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You couldn`t make this up!

The general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters& Union of Women Teachers in England /UK has advised teachers in her union NOT to intervene in fights between schoolchildren in the playground, in the school building, or around the vicinity of the school "in case they (the teachers) then get charged with physical or sexual abuse".

So next time your dear little child comes back home looking like he or she has gone 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali (perhaps I should change that to Ricky Hatton for British fans!) , and you ask, what happened? ANd they reply, well, forty thugs beat me to a pulp in the playground because they didn`t like the colour of my trainers, don`t bother asking why the teachers didn`t stop the fight!!!

It is a sad comment on the times, that if a teacher intervenes they can be hurt-or worse yet accused of assaulting a child. Since I teach 7th grade, I have also stopped many a fight, but you always have to think twice before you touch them. Which means precious seconds are lost while the battering continues, before you decide how best to stop it-usually by not touching the child themselves, but grasping a backback on them. Of course, the last fight I stopped last month, a large 8th grader put his arms out to hold me back, and only got one week suspension.

my sons fourth grade class had a field trip to Roger Williams Zoo in Providence. i had a rouddy group of kids to over-see. upon arriving i first took them to get ice cream now its about 9:00 in the morning, then we preceded through the park in the opposite direction and of course the kids were raising hell. i did allow them a secluded area to duke it out, just a bit of swinging around, as one girl was hitting the boys with her pocket book. i laugh about it at the end of the day the kids said they had such a good time, they did what they wanted?

john8pies wrote: You couldn`t make this up!

The general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters& Union of Women Teachers in England /UK has advised teachers in her union NOT to intervene in fights between schoolchildren in the playground, in the school building, or around the vicinity of the school "in case they (the teachers) then get charged with physical or sexual abuse".

So next time your dear little child comes back home looking like he or she has gone 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali (perhaps I should change that to Ricky Hatton for British fans!) , and you ask, what happened? ANd they reply, well, forty thugs beat me to a pulp in the playground because they didn`t like the colour of my trainers, don`t bother asking why the teachers didn`t stop the fight!!!


Amazing. Let the inmates run the assylum.

chonsigirl wrote: It is a sad comment on the times, that if a teacher intervenes they can be hurt-or worse yet accused of assaulting a child.


She's absolutely right. I'm kind of an expert on this kind of thng, since I run the parking lot at lunch hour and after school at a very, very tough Alternative High School.

I have hand to hand combat training from the Air Force, karate training, and I was a bouncer at many bars in my life, as well as being a field agent for a Security company and a loss prevention officer.

What it boils down to is this....I have all kinds of responsibility in that case of a fight, but very little real power.

On the one hand, we CANNOT allow a fight to continue without intervention. Teenagers are perfectly capable of killing another human being with their bare hands. As a matter of fact so are you. It only takes 3.5 pounds per square inch of pressure to break a neck or a skull. You can actually generate that just by falling down and not catching yourself right. Human ife is far more fragile than anyone, especially teenagers, believe. Don't believe me? Ask the "Hockey Dad". He's currently doing life for punching a referee one time and killing him.

But actually stopping the fight in real life? Not an easy proposition at all. i have a very effective wrist lock, that works wonders, and there's always the "collar of the the shirt" grab. But getting in the middle of two powerful teenagers fighting is just asking to get dental work done without a tranquilizer.

I have a very LOUD and deep voice, (I call it my "command voice") that I developed in the Air Force and it's startling enough to sometimes phase the combatants and allow me to intervene, but if that doesn't work, I just have to circle and hope for an opening.

I have actually heard another principal advocate that the fighters be allowed to duke it out, but that's irresponsible to me. Often these days, the losing fighter will decide to up the ante by pulling a weapon.

Even if you are careful, calm, and even toned, and skilled at submission and psychology, you can still get hurt. Earlier this year, after I had separated two girls going at it, one of them decided to renew the fight by rushing the other girl...straight through me. I ended up with a few torn muscles in my back and it took weeks for the pain to go away.

a large 8th grader put his arms out to hold me back, and only got one week suspension.


And that's the other thing. Punishment is so lax these days that fighting seems to be officially condoned! There was a time when behavior such as this resulted in instant expulsion, but thanks to ridiculous lawsuits by unfit parents, schools hands are completely tied. You can extort money, brutalize and bully, even steal, and not worry a whit about the consequences these days.

I blame poor parenting.

JIVES,

You are so correct. I have spent lots of time on Soccer fields as a coach, and a player. You are 100% correct it's poor parenting period. Monkey see Monkey do. They usually get their cues from Mom and Dad, and I have seen that so many times on the fields.

Lack of patience, manners, class, knowledge, and most of all respect for others is what I see as the problem. NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO THESE KIDS.. THEY ARE BULLIES. :-5

I blame poor parenting.

CARLA wrote: JIVES,

You are so correct. I have spent lots of time on Soccer fields as a coach, and a player. You are 100% correct it's poor parenting period. Monkey see Monkey do. They usually get their cues from Mom and Dad, and I have seen that so many times on the fields.

Lack of patience, manners, class, knowledge, and most of all respect for others is what I see as the problem. NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO THESE KIDS.. THEY ARE BULLIES. :-5


Amen to that Carla and Jives. Funny this was just brought up as a topic. I had a problem (I solved it...) yesterday evening with one of the parents on one of my kids' team. He was a screeching, clueless, mannerless excuse for a man. Unfortunately, you could see these traits being developed in his kid.

Although I am usually a loving non-confrontational roll-over-me-with-a-steamroller pacifist ( :rolleyes: reality filter off), I can never let these type of episodes occur without a response.

Great topic, having volunteered with various programs dealing with kids, from girl guide leader, soccer coach to literacy training I too have felt the agro of how to deal with kids so as to protect myself. One of my first volunteer positions was a "Sparks" leader these are the youngest of girls in the guiding movement, ages 5-7. These are little girls, and there were many a time we had to comfort them after a fall, or a failure (project didn't work out as they wished) etc and they would be crying and their instinct was to come for a hug. All we could do was kneel in front of them and talk them through their personal crisis's. It was a pity. And these little girls did not understand. And as an old person it sure made me feel bad that my upbringing as a kind caring and comforting person could be mis read and I could end up with a criminal record. Sad society has come to that.

Lexi wrote: it is caused by this " touch me and i'll sue" fad that has taken hold.


And who is it that sues? The parents!

the blame lays at the parents door.


i agree!