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

[goofy!]

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.

If this is a child with repeated escalation issues, they would not be riding the regular school bus, at least not in any district that I know of. My guess is you have never had the chance to actually witness a true escalation requiring intervention. It can be very, very scary and not at all remotely similar to a 5 year old's typical tantrum.

Cops in our school are seen as the good guys, not the bad guys. They are part of the solution team, not the last resort or because the staff could not handle the problem.

Yes, any adult could restrain a 5 year old. But not many adults are certified in proper restraints. In an escalated child, what might seem a harmless restraint could actually harm or even kill the child. They are in an escalated state not only emotionally, but physically. Breathing is rapid, they can be on the verge of vomiting. So doing improper restraints can actually do huge harm to an escalated child. Diaphragms (breathing) can be impacted, sockets can be pulled out of joint. Nobody wants to harm the child and if there is no resource officer in the school, sometimes the police need to be called in to assist in the de-escalation of the child.

Think of the stories you hear about humans in escalated states doing adrenaline fueled super-human feats such as lifting cars off of loved ones in accidents. Conversely, they can also do adrenaline fueled super-human harm to themselves and others. A five year old in an escalated state is no different. This is not a normal 5 year old temper tantrum. It can be very, very scary, not only for the adults watching, but for the child himself who cannot get themselves under control.

The police can provide invaluable help in keeping an escalated child safe from further injury from himself, help protect the other children, provide documentation for the parent to bring to their doctors and therapists, documentation for the schools to be able to prove that they need to provide more services, provide a report for workman's comp issues if a teacher is injured, to assess medical situations for the child and any others, and to protect the school and staff from liability.

Additionally, many kids with escalation issues have trust issues and sometimes a uniformed officer is trusted more than an educator.

We have the district's day treatment program in our elementary school. The admin has had to call the police. But it has always been as part of the solution to help the child, not as a last resort or because the admin cannot handle it. The police are great with the kids and often can provide invaluable help.

And 99.999999% of the parents have always welcomed the help as it is always in the best interest of the child. The police provide protection to their child in making sure no over-confident adult decides that anybody who cannot restrain a child should lose their job and just power handles the child.

 

[rie'smom]

What if the child who was kicked started the fight? We don't know the details. I do know as most of you probably do that there are teachers who have "target" students and no matter which child might start something, the target always gets the blame.
They called the police because the kid went home and the school wanted to CTA. It didn't say that the kid was bleeding.

 

[Tikitoi]

Just like you have parents who should not be parents you got teachers who should not be teachers. Why would you call the cops on a 5 year old. Just a stupid lazy teacher would.

 

[goofy!]

Just like you have parents who should not be parents you got teachers who should not be teachers. Why would you call the cops on a 5 year old. Just a stupid lazy teacher would.

There are some very good reasons to call the cops on an escalated 5 year old. And they are not all sinister or bad teachers.

 

[torinsmom]

What if the child who was kicked started the fight? We don't know the details. I do know as most of you probably do that there are teachers who have "target" students and no matter which child might start something, the target always gets the blame.
They called the police because the kid went home and the school wanted to CTA. It didn't say that the kid was bleeding.

It's likely if the child went home, there was enough injury that the parents chose to come and get him or her, possibly to make a trip to the doctor. Head injuries require a call home at most schools. You sure don't have to be bleeding to have a head injury. There are procedures that schools follow. We have to sit down with each child and talk to them about what happened. We also speak to witnesses. The it goes to the principal, and he does the same thing.

Just like you have parents who should not be parents you got teachers who should not be teachers. Why would you call the cops on a 5 year old. Just a stupid lazy teacher would.

Teachers are not the ones who would call the cops. That would be an administrative decision. We have never had to call the cops on the student I have, but I imagine if the parent did not come when he was having one of his "tantrums", the police or social services might be called. I'm sorry, but throwing chairs, trying to break glass, wiping everything off the teacher's desk and screaming "I hate you! I want you to die! Get away from me!" at the top of your lungs is not something any teacher, lazy or not, should have to deal with on a regular basis. The other students are entitled to a safe, effective learning environment.

 

[MM27]

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

Since we don't know the whole story, we can't really tell. Same way we don't know if this kid had a history of doing these things or not. And not everyone is blaming the parents. Just look at the next post...

Just like you have parents who should not be parents you got teachers who should not be teachers. Why would you call the cops on a 5 year old. Just a stupid lazy teacher would.

Chances are the teacher didn't call the police. We have to go through our administrators if we need to call the police or even 911 during the school day. We had an aide fall on our playground a few years ago and before anyone could call for an ambulance, the principal had to come out and see what was going on. She ended up having a broken hip. I think it's a dumb rule, but it's one I follow because I like my job.

 

[disykat]

There were injuries, there was a child put into a "calm hold" to subdue him. I'm guessing calling the police for an incident report is an appropriate legal step to take to protect everyone involved.

It's not like they called the SWAT team!

Although I'm sure it's rare with kindergartners, I'm guessing the police do this kind of thing fairly regularly. I know I've seen the police at our junior highs and high schools. Just recently, our elementary school had a little one pull a fire alarm. Although they were notified that it was a false alarm, several fireman geared up and came to talk to the child.

 

[krcit]

Just like you have parents who should not be parents you got teachers who should not be teachers. Why would you call the cops on a 5 year old. Just a stupid lazy teacher would.

I guess you have never been in a situation where a child was in a rage? If the cops weren't called and the story was that teachers and administrators held the child down maybe using force do you want to bet that people would be up in arms over that?

 

[cm8]

What a bunch of idiots! It doesn't say if the school tried calling the parents, but I'd assume they would have added that part if they did. I would be beyond pissed at the school if they called the police as oppose to me if my 5 year old threw a fit like that. That's insane. Where's the common sense. I see the police said they wouldn't be pressing charges...uhhh ya think Even if the school did call the parents and they couldn't get a hold of them, I still think the school went a little far, by calling the police about a 5 year old. They obviously managed to get him calmed down before the police got there, so it wasn't like the kid was in some crazy total rage with superpower capabilities. My mom's a special ed. teacher and she has to deal with behavior issues all the time; with kids that are a lot bigger/older than a 5 year old...and she's never had to call the police.

, my aunt has been one for over 20 years, and she too has never had to call the police. But I agree the school does need to protect themselves and others from violence and the possibility of lawsuits!

 

[Wishing on a star]

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

Instead of trying to bash the child, and bash parents, etc....
I think we ought to asking our wonderful and hallowed school systems why an unstable and violent child is in that classroom endangering all the other innocent children, who should be able to LEARN.

 

[famofsix]

there is something wrong here if this child has repeated behaviors of rage... and he needs the adults in his life to help him cope....

I can't imagine a 5 year old needing the cops to intervene...

and yes as a teacher I have the training for a "calm hold" and I have had to use it in the past without calling the cops. However, I also had supportive administration that knew how to handle the situation. That was years ago though and I think maybe the administration here in this situation doesn't want to "administrate" so it's easier to call the cops.

 

[goofy!]

there is something wrong here if this child has repeated behaviors of rage... and he needs the adults in his life to help him cope....

Then I would thank your lucky stars that you never had to deal with a child with bipolar or other issues.

I can't imagine a 5 year old needing the cops to intervene...

and yes as a teacher I have the training for a "calm hold" and I have had to use it in the past without calling the cops. However, I also had supportive administration that knew how to handle the situation. That was years ago though and I think maybe the administration here in this situation doesn't want to "administrate" so it's easier to call the cops.

That is understandable that a standard classroom teacher can't imagine a 5 year old with the kind of escalation issues that some illnesses can cause.

Our special ed staff has encountered numerous teachers that just can't fathom or understand the seriousness of some of these illnesses. They have spent countless hours trying to educate classroom teachers on mental illness. Unless you have lots of special ed training and have had first hand experience in dealing with these illnesses, it is easy to think that it is parental uninvolvement, lack of discipline and/or a lack of administration.

There is a huge difference between holds during a normal classroom tantrum and crisis intervention during an escalation.

But regardless whether this child is just a brat or has more serious issues (we have no way of knowing), if the child injured another person, be it another teacher or child, it is assault and the school has to legally report it. It doesn't matter if the child is 5 or a senior in high school.

 

[3smithboys]

Instead of trying to bash the child, and bash parents, etc....
I think we ought to asking our wonderful and hallowed school systems why an unstable and violent child is in that classroom endangering all the other innocent children, who should be able to LEARN.

Because it is almost impossible to get a child out of the school and into another placement because they have a right to be in the "least restrictive environment." Please do not blame the school for the child being there.... they would have to go through a lot to have that child put into another placement even if they thought it was best. It really doesn't matter how it impacts the other students in the class, which is very unfortunate....

 

[torinsmom]

Instead of trying to bash the child, and bash parents, etc....
I think we ought to asking our wonderful and hallowed school systems why an unstable and violent child is in that classroom endangering all the other innocent children, who should be able to LEARN.

Every child has a right to an education and unfortunately, the violent child has as much of a right as the non-violent one. As a teacher, I do what I can to lessen the effect the behavior has on the other students. Luckily, the student I have this year has not physically hurt another child; he prefers to batter adults. Things have improved somewhat, but he still has outbursts that are disruptive.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Instead of trying to bash the child, and bash parents, etc....
I think we ought to asking our wonderful and hallowed school systems why an unstable and violent child is in that classroom endangering all the other innocent children, who should be able to LEARN.

I understand from previous threads that you are very anti-school public school. However, it is this child's right to receive an education. Do I think it's good having a violent child in a classroom - no, but the child has the right to be there.

 

[mum4jenn]

We have a 4th grader that was just sent to the Alternative school after he has gone wacko too many times. They have trie everything and our schools here have all kinds of counselors, and others that are trained to help with this. He was very violent. I hope he gets better because last year nothing like this ever happened with him. I don't know what happened over the summer.

We also have a girl that so far this year has not been too bad but the 3rd and 4th grade she would have "tantrums" where she would bite and kick the Principal in the groin as hard as she could.

Also when I was a Para at a school in the mid 1980's there was a child that would have rage episodes (a kindergarten child) where he would throw the teachers desk across the room and this was one of those old time heavy wooden desks. He also knocked over two coat closets and a huge heavy wooden cubby hole piece. This was not the newer lighter weight furniture. This was all the old time real 100% wood items.

 

[famofsix]

Then I would thank your lucky stars that you never had to deal with a child with bipolar or other issues.



That is understandable that a standard classroom teacher can't imagine a 5 year old with the kind of escalation issues that some illnesses can cause.

Our special ed staff has encountered numerous teachers that just can't fathom or understand the seriousness of some of these illnesses. They have spent countless hours trying to educate classroom teachers on mental illness. Unless you have lots of special ed training and have had first hand experience in dealing with these illnesses, it is easy to think that it is parental uninvolvement, lack of discipline and/or a lack of administration.

There is a huge difference between holds during a normal classroom tantrum and crisis intervention during an escalation.

But regardless whether this child is just a brat or has more serious issues (we have no way of knowing), if the child injured another person, be it another teacher or child, it is assault and the school has to legally report it. It doesn't matter if the child is 5 or a senior in high school.

I don't thank any lucky stars but I have dealt with children with special needs and I have never had to call the police. I am grateful for the adults that have the training to help children with bipolar or any other special needs.

I can understand a 5 year old with a rage issue; I don't understand the need to call the cops to deal with it. Maybe now the boy will get the help he needs so that he doesn't harm himself or others. It seems to me if he had some diagnosis before this incident then the school would have responded differently. This is my reaction without knowing any of the facts, so I am not blaming anyone I am just sad that a 5 year old is needing the cops to intervene in his life.

Hats off to all the teachers, special education staff, support staff, and administrations that do it right...the issue for me in this case is I still think calling the cops is over the line for a 5 year old.

 

[famofsix]

We have a 4th grader that was just sent to the Alternative school after he has gone wacko too many times. They have trie everything and our schools here have all kinds of counselors, and others that are trained to help with this. He was very violent. I hope he gets better because last year nothing like this ever happened with him. I don't know what happened over the summer.

We also have a girl that so far this year has not been too bad but the 3rd and 4th grade she would have "tantrums" where she would bite and kick the Principal in the groin as hard as she could.

Also when I was a Para at a school in the mid 1980's there was a child that would have rage episodes (a kindergarten child) where he would throw the teachers desk across the room and this was one of those old time heavy wooden desks. He also knocked over two coat closets and a huge heavy wooden cubby hole piece. This was not the newer lighter weight furniture. This was all the old time real 100% wood items.

so in any of these cases are the police called

 

[DizBelle]

Instead of trying to bash the child, and bash parents, etc....
I think we ought to asking our wonderful and hallowed school systems why an unstable and violent child is in that classroom endangering all the other innocent children, who should be able to LEARN.

I don't think the school systems are who should be asked.

 

[mum4jenn]

so in any of these cases are the police called

In the instance when I was a Para...no Police were not called. Back in the 80's I doubt anyone would have even thought about that.

And as far as the recent things with the current students...No... police were not called because our school system does not want the public to know these things happen to this age of children. We live in a small town where EVERYTHING the police are called for is recorded in the weekly paper.
Of course the people that knew about it all said the police should have been called and the Assistant Principal "off the record" also agreed that they should have been called but the Principal did not want to "tarnish" the image of the school.