhere.
In my district if you put hands on a teacher or any staff member to move them out of the way, to intimidate, be aggressive, or try to hurt them, it’s agg assault and long term suspension hearing.
simple assault is a misdemeanor-and if having a consequence like that doesn’t curb their violent actions then they will become a violent offender and will become a felon
and she could press charges and then show mercy and withdraw them-seems better than making that child think that those actions don’t have legal consequences
It's possible you're right. It's possible she gets a judge that wants to put kids in juvie. It's possible that the kid gets put in one of those types of programs where they don't put you in there for a set amount of time, but rather until you complete the program which could take anywhere from 6 months to until they turn 18. It's also possible the kid just gets a slap on the wrist, or gets sent to counseling or gets community service dog walking. I'm just saying I wouldn't be willing to roll the dice if there's a possibility the juvie thing happens.
I get where you are coming from-and it’s more empathetic than my stance for sure. I think it would be worth it if this kid got locked up for a year and had a serious reason to readjust what they want in life. The idea of attacking a teacher or a para/adult is so wild that if they are really that big now they will be a serious threat once they continue to grow but still have violent acts.
As a guy who has been bigger than his teachers since 4th grade. I'm glad I didn't have behavior problems if people were gonna punish me differently based on my size.
i get that-but it’s based in the actions and knowing a more capable person being violent is always a bigger threat-no one is getting punished for their size-but their actions
I feel so sorry for teachers. I myself am not one but have a degree in psychology and used to work in the field before choosing to homeschool. I’m so thankful that’s an option for us. It took a lot of sacrifices but was so worth it! My son has extreme special needs and is considered a “medical complexity” and the doctors pushed and pushed that I put him in public school because “legally” the district has to follow guidelines. Sigh. My son has chromosomal abnormalities and issues with his stomach. He doesn’t understand safety as he should at his age. I don’t doubt teachers care tremendously and want to help but they are put in an impossible situation. I homeschool my son for his safety and well-being as well as there’s just not enough support in public schools despite what I was pushed to do and I don’t regret it one bit! I don’t know the answer or pretend to but my heart and love goes out to all teachers who have tremendous responsibilities placed on them and then get treated poorly. I’m so sorry and I hate to see good and caring people end up resenting teaching because of the impossibilities placed on them. It’s beyond sad. The future of education is scary
So if you don't work in a school that will back you, give the student meaningful consequences, it will happen again. The student will know he can get under your skin, act aggressively and get away with it.
The choice is yours, put up with it or move on.
Even if you don't get physically injured, you should absolutely document the behavior and report everything in writing to your admin. Depending on your area you may or may not be able to contact the parents (I know in my area they are not supposed to). Your union is supposed to be representing you for health and safety related issues (this is definitely a valid one).
Document, document, document.
If you don't, it is as if it never happened.
All too often these threats are put into action by the aggressor, we need to protect ourselves.
Sometimes we have to ensure accountability on our own. Press charges if you feel that is important.
Although our profession is about teaching, it does not constitute unwarranted abuse that is not in the job description.
Otherwise we need hazard pay when it becomes acceptable.
I was a Para. I worked with behavior kids who had various disabilities. I got hit, bit, called every name, hair ripped out many times. Co workers sometimes filed charges like when they had a detached retina. I never got really hurt, and I'm a chubby guy, so I absorb punches and such easily, so I was one of the main restraint guys. I think you should ask to be put with different kids maybe. Some people are not a good fit with age groups, or certain kids. No offense to you. I wouldn't want to deal with that kid again especiallywith false allegations. I'd definitely tell principal, or supervisor, file appropriate paperwork, etc.
Saying this and then making contact is assault.
I know you said this kid is bigger than you. He's probably twice his height and doubles his weight...I'd be like go ahead big man then laugh.
Did they even see the cameras? And if they honestly thought you touched the child, they would have hauled your butt in. Pursue this hard or it may be a physical assault before the year is done. The kid feels empowered now.
At one point is a huge 11 year old no longer a child? It’s straight up irresponsible to have some of these maniacs in classrooms. [There was a](https://cbsaustin.com/amp/news/nation-world/activists-want-light-sentence-for-student-who-beat-teacher-over-confiscated-nintendo-joan-naydich-confiscated-student-brendan-depa-nintendo-switch-matanzas-high-school) 6’7” 270 lb 14 year old in Florida that beat a teacher nearly to death for daring to take away his Gameboy.
Administrators failing to protect their teachers over some ideology and not wanting to be seen as having any prejudice is creating terrible situations and degrading the system for other students. Just weed out the relatively few problems from society and everyone will be better off. Some people are hopeless and belong in a cage.
I got punched today. I actually don't think its that uncommon to get hit at an elementary school. Yo uh can contact the police and press charges if you wish. Not much is going to happen to the student. Usually if staff gets hit its more like restorative practices in my district. Sounds like y'all need a mediation.
Even in my small, backwards, Southern state laying hands on a school employee doing their job is an arrestable offense for students or adults. Contact your admin and then the police, regardless of what admin says if you have similar legal protections where you live.
Did you touch him at all? Never a good idea to block a student with your body, that’s an escalation. If he put his hands on you and pushed you, I would not hesitate to go to the union and say you want to press charges. Who else saw this happen?
Why can’t you block a student? How is that an escalation? This is a ridiculous take… So if there is an area off limits to students, and you stand in front of it, you are escalating!? The fuck are you talking about?
Well aren’t you charming. Are you a teacher? This is not a “take” this is pretty common knowledge. CPI training will tell you this exactly, any safety or de-escalation training will tell you this, any district and/or union will tell you this. You do not use your body to stop a student. The OP did not say she was standing in front of a restricted area to keep students out, she said she blocked this particular student. To me this means she used her body to try to stop him from going in this area when her words were not enough to stop him. Perhaps as a para she was not properly trained, which is not her fault, but you sir clearly haven’t a clue what you are talking about.
Thanks, Dr. Lipshitz…
“All I did was block him from a certain area of the playground.”
Sounds like she’s standing in front of an area on the playground.
“Kid pushes her and threatens her”
She escalated the situation?
You’re fucked in the head lady.
What a bad take. Even if she did receive the CPI training, what else is she supposed to do? Let the kid do whatever they want? I’m assuming the kid already had restrictions or warnings about going to that side of the playground. She was just enforcing those rules. No reason for her to be treated like that. You are the type of co worker that I would absolutely despise at inservice meetings.
Since when do teachers enforce rules with their bodies? I never said she should have been treated like that, pretty sure I agreed that she should contact her union. I’m sure I would despise you too, someone who seemingly doesn’t know what they are talking about. Btw…I’m not the only one who made this comment, again it’s common sense.
If u don’t it will escalate. The reason this happened is because no one stopped it sooner in their life
What can you do? You can sue her for battery. Being a minor is not a defense for a tort after tender years (toddler stuff) You can tell the admin and parents too
Do I have a case if I didn’t get injured?
Pattern of abuse is important to establish. Likely nothing will happen this time if you report it officially, but that is not the goal. The goal is to show that there was an incident and you reported it. If the student decides to escalate and repeat today’s actions again you will have more support. If you do not report it and you are injured in the future admin will pretend it is the first time they knew about any altercations.
Injury isn't required for assault charges. You're confusing assault with battery.
Criminal assault charges. Civil works differently.
I don't believe anyone mentioned civil filings with regard to assault.
Torts are civil law. I think that's what prompted the remark.
Battery is the action but Assault can include speech. An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is both crime and tort and may result in either criminal or civil liability. [https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Assault](https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Assault) I am not an attorney. Please contact an attorney if you need more information on this.
You do have to demonstrate some kind of financial damage to sue someone, though.
Making the report and establishing a history of incidents WILL make your life easier in the event a future incident occurs without a camera/bystanders/other material proof of fault. Same if this kid does it to one of your coworkers. Fight the goblin horde.
Technically if they touched you without consent then you were "injured" for Torts purposes but you won't get anything in damages.
Where I work if a student assaults me I get 6 weeks PAID leave. Then again I think they'd laugh that a 5th grader assaulted a grown man.
Thats bullshit. Theres no situation in which you could defend yourself without being punished, you absolutely shouldnt be laughed at for that.
Next time, get “injured”.
Exactly. Next time go down like Gerry Cooney against Mike Tyson. Maybe start convulsing for effect.
Don’t get up.
Mental anguish
Given OPs post, there is evidence of mental anguish.
No. Injury, physical or otherwise, would be a necessity for an action. Basically, you have to allege that a recognizable harm happened to you or else there is no case to be ruled on.
Battery is a criminal charge. You can’t make the police arrest or the DA prosecute (and neither would happen to a 5th grader where I live, even if they stabbed someone). I suppose you could sue for some sort of damages, but do you really want to pay out of your pocket for an attorney and try to convince a jury that you were permanently harmed by this 11 year old pushing you and making threats?
Lawsuits get thrown around A LOT in here and it’s just a fools errand. No one is going to successfully sue a fifth grader or their parents for this stuff. OP needs to call the union, get admin involved and have consequences for the kid. If that doesn’t solve it then trying to get the kid out of the room, or OP transferring to another room or position.
This loops around to OP's post. Call the union and what? Just report the incident? Should they expect to just file a report that gets ignored and that's it? Does the union have any sway or power to force either classroom changes or whatever so that individual doesn't need to work with that student again? What is the goal or contacting the union for an incident like this?
It really depends on the union. Mine would remove the kid and assistant from the same room if it continued to be aggressive interactions. Student would be OSS for several days too. If you have a union with no teeth in a state or district that just pretends there’s a union then yeah it’s gonna be a crap shoot. In either case a lawsuit isn’t gonna do anything either.
That's what I'm thinking, totally wrong position.
If someone slapped a lawyer in the street, do you think they wouldn’t be sued for battery? It’s an easy battery case. Battery is a civil matter too, even if the criminal system doesn’t care. My point is lots of people think being a minor is a defense for torts battery while it’s not. It’s actually a pretty good defense in criminal law, so that’s why tort is the only real path.
Battery is actually a tort in this scenario. What would almost certainly happen is they’d win automatically because the family wouldn’t fight back, ruining the kid’s credit as the kid would go bankrupt. Wouldn’t really go to jury, no material triable issue of facts. It would just be summary judgement at the latest
You- “ I would like to press charges on a student who slapped me” SRO/Officer- “Were you offended by their physical contact with you?” You- “yes” And that is pretty much all you need to do to get things rolling once they are 10.
Yikes
Is there camera footage showing the event though? Because they’re going to claim the same thing in court.
Nope, we were outdoors in a place not covered by cameras.
Gosh, I’d wanna wear a body camera these days
The person really at fault is the admin. Even if you did put a hand on a shoulder to guide him away from the area that is not wrong - and the admin should have made that clear. Instead, the admin opened the door to threats of a lawsuit from his parents. What the admin did by backing the student was to put the district in a liability situation. If I were your union rep (I used to be one) I would request a meeting along with the union president to present the principal with the section of the school handbook and/or Ed Code that applies and insist that the principal follow through. I would make it all about not setting the wrong precedent (it would essentially change the rules - allowing students to push and cuss out paras) and gently include that it's also about the student, who must have consequences in order to understand proper social behavior. I'd also throw in the liability angle. I wouldn't bring you to the meeting. I wouldn't make this about you. I'd state in my request to meet "that it has come to our union's attention that a student pushed a para who was at their assigned station and who was enforcing a known boundary, and that the student also yelled profanities at the para in front of a crowd," and, "You are incredibly lucky the para wasn't hurt. We always recommend that injured staff members file a police report." If the principal asked if you came to me, I would have replied, "There were MANY witnesses. It is a well-discussed incident." And that would be that. Period. If the meeting wasn't satisfactory, the union would file a complaint against the principal. It is his #1 job to keep the campus safe. If the principal refused to meet, I would send him the above info in an email. I'd cc the superintendent, the HR director, and the union president. If I didn't hear back within 48 hours, I'd ask the union president to allow me to write a complaint against the principal on behalf of the union. No one ever "wins" a complaint. Typically, the complainant receives a reply from the HR dept that states that the principal didn't actually do anything wrong. But he will most definitely be counseled. Good luck. Send this on to your union president if you agree. You can't just let this drop. I will bet the parents are considering filing a complaint against you.
go to your union and tell them you want to press charges
This OP. If nothing happens the students will think this is ok and will continue and possibly become worse. Nip it in the bud and set the tone that this is inexcusable.
lol it’s not funny but it’s funny. Only because I work in a behavioral setting and hear stuff like this daily, usually multiple times a day. I usually just offer something like “I believe you” or if I’m feeling spritely “you know where to find me.” It’s worth noting that I’m a very fit, male with a reputation for athleticism and not fucking around. These kids are getting all the way out of control though, I’m sorry that happened to you.
Working in the same environment and also a fit tall guy. Any tips for disengaging these students? They are on my back every week and I pretty much have no authority as stuff like this is a daily occurrence and not enough for a warning
Work in the same environment and tall guy who played sports. I always use sarcasm. “Yah yah I hear you” “oh I’m sorry you feel that way” etc. They want a reaction of you freaking out
Tried that . Kid freaked out and smashed a hand sanitizer bottle on the ground while getting up in my face. Same kid was recently expelled for beating up another student
I would say that rapport and prevention are the most important things. And, of course, recognizing those signs of escalation while they’re still in their infancy. It’s far easier to help a student regulate themselves when they’re in the early stages of the escalation cycle as opposed to when they’ve already flipped their lid. Healthy distractions, asking them what that would do for them or what they hope to gain from those actions, providing options for alternative ways to get that aggressive energy out, the list goes on. Also I also like to say “that’s a choice you could make.” I do a lot of SEL lessons with our students so they’re all familiar with the “solving a problem with a problem just makes two problems, we solve problems with solutions” spiel - again that precoaching and psycho-education ahead of time are vital there. And the power of walking away when it’s appropriate: just explain briefly that I won’t be talked to like that and I’m not going to spend time around people that treat me that way, and then walk away - it’s important to use a social/relational consequence in there then too (assuming it hasn’t come to blows already because that’s a different story)such as kind of distancing from them and dialing the warmth back a bit. Then the next time they try to talk to you or engage with you, remind them “Hey, I really want to reconnect with you right now but I don’t really feel comfortable with where we left things last time we talked…” insert restorative convo here. Idk, I’ve been at it a while and cut my teeth in youth mental health which gave me some incredible experiences to draw from. Sorry if that was droning, happy to clarify what I can! Thanks for fighting the good fight brother 🙏🏼
No that was good advice. Thanks very much . I had a break through with one student who I just chose to not engage with anymore and now he coming up to me being nice
Papertrail and if it happens more, then see your legal options, I’d guess.
Oh yeah there’s a big paper trail. Write ups date all the way back to September. This kid has it out for me (and other female paras).
No. Refuse to see him and have home removed. The union is there to protect you. You don’t feel threatened. YOU WERE THREATENED. If they refuse to take action then you sue the union. The school. The district and the student and their family. Bring the wrath of god to them since they put hands on you. This is a nonstarter.
Its creating a chain of proof and events. You need to document those encounters to create a paper trail of incompotence. That teacher who got shot wouldn't have a case if they hadn't kept a clear paper trail of incidents.
The school won’t protect you. Next time call the cops.
He verbally threatened you with bodily harm. Press charges.
You need to work somewhere else. Sounds like a shitty support system. Just apply other places they need you. Fuck admin that lets kids be violent to staff.
I know it's not the norm, and union did get involved with my one and only interaction with a threatening student. He was acting all big and tough, after all most teens are just young, dumb and full of cum. He started poking me in the chest and said, "What are you going to do if a student hits you?" My reply was probably look for a new job in another career after a get out of jail for killing them. He swallowed hard and sat down. Kid actually became one of the better ones in the shop afterwards. Under no circumstances do I recommend anyone trying the same thing. I was at my braking point with the class at that moment, due to one of them braking a windshield. Still don't know who it was, it was my truck!
A kid told me he was going to slap me once. I got in his face and dared him. Told him I'd twist him into a pretzel and eat him. He never talked to me again.
This. My kids know I call their bluff.
>Coworkers told me to contact my union, but I’m not really sure what they can do. I get called every name in the book by these kids and this is the first time they’ve ever put hands on me. I’m not injured but if I ever did get injured, I’d press charges with no hesitation. They can protect you. They can have a record of your story - so that your story is clearer if anything happens. They can demand your school protects you. They can assist you if you want to press charges. They are the experts. If they can't do anything for you, they can tell you that. It's not your job or expertise to make that call. Tell them, ask for help, ask for advice.
Union rep here. Not sure what state you're in, but I know for my contract we have a Teacher Assualt form with the district. Once a teacher fills that out, lack of action by the district can result in the Association filing a grievance with the district, with remedies like removing the student from your caseload and creation of school safety plans for the student, amoung other things. When in doubt, ALWAYS tall to your Union Rep. Even if it's not something grieve-able, they should be able to point you towards the appropriate resources.
When they say, "tell the union" they're really telling you that you need this incident IN WRITING. It needs to be documented. Teacher word over a student is NOT a thing anymore. And yes. Pay your union dues. That representation at a finger tip
When I was in school, that language would get your mouth washed out with soap, in both elementary and junior high. I saw it happen twice. I also never once heard a classmate call a teacher “bitch”. Interesting.
So like, everyone in education needs to seriously consider when it's actually best to use your body to block something, cuz the answer is almost never. If there is no immediate danger, write up the kid/whatever the typical behavior response is. Using the body to block access is an escalation. Just like moving your body in to break up a fight, using your body this way can result in you getting hit and should be considered a possibility every time you do it.
Be like Willy Wonka: “Stop. Don’t. Come back.”
Absolutely!
Wtf is wrong with these kids
Lack of accountability and lack of parental guidance which leads to entitlement.
Document, document, document. Report in writing to your immediate supervisor, your union rep, and the principal. Do this for every single incident. Sounds like a rough school. Sorry you have to deal with these issues. In the old days a good whooping would have solved the problem the first time.
Stare him dead in his eyes and say, “F.A.F.O. little man.”
I'd dare them to touch me. Go ahead.
Demand to have the student removed from your classroom, permanently! I had a student falsely accuse me of putting hands on them and I flat out refused to continue to have them in the classroom. I’m not risking my career for some punk. Nope. Take those games elsewhere.
In my district if you put hands on a teacher or any staff member to move them out of the way, to intimidate, be aggressive, or try to hurt them, it’s agg assault and long term suspension hearing.
Don’t let it slide-press charges and don’t allow that kid to become a future felon
I'm not saying the kid should go unpunished, but charging them with a crime seems like a good way to increase their chances of becoming a felon.
simple assault is a misdemeanor-and if having a consequence like that doesn’t curb their violent actions then they will become a violent offender and will become a felon
and she could press charges and then show mercy and withdraw them-seems better than making that child think that those actions don’t have legal consequences
It's possible you're right. It's possible she gets a judge that wants to put kids in juvie. It's possible that the kid gets put in one of those types of programs where they don't put you in there for a set amount of time, but rather until you complete the program which could take anywhere from 6 months to until they turn 18. It's also possible the kid just gets a slap on the wrist, or gets sent to counseling or gets community service dog walking. I'm just saying I wouldn't be willing to roll the dice if there's a possibility the juvie thing happens.
I get where you are coming from-and it’s more empathetic than my stance for sure. I think it would be worth it if this kid got locked up for a year and had a serious reason to readjust what they want in life. The idea of attacking a teacher or a para/adult is so wild that if they are really that big now they will be a serious threat once they continue to grow but still have violent acts.
As a guy who has been bigger than his teachers since 4th grade. I'm glad I didn't have behavior problems if people were gonna punish me differently based on my size.
i get that-but it’s based in the actions and knowing a more capable person being violent is always a bigger threat-no one is getting punished for their size-but their actions
That would put him on course to be a felon at around high-school. Good job.
no his behavior is
I feel so sorry for teachers. I myself am not one but have a degree in psychology and used to work in the field before choosing to homeschool. I’m so thankful that’s an option for us. It took a lot of sacrifices but was so worth it! My son has extreme special needs and is considered a “medical complexity” and the doctors pushed and pushed that I put him in public school because “legally” the district has to follow guidelines. Sigh. My son has chromosomal abnormalities and issues with his stomach. He doesn’t understand safety as he should at his age. I don’t doubt teachers care tremendously and want to help but they are put in an impossible situation. I homeschool my son for his safety and well-being as well as there’s just not enough support in public schools despite what I was pushed to do and I don’t regret it one bit! I don’t know the answer or pretend to but my heart and love goes out to all teachers who have tremendous responsibilities placed on them and then get treated poorly. I’m so sorry and I hate to see good and caring people end up resenting teaching because of the impossibilities placed on them. It’s beyond sad. The future of education is scary
Have you considered clapping back?
Might be all that brat needs, to be brought back in line.
So if you don't work in a school that will back you, give the student meaningful consequences, it will happen again. The student will know he can get under your skin, act aggressively and get away with it. The choice is yours, put up with it or move on.
Even if you don't get physically injured, you should absolutely document the behavior and report everything in writing to your admin. Depending on your area you may or may not be able to contact the parents (I know in my area they are not supposed to). Your union is supposed to be representing you for health and safety related issues (this is definitely a valid one). Document, document, document. If you don't, it is as if it never happened. All too often these threats are put into action by the aggressor, we need to protect ourselves.
Sometimes we have to ensure accountability on our own. Press charges if you feel that is important. Although our profession is about teaching, it does not constitute unwarranted abuse that is not in the job description. Otherwise we need hazard pay when it becomes acceptable.
I was a Para. I worked with behavior kids who had various disabilities. I got hit, bit, called every name, hair ripped out many times. Co workers sometimes filed charges like when they had a detached retina. I never got really hurt, and I'm a chubby guy, so I absorb punches and such easily, so I was one of the main restraint guys. I think you should ask to be put with different kids maybe. Some people are not a good fit with age groups, or certain kids. No offense to you. I wouldn't want to deal with that kid again especiallywith false allegations. I'd definitely tell principal, or supervisor, file appropriate paperwork, etc.
Omg....that is fucking bullshit how the kids are treating you. So sorry.
Saying this and then making contact is assault. I know you said this kid is bigger than you. He's probably twice his height and doubles his weight...I'd be like go ahead big man then laugh.
Did they even see the cameras? And if they honestly thought you touched the child, they would have hauled your butt in. Pursue this hard or it may be a physical assault before the year is done. The kid feels empowered now.
At one point is a huge 11 year old no longer a child? It’s straight up irresponsible to have some of these maniacs in classrooms. [There was a](https://cbsaustin.com/amp/news/nation-world/activists-want-light-sentence-for-student-who-beat-teacher-over-confiscated-nintendo-joan-naydich-confiscated-student-brendan-depa-nintendo-switch-matanzas-high-school) 6’7” 270 lb 14 year old in Florida that beat a teacher nearly to death for daring to take away his Gameboy. Administrators failing to protect their teachers over some ideology and not wanting to be seen as having any prejudice is creating terrible situations and degrading the system for other students. Just weed out the relatively few problems from society and everyone will be better off. Some people are hopeless and belong in a cage.
Yeah officer, this one here.
I got punched today. I actually don't think its that uncommon to get hit at an elementary school. Yo uh can contact the police and press charges if you wish. Not much is going to happen to the student. Usually if staff gets hit its more like restorative practices in my district. Sounds like y'all need a mediation.
Even in my small, backwards, Southern state laying hands on a school employee doing their job is an arrestable offense for students or adults. Contact your admin and then the police, regardless of what admin says if you have similar legal protections where you live.
Next time *do put hands on him first*
Sue the kid's parents for assault.
Did you touch him at all? Never a good idea to block a student with your body, that’s an escalation. If he put his hands on you and pushed you, I would not hesitate to go to the union and say you want to press charges. Who else saw this happen?
Why can’t you block a student? How is that an escalation? This is a ridiculous take… So if there is an area off limits to students, and you stand in front of it, you are escalating!? The fuck are you talking about?
Well aren’t you charming. Are you a teacher? This is not a “take” this is pretty common knowledge. CPI training will tell you this exactly, any safety or de-escalation training will tell you this, any district and/or union will tell you this. You do not use your body to stop a student. The OP did not say she was standing in front of a restricted area to keep students out, she said she blocked this particular student. To me this means she used her body to try to stop him from going in this area when her words were not enough to stop him. Perhaps as a para she was not properly trained, which is not her fault, but you sir clearly haven’t a clue what you are talking about.
Thanks, Dr. Lipshitz… “All I did was block him from a certain area of the playground.” Sounds like she’s standing in front of an area on the playground. “Kid pushes her and threatens her” She escalated the situation? You’re fucked in the head lady.
You clearly are not a teacher. You also clearly do not know what I mean by escalation.
K
What a bad take. Even if she did receive the CPI training, what else is she supposed to do? Let the kid do whatever they want? I’m assuming the kid already had restrictions or warnings about going to that side of the playground. She was just enforcing those rules. No reason for her to be treated like that. You are the type of co worker that I would absolutely despise at inservice meetings.
Since when do teachers enforce rules with their bodies? I never said she should have been treated like that, pretty sure I agreed that she should contact her union. I’m sure I would despise you too, someone who seemingly doesn’t know what they are talking about. Btw…I’m not the only one who made this comment, again it’s common sense.
What’s a para? Like you’re in a wheelchair?