A teacher acquaintance was recently attacked and injured by an enraged six-year-old.
She was kicked in the face while trying to calm him down.
According to the NEA, six percent of teachers have been attacked by a student. That’s over 200,000 teachers.
But you’re not a roll of the dice.
There is a lot you can do to protect yourself from school violence. What follows is a set of guidelines every teacher should know.
1. Never create friction.
One of our core tenets here at SCM is to never scold, berate, lecture, or otherwise create friction with students. Not only does this make classroom management more effective, but it goes a long way toward ensuring your safety.
Nothing good happens when you take misbehavior personally or try to intimidate students into good behavior. We have dozens of articles describing its harmful effects.
At its worst, however, creating friction can expose you to revenge violence and reputation harm.
2. Never turn your back.
Another topic we cover often is the importance of positioning yourself physically to keep watch over your students. Vigilant supervision allows you to be consistent while securing your personal safety.
And yes, it can be done.
We don’t recommend kneeling down to help individual students (for a number of reasons) or to ever turn your back on your class (also, for a number of reasons).
If you do need to walk through the middle of your classroom, keep your head on a swivel. If working with small groups, keep your back to the wall. Above all, always be aware of your surroundings.
3. Maintain distance.
If you notice a student getting angry, having a temper-tantrum, or exhibiting aggression, never approach within hand-and-foot striking distance.
Stay back ten feet or more, calmly guide the rest of your class to do the same, and talk to the student from there. You may also want to place yourself in a location with furniture between you and them.
4. Have a strategy.
You must always be thinking one step ahead. What would I do if this student were to take a run at me? Where would I go? Who would I call? How can I avoid being cornered?
This means making sure that you’re able to get to the front door—that you have a clear pathway—and knowing where you would run for help. It means having access to your phone and the ability to quick dial.
You should also have a chair close by in case you need to pick it up to hold in front of you (like a lion tamer).
5. Move students back.
If there is an outburst, display of anger, aggressive pose etc., slowly begin moving students back and behind you. Inch back yourself but stand tall and wait in order to give the student a chance to calm down on their own.
It’s okay to reassure the student that you’re there for them and will help take care of whatever is bothering them. Use a soothing voice and lower the tension in the room.
Do not attempt to enforce a consequence.
As long as they like and respect you, this is usually all it takes. If they don’t, then all bets are off—which underscores the importance of the first guideline.
6. Call for help.
Remember, these are guidelines. They’re not steps. If at anytime you’re feeling uncomfortable with a student, or your teacherly sense tells you something isn’t right, call for help immediately.
Don’t wait.
Better to be embarrassed by your overreaction than to live with regret. You can also point to a trusted student and say, “Go get Mr. Johnson next door.”
7. Keep your distance.
This point can’t be emphasized enough. Always, always, always maintain ten feet or more distance. If the student progresses toward you then move back the same amount of steps and at the same speed. Be ready to run for the door.
If they run at you, then you run. Just be sure you’ve already thought through the safest place to go. Also, be sure and communicate with the rest of your students along the way.
“Follow me!”
“Stay here!”
“Call the office!”
8. Close the distance.
Let’s say the unthinkable happens and you can’t escape. It happens fast and the student is on top of you, grabbing, punching, and kicking.
Striking distance—between one and three feet—is the absolute worst place you can be. Best, of course, is ten feet or more. However, if you can’t get away, then believe it or not, closer is safest.
Therefore, in this case, you want to pull them toward you in a giant bear hug.
You want to tackle, grab, hug, pull them to the floor, and hang on for dear life. Reach around the student with both arms and both legs and control calmly but tightly. Keep your head close to their body.
This protects both them and you.
In this position, even if they’re on top of you, punches and kicks will do far less damage. Eventually, the student will tire themself out, giving you the opportunity to escape or the precious time needed until help arrives.
9. Direct your students.
As you’re hanging on and waiting, calmly direct your students to help with the student or go get more help. This highlights the importance of being an authority in your classroom.
This way, when you say something, when you say, “Move all the chairs back,” they’ll do it.
If your students are used to looking at you and to you as the leader of the classroom, and they trust you, then they’ll be there for you. They’ll be the help that you need.
10. Fight.
If you can’t maintain distance or get away and you’re unable to get a bear hug around the student, or if you’re being attacked by more than one student, then fight like hell.
Yes, I know they’re a student and a minor and your job is to protect them. But this is your life and no one has a right to assault you. You never want to live with regret that you didn’t do everything you could to protect your life and long-term health.
Fight, kick, punch, push, scream, and run the second you have an opening. Do not seek your own revenge. Fight only insofar as to give yourself space to get away. Often, a firm shove is all that it takes.
One Assault is Too Many
One of the largest school districts in the United States recently announced a new change to their discipline policy. It states that if a teacher is assaulted, the student will be given counseling or community service.
In other words, they will not be referred to law enforcement.
If this is shocking to you, then I have news for you: This is the direction we’re headed. In a effort to ensure equity—which of course we should all strive for—educational leaders are going overboard and throwing personal responsibility, teacher safety, and common decency in the garbage.
This particular policy change will, without a doubt, result in more violence against teachers.
But there is one thing your school district cannot mandate: your constitutional rights. It’s against the law to assault another human being. There is no age loophole. No federal property exclusion. No profession omitted.
If you have been attacked or threatened with violence, I urge you to call 911 and insist on pressing charges. If not for you, then for the next teacher.
Do it for your colleagues and cohorts across the country. Send a message to school district leaders and politicians who never step foot in a classroom.
Take a stand, and let’s protect each other.
Because even one assault, let alone 200,000, is unacceptable.
PS – This article wasn’t written carelessly. I do have advanced training in self-defense and personal protection. However, please contact a lawyer if you have questions about your right to defend yourself.
If you’re interested in more articles on this topic, please let me know in the comments section below.
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I teach in a rougher place. And I have never been attacked, but I have had students threaten to fight. Once I had a pretty tough girl tell me, she was going to fight someone, and there was nothing I could do about it. The next day I showed up with a 5 gallon bucket of water. Filled it in the sink. As days passed, papers was in it, pencil shavings, and even a banana skin. I left it, never saying anything.
Finally another student said, what is this? and I replied, well that is when L… gets into a fight, I am going to dump it on her. She was horrified, and told me it was against the law for me to do it. I said, “I don’t care, you will still be wet!”
She never got in a fight in my room. You have to have a plan.
I have been attacked, hit, and kicked by students too many times to count. With maybe TWO of those times, I actually had support from administration. The rest of the times, the students had no consequences whatsoever. A few times I was actually blamed. This is an area I really despise about teaching. And I have only taught preK and kindergarten. This happens with all ages now, not just high school anymore.
Oh my. I was sexually and physically assaulted by a 16 yr old student. Went to the ER. No briefing was done, by my team nor did my supervisor report to HR. The next morning I was assigned to the student. The student was never held accountable and continues to threaten staff and destroy secured doors. The video was never received by my employer as promised.. been out of work for six months healing.
Thank you Michael this is a great article and eye opener for many. Please send more on this topic. Educators need to be made aware of our rights.
It makes me so sad that teacher assaults are rising. My school district has provided CPI training for staff who may find themselves in this situation. CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) revamped their online training program this year, and I feel it is much better than before. Although fortunately I have never needed to use the physical restraint training I received, the de escalation skills have been quite valuable with my more volatile students. Recognizing signs of anxiety early is important, and understanding verbal and nonverbal communication skills to use with students in crisis can prevent a physical attack.
CPI is amazing! I am a certified trainer myself and have been really able to focus on the verbal de-escalation strategies for this year with teachers…any physical intervention or physical de-escalation is last resort.
Has the CPI training been revised? If yes how has it been revised?
Thank you.
Thank you for posting this. It’s something a lot of people don’t think about, and you were very detailed. Plus, it’s good to know that it comes from someone with advanced training.
Wow, Michael. Bravo, Bravo.
But only 6% of teachers have been attacked? Maybe that’s the percent who report it.
I’d say over two or three times that have been attacked, but some don’t report it for fear of career repercussions. I witnessed one attack by a special ed student repeatedly kicking a teacher as she kept moving back. Was she a rookie or an incompetent? No, she was such an admired professional she was soon made (and still is) a principal. Another student, a girl with a history of emotional problems and a parent in complete denial, hit my outstanding grade level colleague hard with the pointed end of a football (I took her students into my class as the teacher cried alone in her room); the same child called my next year’s colleague (whom admin was grooming to be a principal) “a f— b—-.” That teacher took her experience, skills, and her own three children to a private school despite a big cut in salary, medical coverage, and retirement benefits. She made the move for her young children.
In an otherwise pretty darn scary article, a successful tactic is mentioned in the article below regarding a teacher who couldn’t get admin to remove a violent child from her class: she went to court and convinced the judge to issue a restraining order. I hope she has a strong union to protect her from professional repercussions that can come in various guises. https://projects.sun-sentinel.com/teenage-time-bombs/how-schools-manage-violent-kids
Wow! Scary, but great advice. Being aware is number one. I appreciate your honest, coherent, and forthright directions. Hopefully, we’ll all be safe.
Thank you… I have not even considered the possibility of this happening…
Thanks Michael! This was really informative and helpful to plan for the future. What about student-student violence?
What about a student attacking another student? In other words, a teacher attempts to break up a fight. We were told by district attorney that teachers have the same rights as parents. That is, a teacher can restrain a student as best as possible but can’t use physical force (body slam etc.) to retaliate or deal out punishment. What’s your position?
I totally agree with number 5.
I had a student this week get upset with another student. I heard the 2 loud cuss words and went to her desk. She was shaking and very angry. I used a calmer voice than I have in the past. She and I have had many nice , short talks this year about life, in general. I know she has a good heart under everything. Your advice worked because I let her walk a bit in the opposite direction of the victim. The students were looking forward to a fistfight as the victim cried. I quietly told the angry girl I will talk to you privately about this. She left class before the other one.I held the other girl back privately and documented her version.
I waited to speak to the Dean AFTER the class left because I did not want to feed the fire.
The following day a different kid said to me disrespectfully, I don’t know how a kid can cuss and not get in trouble , but you get mad at me because I am talking a lot. I said, you have no idea how I handle all matters, so get back to work! ( His behavior is a whole different scenario I try to redirect! Lol) He has already been sent to the Dean from me.
Different students should be handled differently and it is hard , as a teacher, to stay calm during chaos.
I love your website and I thank you for all your realistic advice. I have recommended you to others.❤️😄
“In a effort to ensure equity—which of course we should all strive for—educational leaders are going overboard and throwing personal responsibility, teacher safety, and common decency in the garbage.” How do you propose we strive for equity if not in policy? The vague jabs at equity supports in your recent articles reduce your credibility because we have seen white men and women commit violence this week whereas predominately Black protestors were maimed and beaten and proactively kept away from our nation’s capitol. I see the same permissiveness with white students who commit acts of violence and are not viewed to be as dangerous as students of color at my own school site, and allowed to continue their bad behavior for an entire school year while students of color are sent away immediately. The timing of this article and the denouncement of equity supports in policy in it make me question the author’s purpose and credibility. We can’t leave equity up to personal choice of the teacher when most teachers come from a privileged perspective.
I’m not sure how this response even applies to the article. He is talking about strategies teachers can use to preserve safety in a hostile environment. You are talking about something completely different and trying to politicize this discussion. Please stop.
I respectfully disagree with everything you have to say. Where is your data? What facts do you have to support your, “I see the same permissiveness with white students who commit acts of violence and are not viewed to be as dangerous as students of color at my own school site, and allowed to continue their bad behavior for an entire school year while students of color are sent away immediately. The timing of this article and the denouncement of equity supports in policy in it make me question the author’s purpose and credibility.” I fail to see how you are able to make this stance unless you are able to back it up with credible evidence, not just your feelings. I am extremely thankful that someone has the strength to even address such a sensitive topic during these times. This is important information, thank you Michael.
Learned another thing to watch is your water or coffee. Use only lidded containers.
When 9 months pregnant, I had a desk thrown at me by a student. I was a substitute, and there was no provocation. I was taking attendance and one boy, instead of answering “present”, picked up his desk and threw it as hard as he could at my head. I woke up in hospital, in active labor, with the principal in the room with me. She demanded to know what I’d done to provoke this boy and assured me that my unprofessional behavior (i.e. being knocked unconscious and one of the other students calling an ambulance for me) would be noted and I would be banned from filling in at her school and (if she had her way) any other school in the district. Fortunately the vice-principal had a better head on his shoulders and set aside the security footage for when the hospital inevitably contacted police.
Thank you for this!
I use all your advice as a karate instructor – your advice for self-defense is spot on, and I could immediately see that it was written from a point of expertise.
I am so sorry that so many school teachers are hurt – not just in the USA, but in my country (South Africa) and all over the world. We do need to defend ourselves, and we can do so without mortal harm (90% of the time) and it is not okay to allow it to continue.
Thank you so much for all you write, for all of us.
– Zoe
You mentioned having furniture in between the student and yourself. I was injured for the first and only time in 20 years when an enraged kindergarten student (it was time to clean up) shoved the table between the 2 of us so hard that it slammed into my leg. It was shocking how much force he had. I had a bruised bone.
Response to Long Time Middle School Teacher:
As I see it, the student who was hurt/perplexed enough to comment on how a student can curse a teacher and get away with it while another who talks a lot is punished was not wrong. Telling a student who voices this question to, in effect, mind their own business and do their work is telling them that you don’t have to explain why what the student perceives as a relatively harmless infraction (compared to others) will be punished while kids with garbage can mouths, directed at the teacher no less, will be left alone. Whether you intend it or not, you are sending a message that you are afraid to deal with the verbally abusive student. Either both the talkative kid and the curser should be left alone , or better still, both should be punished.
I was attacked 3 times. The stress level was unbearable and I walked out that year with cancer. Do NOT let a student attack you. No one protected me. I should have quit my job. My life has been ruined.
This is a great article and I like the comments. I’ve been attached also as a substitute teacher in a high school. I was devastated because I didn’t even know what I did wrong. They threw stuff at me at the end of the class when I’d bended down to get my stuff. A friend who was a teacher at the school said I can’t report because they would say I was unable to manage the class. But this is unfair. So I kept quiet but I realize it wasn’t fair on teachers to go through that trauma so when I’d to stop substitute teaching to focus on something else, I narrated the incident in my resignation letter, suggesting that they take steps to address the situation in schools. Well, I don’t think they did anything about it. But I think it’s about time school administration support teachers in these areas and come out with remedies so teachers will feel free to and confident in their roles.
I used to work in schools in detention centers and treatment centers. So I have been attacked a few times. One of the first times, after everything had calmed down, the student sincerely apologized saying he would never do it again. So I decided not to press charges against him as I was scratched, but not seriously injured. The student had anger issues, and it wasn’t a week or two later where he was aggressive toward me again.
I made the decision after that incident that if there is any physical aggression towards me, I am pressing charges. Every time. The student can be one of my personal favorites (we all have them,) but there is never a reason for aggression towards me.
Also I learned from my experience that many students who are in the system have had 100 chances. Their routine is to give sincere apologies as their parent, the cop, the judge, the victim frequently will say, “that’s ok. I accept your apology” and let it go. I will always accept their apology, but I will also follow up with the appropriate consequence.
The big problem is that the children have insecure attachment otherwise they would not be doing these things. Having trauma informed and organised schools goes a long way to helping kids have strategies to use instead of violence. If violence is what they see at home as a method of expressing strong emotions – that is what they might use if triggered in a classroom. Violence is never acceptable – never – and at the same time some children or young people are screaming out for help – “can someone help me with my big emotions? I can’t control them by myself”- this side of the story needs to be looked at as well. I’ve been kicked by a student in my first year of teaching. There was no support and cussed at and all sorts of abuse. Now I work with kids as a therapist and have studied trauma for years. The basic thing is to give kids natural consequences, after giving them high expectations, high warmth, and specific rules for class behaviour – and an admin who care about both staff and students mental health and wellbeing. Violence either verbal, physician or mental is never ok… but is a language some families use as commonplace. That is the problem.