Capitol Hill Blue Forums Life and Moral Issues Matters of culture Finding alternatives to violence

It was not the teacher who tossed the student. It was the school "peace" officer. The student was outright defiant and needed to be disciplined, but not in the way that officer handled it. Both should be punished. IMHO, since the officer had prior incidents of violence, he was rightly fired. But that girl should have some meaningful kind of discipline as well. I understand that she suffered a death of either a family member or friend, but that does not giver the right to be so disruptive and defiant. Excusing her behavior will just cause the incident to happen again. As I said before, discipline should have started at an early age(infancy). And for all teachers, school administrators and law enforcement, there should be better training in de-escalation. Learning how to peacefully nip the problem in the bud.

When I was volunteering at the high school in my neighborhood last year, the teachers required all students to label their cell phones/iPads/iPods/computer watches/pagers, put them on vibrate and deposit them in the teachers' desk drawers. The students were allowed to retrieve them on their way out of class. This made the students more likely to pay attention in class. This action was also announced to all students and parents at orientation at the beginning of each year. So no surprises. That could be one example.

I know it was the cop. Never said is was the teacher. The teacher called the cop who tossed the student. THAT WAS STUPID. That only escalates things.
As far as what she did: most teenagers do similar things. She is not going to school to be disciplined. And if she can't get along with others there are other ways of dealing with it: 1) warning 2) suspension and if all else fails 3) expulsion.
There are rules in all public places because it isn't just about "you", i.e. you're not alone.
My point is and remains: there is no need to call a cop for such a banal and common occurrence. Teachers have dealt with disruptive students for centuries, they should be trained to deal with it.
And if the student does not want to cooperate, he/she should not be allowed to attend classes.
Calling a cop for minor incidents simply reinforces the "police state" mentality that has taken hold of this country. It is wrong and the teacher is as much to blame as the cop. I don't care if he "followed the rules", there is (or should be) a modicum of common sense when evaluating the situation.
I know that my reaction, were she my daughter, would be fury!
I taught for several years, and even though that is not my primary occupation, even a DUMMY like me learned quickly how to de-escalate heated situations.

Okay, let me clarify the situation somewhat. The teacher did not call the cop. THAT is why I say the teacher did the right thing. The teacher tried to get the disruptive student to put the phone away, and the girl went on being an ass. Teacher asked her to leave the room, girl refused. Teacher contacted administrator, (assistant vice principal I think) asked her to come into the hallway, girl refused. Administrator contacted the officer.

Also, officer did not have a "reputation" for violence. The two complaints were from his rookie year 8 years earlier, and not substantiated, according to some sources (the Department has not confirmed).

I agree that having cops in schools can, and does, change the dynamics of the schools, and leads to escalations in enforcement. This is something that should have been handled "after class" (depending on how disruptive she was being). Her refusal to stop being an ass is what led to the confrontation. But, she could have been removed after school.

Does it really matter who called the cop? The point is it still should have been handled differently and without the intervention of law enforcement.
The students called him officer "slam" - gee I wonder why?
As far as her being an ass, to my knowledge that is not a criminal offense. If it were half the country would be in jail.

HuffPo

And from eyewitness accounts the teacher and the administrator stood there and did nothing as she was being assaulted. They share the blame, yes indeed.

Oh, like Michael Brown and Eric Garner, etc. etc. etc.
Like the cop who assaulted James Blake.
The list goes on. I find very little credible in cops talking about other cops.
And the second instance, if I'm not mistaken, has not been judged yet.
Does it not strike you as odd that a 250 pound man needs to attack a defenseless teenage girl in that fashion?

School law enforcement should only handle violent situations. Student-teacher violence, student student violence strangers coming onto campus, disaster emergencies, illegal activity and similar situations. Student discipline(and yes, students sometimes need discipline-I was also a teacher) should be handled only by teachers administrators and parents. There still needs to be better training and rulkes in place for handling situations like this.

Law enforcement should only be involved if there is criminal activity.
Discipline is best left to the parents.
I am fed up with this paramilitary horseshyte so ubiquitous in this country. The stuff of impotent phoney brave.

I didn't disagree with the assessment that this should have been handled as discipline, not involving law enforcement. I am just not willing to condemn anyone based upon group perception, and that includes cops. Won't play that game.

Nor do I. I condemned him based on evidence. Apparently his boss agreed that the evidence was overwhelming against his actions.
My assessment is directed at a system not a person.

This is exactly what I said. in my post here.