A Teacher who has been HIT BY A HIGH SCHOOLER NEEDS ADVICE!!!?

Question

I told all of the students to take out their HW and put it on their desk.(This was just a spot check)

One student refused and had a C.D. player on. I took the C.D. player off of his ears and asked to see his homework. He pulled out a paper that said F**K YOU!!! (I know this kid has issues so I just said AND YOUR REWARD FOR THAT IS A DOUGHNUT, do you want it chocolate, sprinkled or glazed?) In my class a Dougnut is a ZERO! When I checked the next person's paper in his row, he grapped me by the neck from behind and it felt like he tried to choke me. I got him off of me and he punched me in the face. I picked his NARROW AIZ UP BY HIS SHIRT AND SLAMMED HIM AGAINST THE WALL AND RESTRAINED HIM! Then he looked really scared and started apologizing.

1 Wk later his parents filed assault charges and now the head principal has placed me on suspension,
QUESTIONS
1. what do I do?
2. Was I wrong for restraining him?
3. Should I have let a snotty noise 15yr old beat the sh*t out of me?

Well, you all need some details b/c I think that it may give you a different picture. 1). After the incident I did tell one student to run to the office and tell a principal.
2). I told three students to provide incident reports after the event.
3). The student was expelled from school
4). I was disciplined (suspended )a week later after the event took place.
5). I believe that parents are pursuing complaints as a form of retaliation
6). I am being very AGRESSIVE about how I have described the event b/c I am still angry about it.
a). I did not "snatch" his earphones off, I just took them off and handed it to him. (He didn't appear to be angry at that point)

b). He attacked me as a result of me telling him that he had a zero on the assignment

c). I did not literally slam him against the wall, I was trying to stop him from punching me a 2nd, 3rd and a 4th time. He did not appear that after the first blow that he would stop.

Answer 1

1. what do I do?

Get a lawyer.

2. Was I wrong for restraining him?

Nope. You are allowed to protect yourself from bodily harm. But, the question I would like for your attorney to ask at trail and your hearing is..."What training did your district give you in the proper procedure of restraining children at the building level."

3. Should I have let a snotty noise 15yr old beat the sh*t out of me?

Absolutely not.

Answer 2

This is definitely the time to get a lawyer, and start building a case. It doesn't really matter what really happened, but what will eventually appear to have happened with the student, and it all can change by whose telling the story. My suggestion is to hire someone that can be very aggressive on your side to either get the case dropped or to ensure that you win and go after them. And I'd imagine that the sooner you do this the better. They may suggest you press charges and collect documents before they disappear.

To answer your question... Get the lawyer. You're not wrong in definding yourself... maybe... but you are wrong in restraining him unless you are certified to restrain... which may lead to some gray areas. And yes, it would have probably been better to let him beat the sh-t out of you. He still would have been expelled, and you may not have had this problem... It doesn't mean that you weren't right- it just means you do have a lot of serious work to do now.

Answer 3

If you really were defending yourself against his physical attacks, then I don't see how you could be fired or sued or anything. Are you a member of your state's teacher organization or union? If you are, you should be covered for legal help. If you're not, I would contact someone in HR and ask them for some legal options. The head principal is most likely placing you on suspension through protocol or to cover the school's butt until the situation is resolved. That sucks for you, but I have a feeling that would probably happen at lots of other schools as well. If HR is of no help, you may want to consider seeking your own legal advice. You could have technically filed a suit against him. I wonder if it's too late to do that. Please remember that when a situation arises in which the safety of your students may be threatened, your first priority is to secure their safety. It sounds like restraint was a necessary move, but I agree with everyone else in that your mistake was physically removing the headphones (why does he have them in class anyway?). I hope things work out for you!

Answer 4

You need to contact your union rep. immediately and get yourself an attorney. The student is in the wrong, but since it is his parents that are pressing charges you can bet that they have a good attorney. If you have ever had anything similar in your background tell your attorney right away. Your union rep will be able to handle things with your principal. Make sure all the students that have witnessed the event are all on the same page, and willing to testify. This may not go to court but if it doesn't you will probably have to pay a large amount of money to the parents. If this child has had similar sort of behavior in other classes be sure the contact the teachers and get their reports. I find it hard to believe that this boy has been able to go through the system without anyone noticing that he has some major anger issues. See if you can fill a counter-suit against the parents. This may just be enough to call their bluff. Good luck! :-)

Answer 5

You should talk with your rep from the local district and make sure you have legal representation. Since states differ widely in what one is allowed to do should one be attacked by a student, it is up to your state laws as to what can happen. In my state you have a legal right to defend yourself even to the point of holding a child down/against a wall. You would be expected to do the same if the child attacked another child. I would certainly look into filing a police report and possible law suite against the child/guardians since he did attack a public official (yep, technically that is what a teacher is). I would also consider filing an unsafe work environment complaint if your administrators wish to discipline you further. Part of the problem with most teachers is that they always want to be the good guys and rarely stand up for their own rights as humans.

Answer 6

1. I guess you find a good lawyer since the school district is not supporting you.

2. Yes you were wrong for restraining him. Its sad, but true. Not to mention you slammed him against the wall...that's not part of restraining someone.

3. Of course not, but there are other ways of handling an out of control student.

Frankly you sound like a hot head. If you cant keep your cool and keep your hands off students, you have no business teaching these days.

There were many many opportunities to prevent this from happening. If you ripped headphones off my head and I was a hormone raging 15 year old with issues I would have given you a mouthful too.

You are a poor teacher in so many ways. In fact, from your description you have done just about everything you can do wrong as a teacher. I really cant help you, nor do I want to.

Answer 7

well for starters you were wrong for taking his cd player off his ears. you do not have the right to be able to do that. if he refuses to take the player out then you simply remove him from the class by calling security. doing this would have saved all this from happening. second when this happened you should of had him removed from your class and arrested for assault. because you failed at making the correct decisions you deserve what your suspension. as a fellow teacher i am concered about your professionalism. what to do? hope your union helps defend you as they may be required to do depending o the state. you were not wrong for restraining him but in certain states you are only allowed to do so if you have gone through the proper training in how to restrain someone without hurting them. no you should not have let him beat you but there was better choices to make.

Answer 8

1. what do I do?

You acted inappropriately on two separate occasions. First, you provoked him and humiliated him in front of the class. Your language and attitude was inappropriate, and if you acknowledge this kid has "issues", then surely you should know how carefully you need to treat him.


2. Was I wrong for restraining him?

You didn't restrain him, you attacked him. By you own admission, you "slammed" him against a wall. That is aggressive and dangerous. Restraint is when you passively hold a child to prevent harm. You didn't prevent harm, you caused it.

In fact, generally you shouldn't even restrain a child - simply remove yourself and all the other students from the room and leave him in there.

3. Should I have let a snotty noise 15yr old beat the sh*t out of me?

If that is you see children, you shouldn't be teaching at all. And if you honestly think your actions were right, you shouldn't be left near children ever.

Answer 9

You were in the wrong. Legally when a child hits you you can defend yourself by walking away or putting your hands up to defend yourself. You can NOT put your hands on them. Period. Is it fair...well I'm not sure but it is the law. You started the situation when you physically removed the headphones from his ears. This was mistake number 1. Mistake number 2 was the smart a** comment you made to him about the zero (it heated the confrontation) and mistake number 3 was when you "slammed him against the wall and restrained him." In my opinion 3 strikes you're out. Say goodbye to your teaching license. If I were you I would stop speaking about this incident, even on the internet where you think you are anonymous, get an attorney and hope for the best.

Answer 10

This is why I refuse to do high school. These punks have learned that they can be agressive and mommy and daddy will get angry and sue. Instead of realizing that their child has a portion of the responsibility.

Definately get your teacher's union involved. Hopefully, you belong to one. It could get very messy. Especially if you cannot get students to confirm the details of the situation the way you describe. It will be a battle of "he said, she said." And if the kid is popular, you may run into some liars covering for him.

Like I said, contact your teachers union ASAP, they should provide free legal help.