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About 857,500 violent incidents and 479,500 nonviolent incidents were recorded by public schools in 2021-22, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. (Nonviolent incidents include theft, vandalism, drug possession, etc.) About 67% of public schools reported having at least one violent incident.
Hence, it’s hardly surprising that almost half of all teachers reported they “desire or plan to quit or transfer their jobs due to concerns about school climate and school safety,” per a 2022 study by the American Psychological Association,
The ongoing question is what to do about this egregious problem. The National Education Association claims that to deal with it, we must hire more counselors and interventionists.
While additional counselors who can reason with youthful offenders may help in some cases, it is not a fix that will always work.
Corporal punishment?
While there may be something to be said for the “spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child mentality” (18 states still permit corporal punishment), this approach is fraught with problems. Schools benefit from a school-wide discipline program, and not all teachers are comfortable whacking kids. I know that when I taught a middle school, it would be unthinkable for me to paddle a 13-year-old, especially a girl. Also, many parents might not want to send their kids to a school with a designated flogger.
Cops
Having a campus cop is helpful. A law enforcement officer surely is a deterrent to some miscreants. It’s important to note that while many teacher union leaders want to defund the cops, many boots-on-the-ground teachers disagree. A 2021 Heritage Foundation survey asked if defunding school resource officers will make schools safer and just 7% of teachers responded affirmatively. Additionally, an Ed Week Research Center poll from 2020 showed that, when asked if armed police officers should be eliminated from our nation’s schools, only 20% of teachers, principals, and district leaders completely or partly agreed.
But the racially obsessed equity crowd maintains that a cop’s presence “increases the number of students facing suspensions, expulsions, and arrests, particularly if they are black.” The same bunch, however, never acknowledges that when problem students act out, good kids of all colors are negatively affected.
The race hustlers in the Windy City are acting on the issue. The Chicago Board of Education has just voted to approve a resolution to remove police officers from its schools by the beginning of next school year.
Restorative justice
Promoted by the teachers’ unions and other leftwing education establishmentarians, this touchy-feely new-age malarkey is dangerous. It emphasizes “making the victim and offender whole” and involves “an open discussion of feelings.” Restorative justice came into being because blacks are far more likely to be suspended than other ethnic groups. The suggestion here, of course, is that white teachers and administrators tend to be racist. But the bean counters never get around to explaining why the racial disparity exists even in schools where black principals and staff predominate.
The teachers’ unions insist that restorative justice is beneficial. The American Federation of Teachers is devoted to it and has adopted a resolution in support. The National Education Association continues to preach that the “school-to-prison pipeline” is disrupted by restorative justice. But in reality, students are more apt to be imprisoned due to the practice.
Suspensions
Traditionally, misbehaving students have been suspended from school for a day or two. While this certainly makes teaching willing learners easier, it rarely positively impacts the offending student. After a suspension, I always asked the disruptive students how they spent their time when they were out of school. By far, the most prevalent response was a shrug, accompanied by “Watched TV.” Hardly an effective punishment.
A better solution would be to ditch suspensions and, instead, if a kid breaks school rules, make him come to school early or stay late, or possibly expose him to some lectures on Saturday morning. Perhaps then, flipping off the English teacher may lose some of its momentary appeal.
In addition to detention, what else can we do?
Schoolboards
Daniel Buck, Policy Associate at the Fordham Institute and former teacher, recommends looking to school boards. He writes that school boards can compel schools to review student conduct codes to tighten up what behavior warrants what response. A model policy by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty requires administrators to impose consequences: “If a teacher removes a student from class due to behavior outlined in this policy, before a return to class, the building principal or other administrative personnel will administer appropriate corrective action.”
The Marine approach
My middle school employed Mr. Thomas, a former marine drill sergeant, as a guidance counselor. When a misbehaving student was sent to his office, he would make them stand for an hour or two, facing the front of the room, and could not talk. He also kept his room a few degrees warmer than necessary. All the above made it so that students when threatened with a visit to Mr. Thomas, tamped down their antisocial behavior. But few schools have ex-military personnel in the counseling office.
Body cams
Capturing real-time police activity has become very popular in recent times. In fact, a July 2020 poll from the University of Maryland shows that nearly 90 percent of respondents support body cameras, including 85 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of independents and 94 percent of Democrats. This is consistent with a 2016 Cato Institute poll which showed that 89 percent of Americans support “requiring police officers to wear body cameras to record their on-duty interactions.”
Like cops, public school teachers are entrusted by the government to perform a service. So why not employ “edu-cams” which would help keep their students in line? (A side benefit is that the recordings would disclose the content and quality of teachers’ lessons.)
A few schools in England use the technology as a way to reduce attacks against teachers. Larry Davis, deputy headteacher of Southfields Academy in Wimbledon, said the use of body cameras by a small number of staff “had improved behaviour and lessened the number of dangerous confrontations since they were introduced at the start of the school year.” Also, a school official said police “found evidence from the body cameras was more useful in making arrests, and that their presence was deterring disruptive behaviour….”
It’s also happening in Tennessee. Schools can now buy emergency body cameras and call buttons for schoolteachers through school safety grants.
Tennessee Senator Mark Pody, (R-Lebanon), had sponsored a bill that would provide $300 to fund lanyards with an emergency button that will send an alert and also begin video and audio recording if a teacher is in a dangerous situation due to student behavior.
But, rather than passing the bill and approving the funding separately, the state Department of Education is allowing the technology to be eligible for purchase using school safety grant funds.
While cameras may curb classroom violence, many parents may not want their children to be part of an ongoing video stream. In that case, a school board could then choose to have a live microphone in every classroom. In this scenario, an audio would reveal only the name of the teacher and perhaps the first names of some of the students, but would still record any disruptive behavior.
No one benefits from out-of-control students. It’s time to do something that works before our schools and culture deteriorate even further.
Larry Sand, a retired 28-year classroom teacher, is the president of the non-profit California Teachers Empowerment Network – a non-partisan, non-political group dedicated to providing teachers and the general public with reliable and balanced information about professional affiliations and positions on educational issues. The views presented here are strictly his own.
SPURWING PLOVER says
Violent youth need to face the Consequence’s of their Violent behavior maybe a a little jail time
Michael Eisbrener says
What are the differences and distinctions 33% of the schools without violence have that the majority do not. Guessing is what the 67% are doing.
VOWG says
Why are todays kids violent? I am an old man and we never had this insanity in schools when I was young. What is missing from their minds?
Beez says
There has always been a level of violence in public schools, but not like it is today, It has metastasized exponentially over the past 60 years. Respect for others is what is lacking. And the public schools are dinosaurs from the 19th century. The public education model is built on formal social controls, but formal social controls are failing to address the problem of violence. Formal social controls are the laws, rules, regulations, and disciplinary systems within the schools.
Informal social controls over children are the “rules” inherent in and imposed by parents or other legal child guardians. Children tend to behave themselves because they have a deep emotional attachment to parents, In the old parents invoked and enforced rules and sanctions. A child who misbehaved might be sent to bed without dinner.
By contrast, children care little or nothing about the rules imposed by teachers, principals, school boards, or distant legislative bodies or committees. The exception would be the teachers an individual student might like, but the exception proves the rule. Children don’t respond with obedience when they don’t have a deeply personal relationship with the rule-maker.
In any case, let’s not wallow in the many problems and failures of public education. There is no fix because the problems are inherent in public education. Let’s admit that the public schools simply can’t be reformed. Parents should abandon the public schools and urge their state legislature to enact laws giving parents true choices while – yes – defunding the public schools. The legislature should redirect those funds to parents in the form of vouchers, charter schools, private schools, and especially homeschools.
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Luz Maria Rodriguez says
We have two friends who left teaching in public schools.
Actually, in Seattle schools many years ago, certain minorities were violent back then even to the point of attacking teachers in classrooms. This is not a new phenomenon although it is much worse today. Seattle and Washington State are on the verge of losing their last claims on civilization. All caused by voters continually electing Democrats. A Republic like we were given requires people, voters who are ‘educated’, not credentialed but rather having an awareness of consequences and an ability to learn lessons.
MK McMillion says
My parents spanked me as a child. As a result, I now suffer from a psychological condition
known as “RESPECT FOR OTHERS”.
Spirit of San Jacinto says
Back when I was in high school in Texas we had designed floggers. They were the football coaches that taught history class. Let’s just say when you have a bunch of Clay Matthews sized teacher around, there ain’t much trouble…
but then again parents were parents too. Yea, dad, Green Beret/Ranger Airborne/Delta… wanted no part of his bad side…
Kynarion Hellenis says
I remember that time. Coaches kept the troublemakers in line.
Beez says
Children obey those for whom they have a personal love, respect, or admiration. Informal social controls work. Your example illustrates the reason. I wager most if not all of the students in coach’s class not only behaved themselves; they also felt secure in his class.
Russ Wood says
That looks like your Mr Thomas has possibly read Robert Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers”, where the main character remembers HIS schooldays, with a teacher with a similar attitude kept control!
Christopher Watson says
Discipline is an interesting study; how it is achieved and its effect can last for the whole of one’s life. I was a teacher for over 30 years and saw several results of good and bad discipline. One, Mr K, was an ex-soldier who had rigid order. We had ‘prep’ every evening and the boys in his class were silent even though he wasn’t there. He was also a very good teacher, old boys used to come back years later to see him. Another teacher in another school had similar discipline yet taught them nothing. Violence is never necessary. Good order is maintained by the love a good teacher can show to his pupils and the respect they will show to him/her. Another path to good order is the rigid maintenance of the smallest rule; walking down a corridor on the left or right, maintaining a dress code, calling teachers ‘sir or ‘madam’. Punishment of the smallest infraction means the big crimes never happen.
Beez says
Students behave themselves best when they have a personal relationship with those who would teach them. They tend strongly to obey parents because of the love, respect, or admiration they have for them. The same applies to others including a few teachers. They’ll obey coaches because they respect them. In short, informal social controls work because the sanctions for violation of informal social controls are immediate and personal.