Safety Issues

Impassable Hallways

I wrote the other day that we managed to get through the first two weeks of school with closed off hallways "unscathed." But I can't say that with assurance. In fact, it's much more likely that fights, injuries, abuses, and bullying did happen outside as students passed from class to class quite often and without ever being reported.

Larger kids with more violent dispositions were spotted sitting outside, watching other kids go by. Some of these kids don't play sports or do their school work. They come to school to see their friends, maybe eat a meal or two, and in some cases, to buy and sell drugs. So the last thing that our school should ever have done was to have opened its doors to students while starting construction in our hallways that would further limit our ability to monitor dangerous behavior.

Teachers on Duty

Yesterday, while standing out on duty, it occurred to me yet again that I (all 5'4" of me) was standing alone with over half the school, the only teacher supervising the courtyard, the basketball court, and the bus area. There are many students who are quite a bit larger and stronger than I am. I have no radio, no way of alerting the office or any other staff members if there were an emergency and I needed help. We have had at least four fights so far this year, and when and if one happens in the morning, chances are strong that a teacher could get hurt.

Is it common that teachers have to pull duty at school? I don't think so. The teachers I student taught with in NY didn't have duty. If they did, they were paid extra for it. Instead, since we are under-staffed, we have too few teachers stretched too thin, placed into potentially violent situations.