new teacher articles

If students fight

Nov 15, 2007 3:32 PM

What should you do if students get into a fight? There are no hard-and-fast rules. However, your school’s safety plan (required by state law and enforced by the UFT contract) should say something about how to secure help in a variety of emergencies, including student fights. Ask your chapter leader what the procedures are in your school. That said, teachers do have a responsibility to maintain their students’ safety and are obligated to try to stop fights or other misbehavior. But the union strongly recommends that you do not put yourself in harm’s way. First, you should loudly order the students to stop fighting. Send for help immediately, by intercom or phone if possible, or send another staff member or a student. Many schools use a special pass for each classroom which, if carried out of the room, is a code to say that there’s an emergency in that room. A safety agent, supervisor or dean can do more than you alone. Then, if help has not arrived and the students are still fighting, use your common sense. But be careful! Breaking up fights is the single greatest cause of injury to teachers. So, try not to intervene physically unless you feel that you must; for example, to prevent serious injury to a student. If you are injured while trying to intervene in a student fight, the union will help you get the benefits to which you are entitled.