Police called to School on 5 year-old's tantrum

[DawnCt1]

I think that the child should be tried as an adult. That seems to be the trend now.

 

[SunnyP4Disney]

I think that the child should be tried as an adult. That seems to be the trend now.

Yes, we could fill the jails with these little tiny delinquents! Then they'd break off into various gangs- the wee little skinheads, the tiny latin kings, the knee high crips and bloods.

 

[DawnCt1]

Yes, we could fill the jails with these little tiny delinquents! Then they'd break off into various gangs- the wee little skinheads, the tiny latin kings, the knee high crips and bloods.

You can fit far more inside a cell.

 

[kymmyk13]

OK, DD5 is a special needs child that has fits, we have kept them under control the last year or so but we are in the process of changing medication and they have been rearing their ugly head lately, now she has never had one in school and her dr.'s think that she is trying so hard to keep them under control at school that she is ready to explode by the time she gets home. I would want the school to do what they deemed necessary if she had one at school, I would hope they would call me first, Dh & I work less than a mile from the school. When she has fits she hurts herself and she is very strong during her fits, when you try to restrain her to stop her from hurting herself she will then try to hurt you. It is very scary and I have been bitten and hit several times. The best way to control them is with a blanket and you wrap them tightly in it until they calm down(this prevents them and you from getting hurt). I can understand the desperation the teacher and staff must have felt and do not really blame them if the parents are not willing to help. If the child has special needs I do not agree with the suspension because they really do not understand what they are doing. Due to budget cuts it seems that moist schools start cutting in the special needs department and there are not enough teacher or aids trained to work with these children.

 

[SandrA9810]

Just do a search "elementary child arrested", there's quite a few teachers being arrested for porn charges in the search too, but every so often you'll see a page about an actual child.

The one I remember happening here in Dallas, the kid was all too pleased with himself for getting himself handcuffed into a cop car. The sad truth, is they learned it from some where else. Unless there's a handicap that causes rage (which there are), that needs to be addressed with the school and teachers before the school year. With parent approved procedures in place to help calm the child, like kymmy and wrapping her child in a blanket.

 

[torinsmom]

I have a child in my class this year that has "tantrums". It takes one tiny thing to set him off, like another child brushing by him, or him not being happy with the way the number he wrote looks. It is a split second change and he will kick, hit, scream, throw things, etc. This is not the type of tantrum most people have seen either; he turns into a totally different child, almost an animal. He is only 5, but he is solid and he has left bruises on me before. His parents are aware and trying to get it all figured out, but when noone can figure out a diagnosis, we are left to do our best. I don't think our school would ever call the police unless the parents were unresponsive to our calls and the child could not be restrained(only 2 people at our school are trained to restrain kids) long enough for him to calm down. That being said, if parents are unresponsive, the police are the next logical people to call.

I saw a documentary on a 6 year old with schizophrenia. When she was 5, the parents were on a very long wait list to have her seen at a prominent medical center. When she had a major fit at school, they did not go and get her. They let the police some, so she could get help immediately. They said it was hard to do, but she needed help before she seriously hurt herself or others.

 

[MM27]

Imho, any two educators who can not handle a five year old without the police should lose their jobs. Just sayin'. I drove a school bus for seven years and the only uncontrollable people I ever saw were parents.

You're talking about two very different things. Sitting on a schoolbus and sitting in school for 6 hours being asked to do work are not even close to being the same thing. You don't know what kind of history this kid has. You don't know what kind of past the parent has had with the school. It's easy to be quick to judge, but when you don't know the reality of what is happening, it's not really fair to make those assumptions.

As a former teacher in an inner city environment I can tell you that calling the parents often is a complete waste of time....they are one of the reasons the child is acting out the way that they are. I can't even tell you the number of unanswered calls I have made, being told off, told it is my job to fix the kid not theirs etc.

I think the school did the right thing. What is they had not been able to calm him down in the time it took the police to get there. What if they child ended up severly injuring themselves or someone else in the midst of the tantrum? Or if the teacher/principal tried to restrain the child to prevent them for injuring themselves and as a result the child was injured anyway? Then the school has a whole other set of problems.

Most of us are diligent, responsible parents who would give the world for our children. We volunteer at school, work with our kids and discipline them teaching right from wrong. Sadly not all parents are like that. In fact many are not. There are parents who are selfish, unstable, drug/alcohol addicted, absentee parents etc. A school can only do so much and if it takes a phone call to the police to ensure the safety and legal coverage of ALL involved, then so be it.

The police have been to my school several times because of student outburst/dangerous behavior. We had one girl a few years ago that flipped out in her classroom and started throwing desks (like picking them up over her head and throwing them). Teacher got all the kids into the classroom across the hall, called the office and put paper on the door window so the girl wouldn't respond more due to hallway activity. My principal, vp, school psychologist, behaviorist and security guard were all in the room with her and she continued. They called her guardian who told them that she couldn't leave work because she would end up getting fired. They called the police and an ambulance and when the officer arrived she was still flipping out so they took her to the hospital for a psych eval.

Yep, fire the teacher and the principal.

 

[tvguy]

Imho, any two educators who can not handle a five year old without the police should lose their jobs. Just sayin'. I drove a school bus for seven years and the only uncontrollable people I ever saw were parents.

I think the issue in a lot of school districts these days is educators are not allowed to do what they need to do to handle a child like this.
What was discipline when I was in elementary school in 1963, is child abuse today.

 

[Normangirls]

The child is FIVE YEARS OLD. Keep some perspective. I am a major proponent of strict descipline - this type of behavior would not be tolerated from my children at all. But that doesn't mean they don't act up (of course they do, they are kids), it means it is dealt with swiftly and severely, and it does not happen again. He threw something and kicked someone, which is absolutely unacceptable but not unheard of from a five year old child.

Also, they might not have called the police to arrest the child, maybe they just needed an official report since the other child was hurt. You notice the story mentioned there is no school resource officer, so what else would they do if they needed such a report filed? I doubt the plice were there because the school staff couldn't handle it.

 

[Pixiedust34]

As a former teacher in an inner city environment I can tell you that calling the parents often is a complete waste of time....they are one of the reasons the child is acting out the way that they are. I can't even tell you the number of unanswered calls I have made, being told off, told it is my job to fix the kid not theirs etc.

I think the school did the right thing. What is they had not been able to calm him down in the time it took the police to get there. What if they child ended up severly injuring themselves or someone else in the midst of the tantrum? Or if the teacher/principal tried to restrain the child to prevent them for injuring themselves and as a result the child was injured anyway? Then the school has a whole other set of problems.

Most of us are diligent, responsible parents who would give the world for our children. We volunteer at school, work with our kids and discipline them teaching right from wrong. Sadly not all parents are like that. In fact many are not. There are parents who are selfish, unstable, drug/alcohol addicted, absentee parents etc. A school can only do so much and if it takes a phone call to the police to ensure the safety and legal coverage of ALL involved, then so be it.

There are some excellent points in this post.

 

[Magpie]

I think the issue in a lot of school districts these days is educators are not allowed to do what they need to do to handle a child like this.
What was discipline when I was in elementary school in 1963, is child abuse today.

When I was in school, teachers were allowed to spank students. We had a boy who kept escaping out the portable window during class and running away. After one such incident, the teacher sent us all out into the yard, and when we were gone she spanked him. He cried and said he was sorry, he'd never do it again, yadda, yadda.

But it didn't work. He ran away again the first chance he got. About a month later, he was sent to a "special" school. (At the time I imagined it must be a school with bars on their windows, but in retrospect he was probably sent to the "school refusal unit" at the local hospital.)

I think corporal discipline in schools is pointless. It doesn't solve the root problem causing the misbehavior, and it doesn't make kids anything except sneakier and angrier. Besides, once a kid has experienced (and survived!) a spanking, he's going to quickly realize that it can't get any worse. After all, it's not like his teacher is allowed to take a baseball bat to him, or maim him in any way.

 

[torinsmom]

When I was in school, teachers were allowed to spank students. We had a boy who kept escaping out the portable window during class and running away. After one such incident, the teacher sent us all out into the yard, and when we were gone she spanked him. He cried and said he was sorry, he'd never do it again, yadda, yadda.

But it didn't work. He ran away again the first chance he got. About a month later, he was sent to a "special" school. (At the time I imagined it must be a school with bars on their windows, but in retrospect he was probably sent to the "school refusal unit" at the local hospital.)

I think corporal discipline in schools is pointless. It doesn't solve the root problem causing the misbehavior, and it doesn't make kids anything except sneakier and angrier. Besides, once a kid has experienced (and survived!) a spanking, he's going to quickly realize that it can't get any worse. After all, it's not like his teacher is allowed to take a baseball bat to him, or maim him in any way.

It's not a matter of spanking kids. We are not even supposed to TOUCH kids unless they have "invited" us to do so. If a child is hurting someone, the office wants you to call them to come and handle it(the principal and guidance counselor have been trained in restraint). They tell us to remove all the other children from harms way. I have grabbed a child's arm to keep him from hitting me, and even that is questionable. You can hold their hand to take them to the office, but that is impossible when the child is digging their fingernails into your palm as you hold their hand, or trying to bite your hand, or digging their feet in and refusing to move.

Seriously, I think some people are thinking of the tantrum a 2 year old has at home, where you can just ignore them or send them to their room until they're done. IME, the type of tantrum we are talking about is one where students, teachers and administration are in serious danger. Have you ever seen a 5 year old lift up a heavy wooden chair and throw it? Have you ever seen a child use a sharp pencil as a weapon? I have seen both and more, and I teach 4-6 year olds. Luckily, I don't have one of this kind very often, but when there is this big a problem and the parents can't or won't help, the police may be able to get the child the help they need.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I love how people just jump to the conclusion that there is bad parenting going on.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I remember when I taught, we were told by the Teacher's Union to file a police report anytime we were struck or injured by a student, regardless of age. The logic was to cover your behinds in case the parents of the unruly child tried to turn the situation around on you. It was also used to start a paper trail and official documentation on children with severe behavior problems. I remember a kindergarten teacher was bit on the arm. Cops were called and a report was filed.

 

[DawnCt1]

I love how people just jump to the conclusion that there is bad parenting going on.

Children are "blank slates' that come into this world with no genetic predispositions, no prenatal problems, no birth trauma. Just perfect little "snowflakes" until those evil parents abandon their responsibilities.

 

[torinsmom]

I love how people just jump to the conclusion that there is bad parenting going on.

I sure didn't do that. I said when parent CAN'T or won't help. In the case of the student I have, the parents are really trying. They have gotten the kid tested, have him seeing a psychologist, come to every meeting we have at school, communicate with me regularly, etc. Sometimes the parents are part of the problem if there is no discipline or the child is repeating what they see or experience at home. Sometimes it is genetic and the child has a pschological disorder like bipolar disorder or Oppositional Defiant disorder. In either case, if the child is a danger to himself or others, I can understand the school involving the police. Should they wait until someone is seriously injured before involving authorities? Sounds like the other child was hit hard enough that he had to go home. I bet this was not a first incident either.

 

[C.Ann]

Without knowing a whole lot more about the childs history, it's really hard to say if it was the right call or not..

However, other students - and teachers - should not have to tolerate being physically attacked..

 

[daisyduck123]

IME, the type of tantrum we are talking about is one where students, teachers and administration are in serious danger. Have you ever seen a 5 year old lift up a heavy wooden chair and throw it? Have you ever seen a child use a sharp pencil as a weapon? I have seen both and more, and I teach 4-6 year olds. Luckily, I don't have one of this kind very often, but when there is this big a problem and the parents can't or won't help, the police may be able to get the child the help they need.

I've been teaching 20 years, & yes, I have seen that type of tantrum. I have seen a child pounding her fists on the classroom windows, trying to break the glass out. When that didn't work, she started throwing THINGS at the glass, trying to break it. She was running thru the room, looking for anything that could possible break the glass (this was the glass window in the door of the health room, where she had already been removed to). There was nothing anyone could do, but call the police. This was the same child that kicked our principal in the knees, causing her to attend physical therapy.

 

[ilovefh]

On the news last night they said this child had been suspended many times this year for the same behavior.

 

[DawnCt1]

On the news last night they said this child had been suspended many times this year for the same behavior.

Clearly when a child is disruptive and a potential danger to other students, they need to be segregated, either at home or in an in school suspension setting. I just wonder if being suspended, home, watching tv, with a parent they might not see too much, is a reward and is ultimately reinforcing the negative behavior.
Ct. was on track to eliminate out of school suspension and replace it with in school suspension, just so kids aren't home unsupervised or misbehaving so they can stay home.