Perspectives

Spare the rod, spoil the teacher?

Share this article

We’ve come full circle on school discipline: Now students beat the teacher.

“City teachers pleaded with district administrators Monday to help support them as they deal with what they are calling an unprecedented level of misbehavior among children, some of which is resulting in physical violence against teachers,” Felix Rodriguez Lima reported on Fox 43 from Harrisburg, Pa. on November 21, 2017. “The Harrisburg Education Association says the behavioral issues have prompted the resignations of at least 45 teachers between July and October, and further resignations have since occurred, according to association president Jody Barksdale.”

“Some of the worst behavior has come from some of the district’s youngest students. Amanda Sheaffer, a first-grade teacher in the district for four years, described the bad behavior she has seen.”

“‘I have been hit, I have been kicked, I have been restrained from behind where I’ve been unable to move my arms,’ she said. ‘It really throws off the whole day.'”

“I mean, you have an incident happen and you have to do a room clear, get all the students out, and then after that you have to take the time to do the write-up, and you have to make sure security comes and gets the kids.'”

Related Topics

Malcolm A. Kline
Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia. If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail contact@academia.org.

Sign up for Updates & Newsletters.

Recent articles in Perspectives