We Need a Firm Boundary Against Classroom Violence
In this video, Dr. Justin Baeder argues that violence in schools must be met with firm boundaries, and that victims should never be pressured to forgive their attackers.
Key Takeaways
- Violence is a firm line - There should be zero tolerance for physical violence against students and staff
- Forgiveness is not required - Restorative approaches that pressure victims to forgive are harmful and inappropriate
- Boundaries protect everyone - Clear, consistently enforced boundaries against violence create the safe environment everyone deserves
Transcript
So I've been thinking about classroom behavior from a kind of abuse and domestic violence perspective.
And it took me a while to realize the dynamics that were going on because that's not really part of my experience.
That's not something that I've ever personally had to deal with.
But I know a lot of people have had to deal with that.
A lot of teachers have, a lot of parapros have, a lot of students have had to deal with violence in their lives.
And when we have violence in the classroom, it's really, really important to think about the effect that that has on everybody else.
Not just the perpetrator, who's usually who we focus on, and not just even the victims, but everybody else who has to watch that and who has to act like everything is fine after it is over and the student comes right back.
And I feel like we are at the point where we need to almost have an ultimatum, just like a domestic violence victim, would have an ultimatum that says, like, if this happens, I'm out.
I am not going to go back into this situation.
And I think in the school environment, what that would have to look like is, you know, just a kind of an ultimatum that's, you know, a boundary.
Boundaries really kind of are ultimatums that says, if a student assaults me, they cannot come back in my classroom.
ever if a student tears up my classroom they cannot come back at least until they fix it and maybe not ever because like think of how traumatizing that is to every other student in the class who has had stuff like that happen in their personal lives and like it's bringing up that trauma all over again and again like i didn't realize that for a long time because I didn't have that experience in life.
But for so many of our students, if we're going to be trauma-informed, we can't just think about trauma-informed from the perspective of the perpetrator.
We also have to think about everybody else.
So I almost wonder what it would be like if everybody just kind of wrote and signed a collective letter that said, we are not going to tolerate violence.
We are going to have a firm boundary if a student...
assaults me, they cannot ever come back in my class.
I don't have to forgive them.
I don't have to get over it.
And this idea that the student just has to kind of make amends or repair the harm.
I'm hearing that phrase, repair the harm, a lot.
And I think that's just kind of a bogus idea.
The idea that you can hurt somebody and then repair that harm.
Like, ask a victim of domestic violence if that's really possible.
Like, I'm not thinking that it is.
I mean, feel free to let me know your thoughts on that.
But I think if we're going to have safe schools, if we're going to have the kind of order and psychological safety that it takes for teaching and learning to take place, especially for students who've experienced trauma, that I think we've got to have some firmer boundaries.
I think we've got to say, like, if you do certain things, you can never come back to this setting.
You can go somewhere else, get an education in a different classroom or a different setting or at home.
But we cannot have these kinds of things happen in our classrooms.
Let me know what you think.