Students Don't Get Violent Because School Failed — Don't Put That on Educators
In this video, Dr. Justin Baeder pushes back against the narrative that student violence is caused by schools failing to meet student needs.
Key Takeaways
- Violence isn't the school's fault - Blaming educators for student violence shifts responsibility away from the individuals making violent choices
- Schools can't prevent all violence - No amount of programming or relationship-building eliminates the possibility of violent behavior
- Educators deserve support, not blame - When violence occurs, the response should be to protect staff and students, not to ask what the school did wrong
Transcript
Students who are violent are violent because their school has failed to facilitate good peer relationships, has failed to do something for them.
I don't really think so.
I don't think it is ever fair to blame educators for violent students.
Now, are there things that might be more provoking to students?
Do we sometimes know what is going to provoke a student and need to not do certain things to provoke a student?
Yeah, sure, but is it ever an educator's fault?
Is it ever the school's fault when a student becomes violent?
And I'm not talking about students with IEPs who maybe have very particular needs.
I'm talking about a student who is just regular violent, hurts somebody, gets in fights, assaults a teacher, threatens people, things like that.
Is that the school's fault?
I'm wondering where this level of expectation on schools comes from, this idea that schools are responsible for everything and not just learning.
Like, I'm good with being responsible for learning.
I think that's our job.
That's what we signed up for.
That's what we're good at.
That's what we're trained at.
but this idea that we are responsible for ensuring that every student feels the right way so that they're not violent.
That to me is just an incredible scope creep and really gaslighting of teachers and other educators and blaming them for things that are not their fault.
If a student is violent and you are their teacher, it is not your fault that they're violent.
And of course, yeah, don't provoke kids, don't start stuff with kids, but it is not your fault.
Like when did this become our fault?
that students are violent?
When did we take so much responsibility, not just for student learning, but for every possible thing that could happen in a student's life?
When did it get this way?
I think we've got to roll this back.
I think we've got to say we are here for teaching and learning.
We are not here to do everything that needs to be done in a young person's life.
If they need some counseling, if they need some other form of help, I hope they get it.
We can help refer them.
But we're educators.
Let me know what you think.