Sam,

Kids and adults think differently. Kids act spontaneously, adults have a little more life experience and use some reasoning before they act. By law teachers are allowed to defend themselves. If they are attacked they can use force to protect themself. It has to be equally matched force. In other words, if they are pushed they cannot go back and punch someone in the nose. They they are hit, they can hit back.

Sam I boxed in college, so fighting isn’t that big of a deal to me. I would never swap punches with a student. As I told you in your other question, we care about kids and don’t want them to get hurt. I would do what I had to do to get out of the situation. I’d probably use passive restraint on the student and call the police then press charges. I’d press charges because the kids (all of them) need to know violence should never be an option when dealing with school personnel. Days later, I would stop by and talk to the student. Sam, I’m glad you asked the question. It’s good when kids try and learn what it’s like from a teacher’s perspective. Have a great school year.

As a female special ed teacher I have been bitten, slapped, head butted, punched, and slammed into walls by students. It is scary but somehow I have been able to stop myself from striking back and have had another student go for help if I wasn’t close enough to the office intercom button. Most of these kids experience violence at home and school is supposed to be a safe place. Teachers I know are taught ways to try to diffuse the act and aggression from a student. I only know one teacher who slugged a kid who jumped him, and he was fired.

I have taught for 13 years and have been close a couple of times to having a student hit me. If he or she hit me once then I would use all of my verbal persuasive powers to diffuse the situation and immediately send another student or teacher for an administrator. If a student came at me again, looking for a second, third or another opportunity to strike me, I guess we would have “a fight” on our hands. But it wouldn’t be to pound on him/her. It would be to subdue while I protected myself. I hope it never happens. Violence is not the way to settle disputes . . . especially in a school.

If you have to ask this question, you should not be in the teaching profession. How old are you, 12?