ESP Columns
ESP Columns

• Playing Defense at School
  

  Playing Defense at School

  What ESPs and Teachers Should Know When Threatened by Students

  By Dave Arnold

  Adult violence against children is heinous, brutish and downright criminal. But what about the other way around -- kid violence against adults?

  School employees, teachers and education support professionals (ESP) are sometimes victims of violent acts by students, acts which often go unreported and unpunished. For some reason, people seem to have a misconception that when a teacher or ESP is punched, kicked, bitten, spit on or otherwise injured, threatened, or harassed by a student that it is just part of the job. Wrong!

  My friends, it is not acceptable for anyone at any time to be a victim of another person's violent act! However, things happen that we cannot avoid, so every school has a procedure to follow when an employee becomes a victim of violence inflicted upon them by a student or other adult.

  She Stood Her Ground

  This subject came up recently at my region council meeting. I was amazed at how many teachers and ESPs at the meeting had been victims of violent acts inflicted by juveniles. There was only one person who had taken the proper action: Mary Jane Mattix.

  She was teaching at a high school where she had worked several years without any problems. Toward the end of the last school year, she was being harassed by one of her students. He had been making verbal threats. When she told her principal, the principal ignored her and brushed her off. Finally, the student made the threat that he was going to shoot her. On the last day of the school year, he pulled a water pistol from under his jacket and squirted her in the head.  From her perspective, she saw a gun in his hand, then felt something hit her head with a sharp sting. She then felt something run down her face.

  For a few terrifying seconds, she believed she had been shot by a firearm. That was the last straw as far as she was concerned. She had been harassed, threatened, and now assaulted!

  Without the principal's or superintendent's backing, she went to the phone and called the police and filed assault charges against the student. The principal and superintendent wanted her to drop the matter and told her she was making a mountain out of molehill. She took it to the school board and they sided with her. When the case went to court the judge did too.

  Mary Jane made national news by not taking any more abuse from a misguided, aggressive, disrespectful student. At the trial, the judge said that "the next time, the gun could have been real." He placed the student on probation, ordered him to do community service, and maintain at least a C average.
   
  Document Everything

  The Illinois Education Association to which I belong has prepared a checklist of actions that can be taken if you should become a victim of violence while at school.

  • Know collective bargaining agreement (if your state has bargaining rights).
  • Know the school board policy provisions regarding school violence and discipline.
  • Seek medical treatment and preserve evidence of injury.
  • Get assistance from your Association and police.
  • File criminal charges.
  • Preserve evidence, get witness statements, and maintain records of the incident.
  • File a workers compensation claim for medical reimbursement, temporary and permanent disability.
  • Seek an injunction or order of protection.
  • File a civil suit for personal injury or property damage.
  • Submit an insurance claim for personal injury or property with school district, state board of education, homeowners and union liability insurance.

  Again, these steps aren't appropriate in every situation. Though state laws vary, you do have the right to defend yourself. But be careful. You do not have the right to go on offense.
                                                                                                                           
  More Dave's columns.

  (Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is a custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois. He can be contacted at dparnold@csuol.com.)

  The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.

  
   

• Quick! Log-off if You're at Work
  

  Quick! Log-off if You're at Work

  Reading "Dave's View" On the Job Might Violate Your AUP 

  By Dave Arnold

  If you are a school employee reading this while on the school's Internet, you might be violating the school district's Acceptable User Policy (AUP). My UniServ Director, Marcus Albrecht, tells me that violating AUP is the number one cause of school employee reprimands and dismissals. So, we need to be careful.

  User Guidelines

  • Every school district has rules established regulating the use of their Internet, computers, fax machines, and technology.
  • Although every state's board of education has certain guidelines, no two school district policies are exactly the same; each school board determines them.
  • The policy governs the method and time the computers and Internet are used by students, staff, and the public.
  • The policy is included in and is part of the board policy, but it may also be referenced in a separate policy manual.
  • The Internet AUP will detail who, when and why someone may use the Internet.
  • Usage may differ from one employee to the next, such as from teachers to support staff, or from students and the public.

  Marcus' 10 points On Computer Usage

  • Read the AUP, then re-read it during the year. Ask for training in areas you don't understand.
  • Assume you have no privacy regarding e-mail you send and receive on your employer-sponsored system. Only send e-mails that you would feel comfortable reading on the front page of your local newspaper. For more information on privacy issues, visit the Electonic Privacy Information Center or Center for Democracy and Technology.
  • Do not share your password, and change it often. Turn off or lock out your computer when you leave your work area.
  • What you post on blogs and personal Web sites may be accessed by many people and could result in sanctions by your employer under certain circumstances.
  • Some states have statues prohibiting the tape recording of conversations unless all parties to the conversation consent; and the Federal Wiretapping Act prohibits the interception of electronic communications, possibly including stored voicemail messages.
  • A "deleted" computer file, including e-mail, can often be accessed by experienced investigators.
  • There is a trail on the computer you are using showing what Internet sites you access.
  • NEA.org also has information about technology issues in education.

  Busted

  Even if you abide by the Internet policy at school, you must remember that your activities can be tracked. Marcus mentioned one incident that caused an education support professional (ESP) to be reprimanded for his activities. A custodian was using the Internet during his dinner break on an evening shift. His employer stated that it showed he had habitually used the Internet for no less than 40 minutes each evening, but his contract only allowed for a 30-minute break.

  I witnessed a case involving a teacher being dismissed for extensive e-mail conversations with a friend when she was supposed to be teaching at that time.

  Mom is Watching

  Schools are required to make their board policy available to anyone who requests it. School district officials are required to advise their employees that they must abide by AUP. If you are ever in doubt, use common sense and don't do anything that you wouldn't be comfortable doing while your boss or mother were watching.

  More Dave's columns.

  (Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education