Job Discussion Forums

[Capergirl]

How do you handle violence in the classroom? Has anyone here experienced this firsthand?

Yesterday, I was teaching a business communication course to three Russian trainees. We were going over the barriers to effective listening (ironically enough) when two of them broke out into a disagreement in Russian. The disagreement escalated very quickly. They stood up and, in the blink of an eye, they lunged at each other. They had each other by the throat, knocking over chairs and books in their struggle. I was both mortified and terrified! I screamed at them to stop. Students in the adjacent room came running in and pulled them apart.

My coordinator was notified and she came down to discuss the altercation with them. By this time, they were quite remorseful and apologetic, although not to one another.

I'm not good with conflicts of any type. This kind of disturbance in the classroom came as a total shock to me. How does one deal with such a situation? Where do I go from here? I've already told these students that if anything like this transpires again in my class, I will no longer teach them *at all*. However, I'm not sure that my admonishment alone is enough to prevent a recurrance.

[struelle]

[guest of Japan]

Welcome to high school teaching Capergirl.

With students above 18 I just opened the door and directed the fights to the hallway. My students usually obliged. At those schools there were big mean security guards in the hallways.

With fights between smaller people or fights that were already in the hallway I found that if you put yourself between the two fighters and stretch out your arms they can't reach each other and try to miss you.

Be careful about pulling student off each other. The student on the bottom will probably land a missed punch on your face.

If you squeeze your thumb very tightly into the armpit of a fighter they may relinquish a grip. This is also very useful for saving struggling drowners.

Always try to break up fights calmly like you are in control of the situation and they are just being ridiculous.

Always thank the fighters for not hitting you when they have finished and calmed down.

Do not bring up the fight again in conversation to both fighters at the same time. It can very easily start again.

If all these fail find big people.

[Atlas]

*
A few weeks ago a student was being extremely rude to me (about 18 year old boy), and being a big guy, I guess I naturally elicit this kind of "counting coup" behavior (i.e., watch me stand up to this guy who could easily crush my head between his magnificent bicep like it was a little grape, trembling girlyman that I am" Believe me now and hear me later, yah....sorry, who am I channeling there?). So I put my hand on him to get his attention--not threatening, just saying Please look at me, and he jumped out of his seat and shoved me. Well, that was probably one of the more stupid things he could have done in his life, but instead of fighting him, I stood there for a moment to make sure he was done coming at me, and then walked over to the door and opened it, where his classroom teacher happened to be standing, and I explained the situation to her and she took it from there. The student was given an a$$-biting from the principle but I let it go, and I didn't demand suspension or anything--though I did tell him, in the hall, if he ever touches me again he will go to the hospital--just let me make that clear, he gets exactly no more f**kups.

So he's been a lamb since then, problem solved. I told my boss while it would have been easy to give him one of those life lessons he was sorely in need of, that wasn't part of my job, and I choose to leave that out of my professional career. I love to fight--but I refuse to do it as a teacher. As it turned out, it was UNNECESSARY for me to fight, and the lesson was learned.

Capes, and others, I advise you not to get in the middle of boys fighting. Nobody is listening during a fight so your words,, however golden, might as well be raindrops. I advise you to yell something before a fight starts and steal the attention away, but please don't get in the middle once it's begun. Let them kill each other. That's their choice, and while it's the wrong one, it's the only way they will really learn what fighting is--not cool, but just as painful for he who threw the fists as it was for he who received them.

You stop a fight before it begins. Once it's begun, anyone can get seriously hurt. Why should it be you? If you really feel it's necessary to learn some physical techniques to defend yourself, and to take charge of these kinds of situations, I highly recommend Aikido, which may appear soft and gentle but is in actuality immobilizing, painful and even lethal. Furthermore, aikido does not rely on size or strength, but balance and awareness--I've trained with many small females who are killers, and tossed me around like a dirty shirt! Changed my life, it can do the same for you!

http://www.bujindesign.com/videoclips.html#za

PM me for more info!

[khmerhit]

Atlas, you and Dan should go a couple rounds!

[Lanza-Armonia]

Dude! Sounds like the Russians listen entirely too much to their communist history books!

I've delt with a few 5 year olds in a piszy but nothing like that.

Advice.....RUN!

LA

[Capergirl]

[Gordon]

Let the men fight Capergirl. You won't solve anything and may get hurt. Do you ever notice linesmen getting involved before the combatants errr hockey players get tired? I wouldn't even break up a fight in my classroom and I'm bigger than my Japanese uni students.

Capes,
I think guest of japan meant that what happened to you is a lot like HS, not that you are in a HS.

[ls650]

You're there to teach, not be a referee.

With small kids, you can break it up safely. With any larger, I'd open the door and tell them to go fight outside.

[guest of Japan]

Thank you Gordon, you correctly guessed my intent.

Capergirl, it seems that this has you a bit shaken. I gave you that long list to show that there isn't much you can do about it and that you shouldn't worry about it too much.

It should also be the job of your program head to deal with the situation from this point on. If you try to talk to them about the fight at the same time you will probably see the whole fight develop again. The two men obviously have some deep hostilities against each other. I don't recommend antogonizing these hostilities.

My post was meant to be slightly humorous. It was also truthful of things that I have done. The best method is to usher them out of the classroom and seek support. Then laugh at the story later with friends.

[khmerhit]

I hope you're OK, Capes!

This kind of thing also happens in ESL classes, among warring ethnicities, so i hear. Fortunately, Ive never had to deal with it. In Cambodia, it was not so very uncommon for students to call armed bodyguards to help back them up in disputes. The teachers general stayed out of those scenarios, but not always!

Anyway--glad to know nothing untoward occurred.

khmer

[Shaman]

[Atlas]

[Magoo]

If you're truly scared, walk /run out and find help. I was a pub manager for a few years, in (rough) East London, and absolutely barred my barmaids from intervening in anything. That was my job. I'm quite short, skinny, wear specs, but at least I studied some karate and judo as a(n even) skinnier kid. It gave me heaps of self-confidence, but misguided bravery is worse than none at all. Just like when someone is drowning, let the combatants tire, first. I agree with Atlas that Aikido is excellent. What Guest of Japan suggested (armpit) is actually used in that art, to great effect. However, as one of my pub customers once said to me,"Do you make enough to die for?". I think it was rhetorical...

[zaneth]

A teacher I know was seriously, permanently injured because of trying to break up a fight. It was the kid on the bottom that did it to her.

Glad you're Ok, Capes.