Students Disrespecting Educators

If you are tired of dealing with negative student behaviors day in and day out, you are not alone—in fact, you are firmly in the center of the average educator’s experience. Still, managing difficult student behaviors eventually sucks the energy from most educators, no matter how talented or experienced. Which leads us to the story which inspired this Podcast Episode.

 

A teacher and student at a southeast Los Angeles, California, high school came to blows Friday afternoon, and it was all caught on video. The footage shows Maywood Academy High School music teacher Marston Riley, 64, standing face to face with a 14-year-old boy at the front of a classroom when Riley punches him. It's at this point the two begin exchanging punches. The boy wound up on the ground wrapping his arms around Riley's leg. Riley, at this point, repeatedly punches him. The boy, who has not been identified, was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for moderate injuries and later released, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Riley was arrested on charges of child abuse, the release said.

Educators Need to Spend More Time Supporting Each Other

Being an educator can be an isolating job. It’s often a career where teachers disappear into their own rooms and are given few opportunities to enjoy the bonding of collaboration that is a daily part of so many other careers.

With this job, there also comes a great deal of scrutiny. Some days it feels like educators spending most of our time dealing with the latest educational acronym rather than improving lessons to better serve our students.

But here’s the thing—we have to support one another.