It was a routine afternoon following lunch.
I was walking down the hall with my students after picking them up from the cafeteria when a young Black female student turned around, stared me down aggressively, and continued staring directly at me as I approached my classroom door.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“There can be one.” She nastily replied.
One student who was nearby told her, “You know that’s a teacher, right?”
“I know,” replied the student who stared me down. There was no care or remorse in her eyes, body language, or tone.
“Watch yourself,” I replied as she walked away and went to her class.
The exchange was incredibly disrespectful, and because of how the student responded, I spoke with a seasoned teacher about whether I should report the incident. He shared that situations like the one that occurred could escalate, so I decided to report it. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, as the safety of teachers working in today’s climate has often been compromised, and at times tragically ignored, but after my administrators were made aware of what happened, the matter was resolved with a swift and reasonable consequence.
I appreciate how the matter was handled, and I felt supported.
However, the thing that was the most unsettling to process was how comfortable a student felt staring me down in the first place. Especially since a stare down is a form of aggression. The fact that the student responded the way she did (following the stare down) was also a threat. I teach middle school, so I’m used to observing students behave in ways that are typical for an average teenager, however, I’ve never had an interaction like the one I had above. After speaking with other teachers who have been threatened by some of their students and in some cases experienced physical harm at the hands of a student, I wonder about the care, safety, and protection of teachers currently working in the field.
About a week before this incident occurred, one of my students called me a “bitch” after I told him to relocate his seat so he could complete his assignment for the day. He wasn’t on task and was already failing my class due to missing assignments and low assessment scores. Following what happened, I was informed by another colleague that the student’s behavior wasn’t out of the ordinary and that because he receives special education services, there wouldn’t be serious consequences for what he said.
In recent years, many teachers have left the field of education for different reasons, and one of the biggest reasons why is because of the safety aspect when it comes to working with some of the students we teach. We’ve got to stop normalizing and dismissing disrespect, threats, and physical harm as “teens being teens” or “kids just being kids,” and hold every student, their parents and guardians, and all parties involved accountable so that students don’t feel comfortable harming teachers.
When I was in the sixth grade, I remember a huge fight happening while my peers and I were transitioning between classes. During the fight, my English teacher stepped in to deescalate the situation, and the student she attempted to calm pushed her in the stomach. That student was expelled after what he’d done. When I was growing up, putting your hands on a teacher was a big no-no, and was something most students seemed to take seriously. Before that time, I remember that same student snapping on our PE teacher during health class and being asked to leave the room. He was outraged because of a D he got on his report card, and he blamed our teacher. I had never seen someone so young get so angry and explosive – especially with an adult. But times have changed.
Many students don’t have the same respect towards authority figures that used to exist. Even more horrifying are the parents and guardians who model, support, and reinforce the defiant and disrespectful behaviors that teachers, administrators, and school counselors are tasked with dealing with regularly. And as a woman of faith, I often pray for the safety of teachers.
When students threaten or harm teachers, one of the biggest consequences will be more and more teachers leaving the field, leaving many learners without a quality education, and tragically putting others at risk of becoming negative statistics. There are already tremendous teacher shortages, and I’ve been approached by teachers who plan on leaving because of fear for their safety. And though I’m not planning on leaving the field anytime soon, I empathize with those who aren’t at ease.
Observing some of the ways this generation of young people carry on outside of school has been eye opening too. One day when I pulled up to the front door of my house, three teens I’d never seen before were literally sitting in my driveway. When they saw my car pull up, they jumped up and abruptly walked away the moment they saw me reach for my phone. Again, I’d never seen them before and weren’t sure why they were there, but since they were trespassing, I called the police.
Two female officers arrived at my home and asked if perhaps the teens were confused and at the wrong place. They also asked if I’d seen them before (which I hadn’t). When I showed the officers video surveillance of the teens hanging out on my property, they understood why I would be upset and a little shaken up about why they were there. The teens told the police that they didn’t know anyone lived at my house and that they were waiting for one of their friends a few houses down.
I wasn’t buying their story, though. Especially since they could have waited at their friend’s house if that’s what they were really doing to begin with.
The fact that they felt comfortable to walk onto my property and chill in my driveway just speaks to how bold and thoughtless they were. The officers explained to them why someone would find what they were doing suspicious. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt or get in trouble, but my whole thing is that I shouldn’t have had to pull up to my house and see three teenagers I’ve never seen before sitting in my driveway.
Overall, we can’t allow our schools or our communities to become spaces for young people to harm, threaten, or disrespect adults. I’m uncertain of what the changing times may bring, but I’m hoping for more effective and positive shifts moving forward.