Looking for facts not opinions ( don’t mean to be rude )
Ok so at a school event I witnessed 2 kids arguing over a lunch box ... nothing overly concerning ... boy A took boy B lunch box and wouldnt give it back .. boy A shoves boy B a teachers aid saw it and went over she grabbed the kid who shoved by the wrist and marched him across the playground to bring to The deputy principal ...
My question is what’s the students /teachers rights here
Are teachers allowed use force on children like grabbing wrist
Shouldn’t the teachers aid just of asked him to come with her if he refuses then maybe report him?
The child wasn’t acting out and was being 100% cooperative he was about 8/9 years of age
Thanks for any info
15 Replies
Generally speaking, no we never put hands on only to restrain if someone is going to be hurt. You would direct him to move and if he didn't you would call the office and have someone come and talk him into making good choices, which may take a lot of time.
Sometimes though, if the child is known to the teachers aide and the child has behaviour issues (is a runner, violent, does reacts to those scenarios by doing crazy dangerous impulsive things) then the teachers aide would know him best and know how best to handle him to resolve the issue. So what could have exploded into something much bigger actually went well and he cooperated because of what she did to swiftly remove him.
👏👏👏👏
Well done to teacher's aid.
And it’s because of situations like that, that we see good teachers quit and a whole heap of horrid children!!!
Well done to that teacher!!!!
She should have grabbed both boys, but to answer your question unfortunately she was not supposed to do that. That is what is wrong with schools today as even for much more serious fights they are not allowed to touch. If it were my child I would have no problem with it.
Don't mean to also be rude but I'm going to give an opinion anyway as I assume you are deciding on whether or not you should be making a complaint (why else would you ask?).
1. You saw a very brief moment in time.
2. You don't know this child, therefore you may not know his temperament, perhaps he has a tendency to lack respect for school/students property.
3. The aid may know him, holing him by the wrist whilst he was still cooperative may well have avoided the situation escalating.
That said of course, you were there not me, if he (the boy) was obviously distressed or scared, the aid seemed to be losing her composure and other witnesses appeared alarmed also - absolutely not 'legal'.
If the boy didn't seem too phased, the aid was calm and collected and was guiding him by the wrist to the teacher, ask yourself if it really needs to go further!
The fact your looking for is that teachers and aids can physically hold/touch a student if the situation deems it necessary, so there's not really a black and white answer for your question.
He wasn't acting out while walking with her, but clearly he was while given freedom in that situation.
Some children don't manage well events or changes like extra visitors and noise.
My sons teachers aid told me after recent news reports she felt like a thousand eyes are watching her each time she has to physically direct my son. It’s easy to make a judgment based on the surface value however in our case my child requires physical direction at times. If the teachers aid has been involved my guess would be she/he knows the child well. Sounds like she diffused an escalating situation very effectively.
I reassured my sons teachers aid “well if their upset with you they will be 10x more upset when I march him across the playground over my shoulder”
And
PS damn lucky it wasn’t 35 years ago - I remember getting ear marched by my dad.
I was going to say the same. Getting dragged by the arm up to the principal was pretty much what we expected if we misbehaved when I was at school in the 90s.
These days, teachers and aids have very limited options as authoritative figures to effectively manage bad behaviour. I don't envy their position at all!!
Especially at an event where there are parents watching, if it kicked off he would have known he was running the show and really put on a show and probably set off other kids as well and then parents would be watching saying, wow those teachers have no control.
Teachers have no authority anymore! No one does! Everyone panders to kids like they are made from glass.
I'm not saying bring back corporal punishment, i mean dont have a mini freak out when you see a teacher having to hold the arm of a misbehaving student and marching them off to the office. Some parents today are enabling kids to grow up knowing they have the upper hand!
God help the teachers trying to educate our children and giving them a future whilst navigating the world of pandering parents and their offspring.
Maybe she should have politely asked him to follow her while wringing her hands and hoping no one is offended.
I wouldn’t call holding a child by the wrist and physically guiding them using force.
You couldn’t pay me $1million a year to work as a teacher anymore.
Its like the child version of that post about the cops handcuffing the woman "too tight".
And how many times as parents have we grabbed our own kids by the wrist? Probably millions...
Got the vibes your over anaylzying the situation a tad too much.
The ED support is obviously putting a stop to poor behaviour. They are taking action immediately to eliminate any harm.
Take a deep breath & understand it's not your job to judge everyone's ethetics.
The child was in no harm from the ED supports actions.
Stamping down on crap behaviour, a job well done.