1/3 of Teachers in Scotland Report Being Physically Assaulted at Work
In this video, Dr. Justin Baeder discusses how Scotland's no-suspension policy led to increased teacher assaults, and why removing consequences for violence predictably results in more violence.
Key Takeaways
- A third of Scottish teachers have been physically assaulted - Similar trends are likely occurring in the United States, particularly in elementary schools
- No-suspension policies have predictable consequences - Scotland eliminated exclusions for violent behavior and is now reconsidering as violence has increased
- Behavior is not the same as academics - The popular meme suggesting we should 'teach behavior instead of punishing it' fundamentally misunderstands student violence
- Violence cannot be 'part of the job' - No education profession can function if getting kicked, hit, or having objects thrown at you is considered routine
- Students need clear boundaries - Many students simply need someone to tell them certain behaviors are unacceptable, backed by meaningful consequences
Transcript
A third of teachers have been physically assaulted by students, at least in Scotland, according to a news article that I just saw.
And I would suspect that our numbers in the United States are probably getting to be pretty similar, especially for elementary teachers.
And I'm glad to see now that the government in Scotland is starting to look at their no suspensions policy.
They had a policy basically ruling out what they call exclusion from school, even for violence.
And it It shouldn't really be a surprise that when there are no real consequences for violence, you get more violence.
And I think there's been this meme going around for a couple years now that says, if a student doesn't understand how to do math, we teach them.
If they don't understand how to do reading, we teach them.
But if they don't know how to behave, we punish them.
Why do we punish them?
Shouldn't we teach them?
And that meme makes me so mad because obviously behavior is not like understanding an academic subject, right?
Like we already teach our behavior expectations and behavior is not knowledge in the same way, right?
Like it's not just a matter of understanding.
It's not that the kids who are assaulting their teachers don't know that you're not supposed to.
It's that if we don't have any meaningful consequences, why would we expect kids to do the right thing?
I mean, this is just utterly predictable that we would be in this situation.
and i don't know who thought it would work to get rid of the safety valve you know the the boundary that says you know you can't be at school if you're going to assault your teacher i don't know who thought teachers would want this job if they knew as many people have been told now that like getting kicked getting hit getting a chair thrown at you is just part of the job it can't be part of the job there's no way we can have an education profession if just routinely getting hurt is part of it.
And of course, the way we deal with students who struggle with their behavior is different in special education, but special education teachers and aides need to be protected in the same way.
It's just, you know, we look at the IEP, we look at the placement and things like that.
It's not a consequence for the student, it's a change in their services.
But I also think we've got lots and lots and lots of kids who just need a boundary.
They need someone to tell them, you cannot do that.
I'm glad the Scottish government is looking at this again, but we've got to do more.
We've got to fix this in the United States and around the world.
Let me know what you think.