Threatened

A student of mine threatened to stab me with a pencil on Monday.   All of this occurred when I asked her to hand over her pencil prior to leaving the classroom to use the restroom.  (This is a school policy due to incidents of graffiti and gang “tagging” on walls and other surfaces). 

Now, I’ve been threatened before, and haven’t reacted to all of those threats in the same manner as I reacted to this most recent one.  However, I took this threat very seriously because said student has a history of assaulting staff members.  It once took six, adult men to restrain this girl.  That’s right, said student is female.  What’s really amazing is that she’s not a burly, Big Bertha kind of girl.  She couldn’t be taller than 5′6″ and although she is what I would call “thick,” she weighs less than 200 pounds.  What amazed me even more is that she had the audacity to attack a cop!  In my line of work, I know I should not have been shocked, but once again, given that she doesn’t have any gang ties, I was.

Anyway, this kid has a long history of getting into trouble.  She wasn’t in school today in part due to her threats against me, but she also had to go to court.  For attacking the cop.  Or was it for attacking her former bus driver?  I can’t remember.  So, after hurling and endless stream of personal attacks (my looks), cursing me out and calling me every name in the book and then some, threatening to throw a bottle of apple juice at me, when she stated, “I should stab you with this pencil,” I snapped back by saying “And if I have to defend myself I could do the same thing.”  Said student then yelled, “Yeah, and I’ll spit in your face.”  I walked out of the room to get another staff member to escort her out of my classroom.  For a while she refused.  She paced the room before sitting on top of her desk.  Then she began to bang her bottle of apple juice, which was now almost empty, on her desk.  She loudly stated, to a male staff member and the rest of class, “I gotta go to court tomorrow.  Ooh, she better be glad that I gotta go to court tomorrow.  Or else I would have hit the bitch!”  When I went to get the Assistant Principal, who is also supposed to be in charge of discipline, his comment to me was, “Well isn’t X (the male staff member) in there?”  I told him that yes, X was with the problem student, however she was refusing to leave the room.  The A.P. reluctantly got up up from is desk and slowly walked towards my classroom.  After spending several more  minutes talking to this child she agreed to leave the room.  The A.P. walked out thinking that she was going to follow him, but low and behold she didn’t.  The other male staff member remained, trying to get her to leave.  A minute or two later and she finally left.  But not before promising to “get” me on Wednesday and do what she did to another teacher on campus.  It has been said that she physically attacked him, however I don’t know the details of that incident.  Her in-school counselor down to the A.P. have all stated that she does not belong at our school.  It is not the right place for her.  I think a mental institution or jail would be fitting.

Anyhow, I e-mailed the Principal and the Director of Education to inquire about the school’s policy regarding student threats against teachers.  Both were in meetings all day, but as soon as the DoE heard, she responded.  I have yet to hear from the Principal.  The DoE called and spoke with girl and her foster mother.  I don’t know what all the girl said, but in a string of e-mails that was sent out by the DoE, she supposedly told the girl that even if she feels that staff has acted inappropriately with her, either verbally or physically, she shouldn’t take matters into her own hands.  Now, although she expressed concern regarding my feelings and well being when she saw me this morning, I wondered what did said student say to her.  This girl also has a history of lying and contorting the facts.  So when the DoE requested a detailed report first thing this morning ( I didn’t receive her message until this morning and it took me all day to write the report, plus another), I felt put on the defensive.  How would you have taken that and what would you have done?  I’m talking about the threats all the way through to the request for a detailed report.  Was I/ Am I being overly sensitive.  Did I react inappropriately?

I’m seriously fed up.  With several of the staff members and most of the students.  For most of the kids at my school, it’s the last stop before a detention center or camp of some sort and depending on their age, jail.  Can kids like this be saved?  Is there hope for them?  I mean at this stage in the game can they truly be reformed?  Some days I think it’s possible.  But, lately, I’ve been questioning this more than ever before.  All I really hear them express interest in is weed (pot), gangs, music, sex and running the streets.  Comment.  Please.