Are we really blaming the teacher now

[npk]

I have seen countless people here that seem to think that at least some of the blame in this school incident that occurred in Columbia SC to fall on the teacher and the school administrators. I am not even going to focus on what this idiot cop did, whose actions are not only inappropriate but also criminal. But I would like to know what those people who are blaming the teacher for not taking action would have liked the teacher to do. More specially are you suggesting that teacher should have put his/her hands on the student who refused to leave a classroom. The teacher saw a student using her cell phone and told her to put the phone away. The student is alleged to have refused to do so and the teacher contacted an administrator who summoned this cop.

And if that is what you believe then please tell me if you think it's part of a teachers responsibility to physically engage a disruptive student that could become violent. We have seen far more occasions of students committing violent acts against teachers than we have teachers against students. I am not saying that this young teenager was going to harm a teacher, but so many people seem to think that a teacher should risk their safety to physically remove a student that has no intentions of listening to what the teacher has already told them in the first place. If the kid isn't going to listen to a teacher when they tell them verbally they need to leave the room, then do you think they are going to just get up when the teacher taps them on the shoulder and says that it is time to go.

I fail to see how the teacher did anything wrong.

[Lil Missy]

1. The teacher did not do anything wrong. Some people on DU just sometimes say stupid shit. n/t

[NaturalHigh]

12. ^^^^^This +1000^^^^^

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

2. A few weeks ago there was a story about teachers....

....complaining that students were misbehaving and disrespectful, and the admins did little to stop it. I was amazed at how many here basically said teachers should quit or STFU and deal....

[elleng]

3. Stating what the cop did was OK,

I think that's what the teacher and administrator(s) did. (I may be mistaken.)

[npk]

4. I think maybe the principal did say something to that effect

which I think was silly thing to say if indeed that is what was said. But I think calling toe SRO was not wrong and just more specifically the teacher did not make a mistake in letting the officer handle that situation.

[elleng]

6. The teacher and admin made mistakes by not trying to stop the officer,

if only verbally, and later by asserting that what the officer did was ok, to justify arrests of the 2 students (I think I read this occurred; haven't read everything.)

Calling the SRO was ok, IF the school had failed in its JOB of knowing how to properly manage students and a school. SUCH an SRO should NOT be necessary.

[npk]

8. But again did the teacher specifically say that the actions were OK or the removal itself

I think this is important distinction and would like to see the comments, but I have had trouble finding just what was said specifically by the teacher. I think the teacher and the principal in this case acted appropriately at the start by calling in the SRO. The principal may have at the time made the statement referring to the decision to bring in the officer and remove the student, but perhaps didn't clarify his/her statement. I am willing to say that what the principal stated about the officers conduct was stupid in so far as finding no fault with how the officer removed the student, but I still feel that some people are blaming the principal and perhaps to a lesser extent the teacher for the "initial" decision to remove the student by asserting the SRO, and not the comments that were made after the fact.

[elleng]

14. Nothing wrong with the initial decision to remove the student.

The 'follow up' was abysmal.

[pinboy3niner]

5. That question is about calling in the police officer to deal with a disciplinary problem

Likely the principal's decision, not the teacher's.

But the teacher putting hands on the student was not the only option short of calling the cop.

For example, one option would have been to take the rest of the students outside to continue the class on the lawn. The misbehaving student could have simply been suspended.

[npk]

7. That would be a good option

The only thing I would say about taking the rest of the class out of the room is that it might not have been the teachers decision to make. Perhaps this teachers hands were truly tied and the options were basically to call the principal and the SRO. Some of the comments I have seen on DU have been very harsh on the teacher specifically and I think that the teachers options may have been several limited.

[pinboy3niner]

9. Also, the teacher putting hands on the student was NEVER an option. nt

[npk]

11. That's my point

If a teacher has no real authority to deal with a disruptive kid, they are going to have no choice but to call the SRO when one is available. Someone at some point was going to have to put their hands on this teenager, and that is the whole issue that faces school administrators. The teenager turned a simple put your phone away into a situation where there was nothing really left for the teacher or principal to do. And removing all the kids from the classroom would not have changed the fact that the student was still not going to get up from the chair.

[chillfactor]

10. I am a teacher...

and I have been verbally abused my smart-ass, foul-mouthed, unruly obnoxious kids time and again....

It is drummed into our heads to NEVER touch a student or we and the school could be sued...

so do NOT hit on the teacher....he was right not to interfere....and I am willing to bet that student had a mouth on her that would not quit....

[SickOfTheOnePct]

13. ...

The ONLY person to blame for the assault against the student is the SRO.

The ONLY person to blame for the SRO being called is the student.