Teacher Accused of Assaulting Student Who Refused to Stand During the Pledge. A Teacher's Thoughts

A Colorado middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after she was accused of assaulting a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/02/03/colorado-teacher-accused-assaulting-student-who-refused-stand-pledge/303653002/

First off I don’t know what it was she did to the child, assault could more or less be any threat that would make that child fear some type of harm. I would imagine that there is a wide variety of things that can bring about fear in a middle schooler. I say this not because I am somehow trying to condone what the teacher did, in fact I am vehemently in opposition to any action that could be construed as harmful to a child. While I disagree with the teacher, that is not what I am most shocked at. To be clear, her mistake first off has nothing to do with her views on the student sitting or standing but reading comments and discussion around this incident it becomes clear that people on both sides have a strong urge to conflate the two. I have no idea about the student’s behavior in general. He could be a jerk, they do exist. One thing we can probably agree on though is that he was sitting at the time. That seems clear.

Much of teaching is interpersonal skills, and being on stage at all times can lead to bad decisions in the moment. She has taught for 20 years and had no prior issues, until we find out what happened then I don’t feel the need to pile on to this woman’s 15 minutes of infamy. No one wants to wake up to seeing their face blasted around the world, unless they are explaining how you made millions in cryptocurrency.

During my first year teaching I was at a public middle school in Atlanta teaching 7th grade science. Students were in a habit of abusing taking trips to the bathroom. This, not surprisingly, was a problem at every school I’ve ever been at since. Anyway, the administration decided to come up with a rule that students could only go to bathrooms during passing periods. As always this is left to be enforced by the teachers. So enforce it we do. One day a student asks to go to the bathroom in the middle of class, and I told her that I couldn’t let her go. She does it again several minutes later and I tell her no. After 5 minutes or so I see her sitting in her chair while sliding it towards the door, at which point she gets up and rushes out. Several students then tell me she was on her period and it was at that time when I realized I had made one of my first mistakes as a teacher.I had forced this student into a position that either embarrassed her in the class or forced her to disclose personal information to me a male teacher. As you teacher I had to do better.

I’m not here to argue against anyone's personal views about people sitting or standing for the Pledge or the Anthem, I have my views and the school allows any student to make this decision but that’s not the point of this. I think an old guard view of education might be seen as indoctrinating children and it seems that many believe that this falls within the purview of educators and that is simply not the case. You do not want us indoctrinating your kids, it does not work out well. A true education is about offering options and allowing students to take an active role in their growth of knowledge. She responded emotionally to an issue that should not have contained emotion within the confines of a classroom. Unemotionally you can pivot it into a wider classroom conversation to about differing viewpoints and engage the class in a conversation about why student make the choice.

I remember an English teacher I had in 8th grade, who was cursed at by a student one time who called her a “Queen B$t#h”. She unexpectedly retorted “At least I’m a Queen.” The class laughed the student was written up and life went on.

Scrolling through the comments I see many people complaining that we are going soft on students and teachers should be allowed to use corporal punishment on students when they get out of hand and this is what is weakening our system of education. While I feel that there are huge problems in our educational system, the answer is not as simple as having teachers flog students. That never works out in the long run. Teachers at their best should be models of what we want students to be, not draconian overlords that rule by fear. I was a strict teacher when it came to expectations, but you can’t build a strong, vibrant, participatory community on the bedrock of fear. That system erodes very quickly. Students deserve and should be allowed to ask questions that matter to their lives.

Just felt like sharing my thoughts, on a snowy Sunday afternoon. Thanks for reading.