Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts

Friday, April 08, 2011

Unruly students

Georgia -- So, you're a teacher for special needs children and you're having a couple of unruly students in your class.

Two disruptive, teenage students refuse to return to their seats - what do you do? That's simple, you just pepper spray them.

At least that ways the solution one female Bibb County teacher used recently in her classroom, according to 41nbc.com.

This really makes me wonder if she was only having a permanent brain meltdown or simply had lost it temporarily.

At least it goes to show that a lot of teachers unfortunately don't have the skills or training needed to control potential violent conflicts and other similar problems at school.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Teacher self-defense?

There's probably more to this story than what you can read from a media rapport - it usually is. Even so, it seems like this teacher A. has a serious anger management problem, and B. needs to learn some basic conflict management and control techniques.
Yes a 10-year-old child can absolutely do some harm to an adult, but come on... Do you seriously need a neck restraint technique or a choke hold to control a situation like this? Absolutely not if you know what you're doing.
Another discussion is the possible use of force by teachers. In my book there may be situations where such a need may arise. But again, you really must know what you're doing. And of course, any type of force should always be kept as the very last resort. There are no winners in a situation like this!

Story:

New York -- A 58-year-old substitute gym teacher allegedly put a 10-year-old student in a chokehold when the two got in an argument over a game of dodgeball in New Rochelle, according to wten.com.

Police said the teacher apparently called the student 'a big baby' and a 'crybaby' after they began arguing about a call.

The boy reportedly threw a punch but missed. The teacher then grabbed the boy by the back of the neck and dragged him across the gym floor. Police said the boy was held in a chokehold when he tried to break free.

The student was taken to a hospital with neck and back pain. The substitute teacher claimed he acted in self-defense.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

A musical lesson

There are at least two vital lessons to be learned form the story below. First off, you definitely don't want to be messing with 17-year-old marching band girls. If they are armed with a baton, then even more so - stay clear :-)

Secondly - and this is the serious part - the incident really goes to show how effective any kind of weapon can be in a self-defense situation.

Needless to say, I really love stories like this one.

California -- This high school marching band student form Quartz Hill (a high desert community about 40 miles north of Los Angeles) beat up two attackers who attempted to mug her as she was walking to school Friday morning, officials said.

A Sheriff's spokesman said the teenager kicked one man in the groin and punched the other in the nose. She then beat both men into submission with her large baton before running away.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Make some noise!

"Jump up and down, scream and holler, do whatever – just remember, the more noise you make, the safer you will be!" This is a lesson given to five-year-old elementary school kids by an Ohio resource officer.

Recently, remembering the methods she learned at school, a young girl (9) escaped an abduction attempt in Middletown, Ohio, according to wlwt.com.

The girl's mother credits Officer Mike Davies with saving the girls life after she fought off the 6'8", 300-pound would-be abductor on June 6.

The mother said her daughter kicked and screamed and punched, and did everything she was told to do.

Apart from being a great story about the ability to fight back - this story also raises the question as to how and how early children should learn about this issues.

Some say children should be allowed to be children. It's hard to disagree with that, really. However, at one time these lessons has to be taught, and they should be presented in some shape or form - the earlier the better.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Slip slidin' away

Colorado -- Denver police say a man they say attempted to abduct a girl walking to school Tuesday morning around 7:15 a.m., according to thedenverchannel.com.

A man in a car started catcalling at her as the teenager was walking to high school, a police spokesman said.

She crossed an alley and saw the car circle the block and approach her. The girl said a man got out of the back seat, grabbing her from behind.

Just as a second man got out of the vehicle, the girl was able to slide out of her coat and run to a residence nearby, police said.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

More school violence

Here are three individual cases, each pointing to the huge - and vastly un- or under reported - problem of violence towards teachers.
One of the reports says: "Teachers and campus officials probably shun police reports and prosecution because they don't want to hurt the child or taint the school."

January 25, thedailyitemoflynn.com reported from Lynn, Massachusetts about a high school disciplinary meeting which turned violent.
The 20-year-old sister of a suspended student physically assaulted two teachers and threatened several others, according to the report.

January 28, dailytribune.com had a story from Oak Park, Michigan about a 17-year-old high school student being charged as an adult.
The teenager was reportedly accused of assaulting a female teacher, and the teacher says violence and threats at the school are increasing.

Then on January 29, ajc.com had an article about a female teacher from Lilburn, Georgia.
The experienced teacher was blindsided by a 12-year-old middle school student. "It was a beatdown", the newspaper says.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

A secret password

Minnesota -- Two young Rochester students (first and second grade) said a man approached them Wednesday afternoon as they were walking to their day care after school according to kttc.com.

The unknown man reportedly told Isabel and her friend that they were supposed to go home with him. The two young girls ran away and made it home safely.

The youngest girl's mom says a code word may actually have saved the girls' lives. When the man told the girls they were supposed to go home with him, the second grader asked 'what's my password?' when he provided the wrong answer she started screaming and they ran away.

The girl and her mom picked out the code word just in case someone other than she had to pick her up.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Stabbed for iPod

Sure, it only happens to others right? Nothing bad can possibly happen to me, walking around oblivious to my surroundings while listening to music? Not in this nice neighborhood? Surely no one is going to harm me for a lousy $150?

Story:
A 48-year-old man was stabbed in the back by a teenage boy attempting to steal his iPod nano. The man was cutting across a ball field to his home across from an elementary school when police say a 17-year-old boy stabbed him once in the lower right section of his back.

The suspect never threatened the victim before approaching about 1:30 a.m., police said. The man, who often takes late walks up to nine miles, sprinted the final few hundred yards from the school and woke his sister.

A King County sheriff's spokesman said it's non uncommon for people to be mugged for iPods, "but the stabbing is the unusual part." In this case, the victim got away before the thieves could take the device.

Source

Monday, July 02, 2007

Parents, role models ...

And still we wonder how some kids grow up to be violent ...

Story:
An irate Italian family beat up a principal because they were unhappy with the grades a young relative had received and with a ban on cellphones at school. Three male relatives, including the father and grandfather of the student, punched and pushed the principal at a middle school in Bari on Saturday, police said.

They were angered by grades on the latest report card and by a recent ban by the principal on cellphones at the school he has run for the past 22 years. The principal was taken to hospital and treated for mild bruising. Police escorted him back to the school.

Source

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

A "toy"?

You may have heard about the British woman who was shot and killed by police recently. She was waving a "toy" gun around ...

Story:
They're so realistic, the U.S. military uses them for simulation training, but they're all the rage during adolescent play.

Toy guns that are marketed to "make you feel like you're 'packing' the real thing," airsoft guns are also fast becoming a problem - actually mistaken for the real thing - and have many fearing big problems could follow these small-pellet shooting guns.

Airsoft guns are BB-style toy guns that use plastic pellets actually much larger - so less likely to break skin upon impact - than regular BBs. They're sold, over the Internet and in retail stores in some states, in many models, including pistols and rifles, that look just like the real thing.

An alarming concern is when the toy guns are mistaken for the real thing in dangerous situations.

Last month, a Framingham teenager fleeing police tossed an airsoft gun on the ground during chase, and police thought it was an actual weapon. No one was injured. Earlier this month, police nearly shot a teenage boy in California when they found him and two others playing with the toy guns on an elementary school playground, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Source

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

"A controlled, mature way"

A controlled, mature way ...?
I do have to ask what an out-of-control, immature way would be. On second thoughts, maybe I wouldn't want to know.
Middle-class paranoia anyone? I mean, here's a woman who will not let her daughter, 18 (!) years old, walk to school - less than a minute away. And based on what, a few unfortunate incidents?

Story:
After a series of reported sexual assaults and an abduction attempt on high school students last month, life in this quiet South Pasadena community is getting back to normal - with modifications.

"Just because we are an affluent, middle-class neighborhood, we're still surrounded by all sorts of things," said Karen Gilbert, who said the community has been responding to the threats "in a controlled, mature way."

Gilbert no longer lets her 18-year-old daughter walk to school, which she said is less than a minute away from their home.

Source

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Hazards at work, 44

Being hit by the student is bad. Hitting back is plain stupid. Could this retaliation have been avoided with a little knowledge and training? Quite probably.
Another thing is that the teacher really should have seen the punch coming. The pushing is a tell tale sign of escalation - in other words: a major red flag. Even more so when this student has what they call a "record of behavior issues"

Story:
Louisiana -- An 18-year-old student finished a test Tuesday and then shoved it in the teacher's chest. The 10th-grade teacher told her to take it back and hand it to him nicely, officials said. She shoved it in his chest again, school officials said, so the teacher repeated his request.

District officials said that on the final time, though, she threw the test in his face and followed up with a punch. He hit her back, officials said.

The 20-year teaching veteran was suspended with pay, and the student has been suspended indefinitely. The student has a record of behavior issues, according to the school district.

Source

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Hazards at work, 42

Jamaica -- Three male students allegedly attempted to rape a female teacher at a Kingston high School yesterday.

A source said the teacher was taking a Grade 10 class in a building to the back of the school, called 'the temple', when the boys - the only ones who had turned up for the class - reportedly started saying things which made the teacher feel uncomfortable.

The teacher reportedly set the afternoon's work on the board and started to leave, but was allegedly blocked by the boys.

"One of them held her hands behind her and another held her around her waist, she literally had to fight her way from them," the source said, adding that the teacher was so distraught, she had been crying all afternoon.

Source

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Hazards at work, 41

And of course any teacher who lay hands on these "poor kids" would find themselves in trouble, right?

Story:
Yet another teacher was assaulted at violence-plagued West Philadelphia High School - the seventh in two weeks and at least the 18th this school year.

Around 11 a.m., a trash fire was set in an unoccupied classroom, one in a series of small blazes set by students in protest of the removal of the principal this week.

Students were evacuated and when one teacher tried to tell students to get off a car, a ninth-grade girl punched him in the jaw, police said. Another girl and a boy also tried to hit the 53-year-old teacher, a long-term substitute.

Source

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

A kid will remember

It could be wise to reflect on this story, next time an adult wonders if a child simply makes up a story. We may begin to wonder since a child seemingly remembers so many details.
Yes, a few kids make up a story to get attention, or cover up something else. Most however, do not.

Story:
On a Monday night in January, Mitchell Hults received a phone call from his friend's dad. "He called me and asked if I'd seen Ben or if Ben had been on the bus," says Mitchell, 15, of Beaufort, Mo.

Mitchell had seen Ben Ownby on the school bus. He also saw something unusual when Ben got off the bus -- a strange white pickup truck.

"I know pretty much all the cars that come down here," Mitchell says of the rural area in which he lives.

Mitchell told Ben's dad, and then the police, about the white pickup. He remembered it was a Nissan, and even knew the places where the truck had dents and rust. He also remembered what his friend was wearing when he disappeared.

Ben, 13, had been kidnapped, but was found by police four days after his abduction, along with Shawn Hornbeck, 15, who vanished four years ago. Michael Devlin was arrested for kidnapping Ben and Shawn, and is in jail awaiting trial. Mitchell's description was a huge help, and two officers recalled it when they saw Devlin's truck.

It may seem surprising that a kid could remember so many details. But safety instructor Tom Patire wasn't surprised. "Adults have so much going through their minds, they get mixed up in the description," Patire says, whereas a kid will remember.

Source

Friday, March 30, 2007

"Poor kid"

Sweden -- How dare these pesky teachers harass a "poor kid" like this. Since the kids are allowed to do exactly as they please at home, they sure can't expect to do less at school, right?

So, we must consider if this 45-year-old teacher had it coming when he told a 19-year-old student to remove his caps in class.

The student probably had a bad hair day, so he assaulted the nagging teacher, trying to choke him (probably just trying to get him to "shut the f*** up").

The poor, helpless, freezing kid - being shown so little respect - was arrested by police.

Seriously, how are these youngsters brought up at home?

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Hazards at work, 32

Story 1:
A 15-year-old girl punched her teacher 10 times in the face and chest Tuesday morning after the teacher tried to take her cell phone away, police and MPS officials said.

A stricter ban on cell phones went into effect last month in Milwaukee Public Schools after several students used their phones to call outsiders to participate in fights.

Police said the student at Fritsche Middle School's LEAP program was talking on the phone during class when the teacher, a 54-year-old female, tried to confiscate it.

She wound up with a "chipped tooth and pain and redness in the face," an MPS spokeswoman said.

---

Story 2:
Another Philadelphia schoolteacher has been the victim of a vicious attack by students.
Joseph Smith, a teacher at the Deburgos School in North Philadelphia, said on Thursday he was attacked by a 14-year-old girl.

"Our kids have no belief and respect, no respect. There's no respect for authority," Smith said.

He was attacked after he said a 14-year-old female student grabbed a classroom phone to make prank calls and refused to stop. Smith said the girl hit him with the telephone and then hit him again with a dictionary, before more students joined in on the attack.

The attack comes a week after a Germantown High School teacher had his neck broken allegedly by two students.

Another teacher told NBC 10 News that his jaw was broken by a student at West Philadelphia High School in November.

The beatings come as a new report on violence in Philadelphia schools is released.

Source 1
Source 2

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Entering your car

Entering you house or your car is the moment you should be aware - unfortunately many are not. We are often preoccupied by things we are going to do, rather than what we are doing right there and then.
Criminals are aware of the fact, and may strike at that point.

Story:
Indiana -- Police on Wednesday night released a composite sketch of a male they believe raped, robbed and carjacked an Indianapolis woman this week and had received numerous tips after that release.

The woman told police that she had just returned to her car in a downtown parking garage after work Monday when a male approached her, told her he had a weapon and forced her to drive him to a bank. The attacker made her withdraw money and raped her before she escaped, police said.

Also Wednesday, police said they're checking similarities between Monday's rape and an unsolved rape of a teacher in 2006.

Police said the teacher had just entered her car to leave the Sycamore School in April when a male entered the vehicle, pulled out a gun and told her to drive.

The gunman forced the teacher to drive to a nearby neighborhood before sexually assaulting her in the car, police said. Then they drove to a bank, where he made her withdraw money from an automated teller machine, police said.

They then drove to a different school and raped her in the car, according to police. The gunman then left the teacher, taking the money, her driver's license and her cell phone.

Source

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Didn't feel right

Illinois - It started off as an ordinary walk to school Wednesday, just like others the 13-year-old Peoria girl has taken countless times. But something didn't feel right.

She looked over her shoulder and saw a man she didn't know walking not far behind her.

No one else was around on this overgrown path next to railroad tracks in a wooded, secluded area in the city's North Valley.

She looked behind her again. He quickened his pace. Her heart beat faster. She started running, knowing she was trapped.

Source

Friday, March 02, 2007

Twisted free

Ontario, Canada -- An attempted abduction of the 14-year-old girl has her scared of walking to school during the day.

The incident occurred Friday when the teen was walking to secondary school around 8 a.m. A man pulled up in a red car, got out and tried to grab her. But at five-foot-five and 150 pounds, the teen used her height, weight and self-defence training to her advantage.

"I just knew I didn’t want to get into his car, so I fought back," said the girl. "He grabbed my arm, but I twisted free. Then he grabbed my waist and I just kicked and screamed and elbowed him in the face. Then I ran away."

The girl told South Simcoe police her attacker was in his 20s, about six feet tall. He was clean shaven with a heavy build.

Source