I applaud Tribune staff reporter Ana Beatriz Cholo for bringing attention to a critical issue in “Student attacks are taking toll on city teachers; Physical assault jumps 17 percent” (Page 1, March 21).
I have taught in two Chicago public high schools where I have seen and experienced student assaults on teachers, both verbal and physical. By speaking out on this, however, I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I have taught on the North and South Sides of the city, and most students everywhere are not troublemakers.
I am proud to be a teacher, I love kids and I love my job. As the article reported, the main complaint of teachers is not the students but how problems are dealt with by the schools.
It’s important to remember that even the kids who do cause trouble are still our kids. We need to look at the causes of their behavior and try to help them before it’s too late.
We have students in our schools who have grown up as the victims of all kinds of abuse and who have witnessed violence from infancy. Most teachers reach out to such kids every day, and our caring can often make a difference.
Sometimes, however, children exhibit behavior that cannot be allowed for the safety of everyone. These children (and believe me, however big and tough-looking, teenagers are still children) need to be in alternative settings where appropriate safety procedures are in place and where they can be helped. Instead, in many schools, problems are simply ignored. There are only a few counselors and social workers who are often too overwhelmed by paperwork to listen to kids, and discipline offices routinely discourage teachers from making referrals. Teachers are on their own to deal with disruptive and violent students.
All this and we are supposed to raise test scores too.
I hope the safety and security department of the Chicago Teachers Union and the School Board will work together to find solutions so that Chicago’s children can attend safe schools with good teachers who won’t leave.
