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Policing children

LaCi - posted on 03/27/2010 ( 5 moms have responded )

3,361

When I was in middle/high school which wasn't THAT long ago, the school tended to deal with behavior with their own punishments and parental involvement.

A couple years ago I worked in a juvenile detention center and I was pretty shocked when kids would be handcuffed and imprisoned because of a fight, whether it was them instigating the fight or them defending themselves. In my day, the teachers or principal would have simply broken up the fight and dealt with the students involved themselves, whether it be suspension or expulsion, on a case by case basis. The fact that kids in my area are now being sent to jail, even if they were defending themselves from another student attacking them, i just absolutely amazing to me..

What do you think about the way schools are handling misbehavior?

Although I agree with students being arrested under some circumstances, I would outraged if someone attacked my son and he was sent to jail for trying to defend himself.

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LaCi - posted on 03/29/2010

3,361

Our restraints were much more than holding a childs arm. Sometimes we cuffed them, sometimes multiple times so we eventually had hogtied them. Imagine forcibly restraining a 7 year old kid. Pretty sad. Granted-these are the kids that get violent. Some of them would shank you if given the opportunity.
* these were criminals, not special needs kids. Although quite a few were both special needs and criminal.

Wanda - posted on 03/29/2010

1,023

@Lyndsay - Are you talking about CPI training? My husband has that, it's renewed every year and he works with special needs kids in grade school. He's actually had to restrain a 6 yr old. When people hear restrain, they think the worse but it's simply holding the child's arm until he could be led to a safe place where he couldn't hurt himself or another child. Of course, a child needs a CPI plan in place before you can use your training on them. My husband has also worked in Section 19 classrooms and these kids are the worse of the worse, there were 2 teachers in the class, two CPI trained social workers and 2 armed police officers at the door. Could you imagine being the teacher in one of these classes and having a student lash out at you, knowing that you can't defend yourself and if you did, you'd be in the wrong?

Lyndsay - posted on 03/27/2010

2,008

I also want to add that one of the restraints I was taught was as simple as leading a child away from a situation with one hand on their arm. Not technically a "restraint", but actually called an escort... but anyway, technically I'm not even allowed to do that until I'm fully certified. So imagine how teachers feel. If you've got students fighting, but its only minor, is it really worth their job to step in and take action? It's so much easier just to call the cops and have them deal with it, because they can actually take hands-on action if need be without having to worry about their job or career.

Lyndsay - posted on 03/27/2010

2,008

Oh man, I could go on forever about this. I think the issue with schools is that there are just too many kids for them to keep an eye on in the manner they are expected to. Back in the day, teachers were allowed to have a more active role in disciplining their students. But now, there are so many instances of allegations or lawsuits, the teachers are expected to stand back and let the cops deal with it for fear of having a parent sue them for putting their hands on their kid.

I'm going through college right now, and I'm doing a work placement in a treatment foster home. I had to take an introductory course in UMAB (understanding and managing agressive behaviour) where I was taught how to restrain kids if need be. These are basically the same restraints used as by cops, and people in this field have to get a certificate saying that they are trained in the proper use of restraints and have it updated each year. So that being said, at the end of our training day they tell me that because I'm just a student and I haven't completed the full workshop, I'm not allowed to use the restraints. I asked them what I was supposed to do if I was attacked by some drug-fuelled schizophrenic kid, and they told me I'm to do nothing, I have to wait for another staff to come restrain the kid. If not I could lose my job or potentially be charged with assault. I was like, ARE YOU SERIOUS?? That is ridiculous! Luckily that has never happened, because my group home is pretty laid back, but I do have a client who is schizophrenic and occasionally uses drugs and I'm telling you now that if she every physically attacked me I would not just sit there and take it. I would defend myself or restrain her if need be, to ensure my own safety and that of the other kids in the house. I think it's the same situation for a teacher... you have a responsibility to your students, and if one of them is being attacked by another student then the teacher, as the adult in charge of the situation, needs to step in and make sure everybody is safe.

Good Day! - posted on 03/27/2010

5,888

Well, I don't agree with putting kids in jail at all unless it is a very serious offense (murder/rape). When you put a 12 year old in jail for shop lifting a some food at the grocery store (he was probably hungry, poor kid) he will meet other kids in jail that will teach him how to do worse things. So why not get to the root of the problem and fix that instead of just tossing them all in jail?

So I agree that schools and PARENTS should discipline their children instead of just locking them all up. We are creating criminals by doing it that way.