Posted on 11/06/2017 8:13:40 PM PST by nickcarraway
Afraid they'll lose their jobs, Tulsa teachers are enduring attacks from kindergartners, pre-K students
Tulsa Public Schools teachers across the district are enduring attacks from prekindergarten and kindergarten students, the head of the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association told the school board on Monday.
With about a dozen teachers standing behind her, Patti Ferguson-Palmer, president of TCTA, said that when it comes to what to do about the attacks, teachers and administrators are “frozen into inaction for fear of losing their jobs.”
Ferguson-Palmer said she has observed classroom attacks and that, in some cases, teachers are afraid to have students use pencils and scissors in activities for fear that they will be used as weapons.
She said teachers are worried about losing their jobs if they block an unruly child from leaving the classroom or if they let a child leave the classroom, meaning they’re stymied whatever they do.
The attacks are often due to a child’s reacting to external stresses, which triggers a fight or flight response, Ferguson-Palmer said.
The TCTA wants to work with the district to alleviate the situation and appreciates the efforts the district has made thus far, she said.
Ebony Johnson, executive director of student and family support services for the district, said there’s a difference between a kindergarten or prekindergarten student throwing a chair and an older student doing the same thing.
“Both behaviors are inappropriate. It is not OK,” said Johnson. “But a pre-K student struggles with impulsivity. They struggle with managing their emotions.”
She said principals undergo training to deal with actions of students who have undergone trauma. The principals then train their teachers, she said.
“I know there are teachers who feel as though there needs to be more support,” said Johnson. She added that the district is working to gather more information and figure out where to bring in more support.
I worked in Tulsa for years, about 10 years ago. Since that time, the crime and murder rates have climbed. Drugs. Drugged up parents, drugged up kids. I frequently worked in the north end, which used to be the most dangerous area. I kept my eyes open, but wasn’t really afraid. You couldn’t pay me enough to work anywhere in Tulsa, now. We go there for occasional appointments, but we keep our eyes open. Lot of good people there, but it only takes a few to mess up the whole place.
And then babymama shows up with her latest boyfriend and beats the living daylights out of the teacher.
Checked again and Obama didn’t win a single OK country either time. Druggies likely don’t make voting a priority.
It is Tulsa. It is the “hot bed” of Leftists in Oklahoma.
When I was in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, the first thing we did each morning was recite the Lord’s Prayer then pledge allegience to the flag of the USA.
I like what you did there.
You may advance.
I’ve never done drugs, but I’m guessing registering to vote, let alone getting up and getting to the polls are not among the top priorities of druggies.
Lawyers have created an environment to where if the teacher does anything, they and the school can be sued. So many parents don’t discipline their children and schools aren’t allowed to do it either. Schools should be able to tell parents that their kids better behave or they’re going to have to come up with another plan as to where to put their child.
The bench outside the principal’s office has been replaced with the ISS, the In School Suspenstion room.
One of the benefits was that we actually learned something. For starters, I am certain every kid in my class could read, read and write cursive, and were drilled and memorized the times tables.
My grade school Principal was a very big woman. About 6' tall and at least 300lbs and not to be trifled with.
Thank God I was a good student because if I had acted up Mrs. Blankenship would have destroyed me on the spot and my parents would have stomped all over whatever was left of me when I got home.
“What happened to the bench outside the principal’s office — for disruptive students?”
Yeah A “Group W” bench for Pre- and K! Group W’s
where they put you if you may not be moral enough to be in the classroom after committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly looking kids on the bench there. Chalk throwers, chalk eaters, Spitters and hitters. Peer’s and pants poopers.
I'm a Christian and pray over the classrooms before I even get to the school. The kids that are violent, have melt-downs, defy my authority, etc., are ones that God presents to me for prayer.
For those who pray, please remember the schools. There are rabid leftist teachers, but there are many with more conservative viewpoints. Also, there are Christians in the school. He may be banned, but we take Him in to the schools with us. We speak the word into these kids lives by our lives and our actions towards them.
Let's not abandon the younger generations. There is still hope!
That’s b/c your parents [and my parents] cared.
When I speak to my recent 33yr experience, I can report that too many of the children, I taught, had no parents. Father was not around, and mom was in jail for drug convictions. So the kids are being raised by extended family, older brothers or sisters, yada. Long gone are the more strict grandmothers [of the generation mentioned above, our generation] who wielded real power over the urchins. Not surprising that the urchins are being raised by the mean streets.
Add to the mess, are the racial components. Used to be my school population was 55% black; 45% Hispanic. Both groups hated each other. Hated. Over time, that shifted. I won’t even go into the language issues.
Our parents [and neighbors] were pretty much on the same page, in terms of what it took to raise a child. If you were out-of-step you found out right quick, that you better change your ways. The parish priest, the school crossing guard, the mom & pop grocery store owner, the beat cops were all on the same page, as far as how things should be.
It’s depressing to think about. Public schools [in urban centers] are not nice places. I thought I could make a difference; with all the roadblocks in place, in the end, I was glad to make it out of the ‘hood alive at the end of each day.
My daughter works at a daycare and she takes care of 3 year olds. She can’t get them to quit showing their genitalia to each other or flat out playing with themselves. Their parents say “it’s natural” and will do nothing about it at home.
Not sure what the laws are in your state; here in Connecticut, all p.s. must accept students, without exception. [A local or regional board of education is mandated to provide free school services to all school age children who are permanent residents of the town or school district –Section 10-186]
Parochial and private schools are not affected by that law. They can kick a student out, if need be. And guess where those kids end up? Warts and all.
With just cause, Public schools should be able to kick them out. Lawyers have created an environment where wrong doers are protected.
IMO, all of this started with the creation of the Department of Education. As soon as Fedzilla got its tentacles into local education, all local control, authority, and decision making ceased. As several posters have pointed out, when the community cares and looks out for each other, things work. But the uncaring evil monster controlling you from thousands of miles away destroys your community connection and your very humanity.
The best thing that could happen to education would be shutting down DOE and restoring local control.
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