School Safety
Dear Editor,
School safety is a common topic today, although many who speak about it do not define the term. I was recently part of a teacher feedback forum where the topics was selected by the attendees. School safety was the No. 1 topic of the group. The participants were asked to define what school safety meant to them. The participants’ answer was, “the physical safety of the teachers and students in the face of harm by another student.” They even stated there were not nearly as concerned about an outsider coming in to do harm inside the schools.
I can easily see what these teachers were talking about based on recent news reports. There have been news reports of a fight that resulted in EMS calls. There was a shooting in the parking lot of a high school after a football game. There have been fights that required pepper spray to disburse participants in school buildings and sporting events. We have even seen a recorded incident of a school administrator’s nose being broken by a student in a classroom followed by that student fighting the school resource officer (SRO).
What part is the violence in the schools playing on the departure of teachers from the classroom or bus drivers from the buses? What is the impact of violence on student’s learning? What can be done to remedy this situation? Obviously, what is being done at this point is not working.
Lynn Andrew
Thank you Lynn! Well said!
This has been going on for over 30 years in GCS (yes, I know this from personal experience) and I doubt it will ever be addressed as it should. Students are protected by parents who won’t hold their kids accountable and outside groups who won’t hold parents, kids, or administrators responsible for their lack of respect for the authority of teachers and administrators in the classroom and schools. Until kids and parents understand that education is a privilege and not a right, and their kid doesn’t have a right to be in a classroom to be disruptive, assault a teacher or other student, create chaos, or incite others to riot, schools will continue to be a place where the question of teacher and student safety is questionable.
Well said.
In-school violence by students that is directed at teachers, staff, and other children is a serious issue that is often ignored. Assaults, disruptive behavior, and insolence are all too common and can begin in Kindergarten; yes, Kindergarten. Teachers have been punched, slapped, kicked, and bitten by Kindergarten children. Often local school administrators do virtually nothing and county-level administrations are unsupportive. Teachers and staff have few advocates. In our public schools, there is far too little meaningful discipline and far too much blatant entitlement. A healthy school environment is one where all feel safe and respected and where children can effectively learn. A return to a few “old school” ideals that include personal responsibility and honor would be a good place to start.