What was your worst classroom discipline experience? - Ajarn Forum

zaphodbeeblebrox · 10th May 2008, 15:26

No matter how loud, obnoxious, irritating, annoying and downright rude our students can be at times, I don't think any of us can top this experience:

Quote:

LOS ANGELES — A high school was locked down Friday after hundreds of students fought in a lunchtime brawl that had to be quelled by police.

About 600 students were involved in what appeared to be a gang-related fight that started around noon at Locke High School, Los Angeles school district spokeswoman Nadia Gonzalez said. Four students were arrested.

Several students were injured but nobody was hospitalized, officials said. Music teacher Reggie Smith described to the Los Angeles Times a chaotic scene where it was difficult to distinguish between trouble makers and those trying to avoid the mayhem.

"The kids were crazy, running from place to place jumping on other kids," Smith said. "Some of my kids were crying because they were walking to class with kids and they got jumped. The officers on campus were overwhelmed."

The Times reported school officials separated Latino students from black students. Campus police were overwhelmed and called on the Los Angeles Police Department for help with security. About 50 Los Angeles police officers, some of them in riot gear, responded to the school. Gonzalez said students were kept in their classrooms and no parents or outsiders were allowed on campus.

BTW - this school is about 12 miles from the high school I attended. Nothing exciting ever happened at my high school.

What's the worst student behavior you have encountered, and what kind of discipline did you mete out?

I know it isn't much. I had a student intentionally break open a pen, and smear the ink all over several desks and chairs. Best I could think up in terms of discipline was to make him clean it up. He didn't do a very good job cleaning up. Fortunately, this M3 student did not re-enroll for the new term.

peelieorion · 10th May 2008, 16:08

worst I had was this 11 year old special student who told me to fuck off at least 15 times. each time i asked him to repeat it so every could hear. He tried to rattle my cage but I kept on smiling. Eventually I opened the door and waved him out and locked the door behind him.

russellsimpson · 10th May 2008, 16:16

Worst case I've had (and unless he's gone this term I'll still have him) is an obviously developmentally challenged individual who is in the habit of terrorizing other students, always moving about the class, often hitting other students. A guy who often gets punished by Thai teachers but seems to delight in the punishment. A real handfull. A tuff nut to crack.

Lotuslevi · 10th May 2008, 16:47

I was substituting for two weeks in a barrio ("latino neighborhood") in Glendale, Arizona where most of the boys were in gangs and about half the girls in the classes were pregnant. There`s too many stories to go through as they all tested my patience day to day.

However, one of my few white students continually tested my patience until at the end of the day, I brought him to the office and explained the situation to the principal. He got a bit disciplined that day, and as I was walking to my car to go home, I heard him call to me "You better watch your back little man!" I didn`t even turn my head to acknowledge that I`d heard him. I did however, park my car on the other side of the parking lot the next few days because I didn`t want to get my tires slashed.

Topper · 10th May 2008, 17:58

Subbed for a new EP class. When I went into the class, the students all pointed at one girl, saying she's crazy. Of course, the girl proved them right, generally pissing me off as I thought it was all an "attention" thing.

The class ended and I was on my way to talk to the EP HOD when one of the Thai teachers intercepted me to inform me AFTER the class that there is a girl with "problems" in the class. Definitely pissed me off even more. Decided to have a breathe in, breathe out moment (filtered through a cigarette) before I talked with the boss.

Cream · 10th May 2008, 20:02

Worst was a student who decided to jump over 4 desks and start beating the shit out of a blind student.... punishment, after scaring the living shit out of him with a deafening roar I dragged his ass to my office and made him stand in a corner, parents called DOS called student kicked out of school for 2 weeks with a good beating from his parents for pissing teh farrang off lol.

peelieorion · 11th May 2008, 10:03

I used to do supply back home for a year and a half. Easy money. One day the class nutter came in 10 minutes late running and screaming through the fire exit. I opened the door of the class and waved him out. after locking the doors the little shit tried to break the windows to get back in. I just smiled and gave him a wave. Anyway he disappeared and 10 mintes befoe the end of the day the principal and a pooliceman turned up asking if I'd seen this kid. Higlight of the day was getting a standing ovation form the kids class at 10 past nine

kiwiling · 11th May 2008, 11:26

Being stood over by a 14 year old who was 2 metres tall...and having to eyeball him to back down. That wasn't in LOS though.

theanimaster · 11th May 2008, 12:22

Had this little slut in normal program who kept on chatting loudly to her mates in class. First I put on my diplomatic face and tried my best to tell her to shut up and listen to the lesson. She almost did this but instead proceeded to do her Thai homework while still chatting loudly. Finally I got her book and threw it out the window. She was furious. I was smiling. I stopped the whole class and just stood in front telling the class how I'm not up to teaching unless they all be my little bitches. Otherwise my responsibilities lie with EP classes only and I'm not going to put up with insolent wretches from normal program classes.

Two things I learned that day: 1.) Never throw a students stuff outside the window (ok, so I tossed it, not really threw it)
2.) She was a crazy bitch. No seriosuly... she DID have a mental disorder.
3.) Ok, so I said 2, but the third thing I learned was not to do anything unless confirming whether the troublemaker is 100% sane or not.

Topper · 11th May 2008, 12:54

Ani,

Along those same lines....heard a story about a teacher who got somewhat distressed with one of his students messing with their cell phone during class. Took it from the student and threw it in the trash, breaking the phone. Needless to say the proverbial faeces hit the fan.

cluezo · 11th May 2008, 13:56

as it should. There's a limit to the extreme of discipline. Destroying private prorperty exceeds that limit.

LDMA · 11th May 2008, 16:24

Do disciplinary problems extend to the whole of M5 being on the impression that I had only made one test for 8 classes and the first class passing on their pearls of wisdom to the whole year, only for me to bust the arses of 67 students by giving them zero.

preezeplessone · 11th May 2008, 17:25

I remember on afternoon, when I turned my back on 30 fifth graders on the West Side of Phoenix (I had to get my bet in on the next race at Santa Anita). I heard a groan like yell. I turned around and Maria had just stabbed Fernando in the arm with her pencil. 100% intentional. Maria was suspended, but the exacta paid 42.20. The next year, at the same school, a 14 yo plotted the robbery and murder of a helado vendor. You know the usually mexican guy, with a push cart selling something like Italian ice. Well, the Mexican gave the 14 yo his 50 usd, but the kid murdered him with his grandpa's .22. He spent the money at MCD and Blockbuster Video. I hope he is still in a cage.

This is actually one of the better districts in Phoenix; with a starting salary of over 40,000 per year.
You don't have to worry about snobbish parents; many kids don't have any.

russellsimpson · 11th May 2008, 19:15

Quote:

Do disciplinary problems extend to the whole of M5 being on the impression that I had only made one test for 8 classes and the first class passing on their pearls of wisdom to the whole year, only for me to bust the arses of 67 students by giving them zero.

Christ. That stuffed figure they've got hanging behind the school might be a Louis representation.

Not wearing a belt in any case.

I'll have closer look.

mugwump · 11th May 2008, 20:16

I taught at a junior high in Japan that was like something out of one of those bad Hollywood Blackboard Jungle flicks. Kids riding bikes and letting off fire extinguishers in the hall, toilet seats ripped off and flung into the parking lot, broken windows on a daily basis. One class was particularly bad. If I tried to give hand-outs, the little shits would just rip them up and fling the bits around like confetti. One kid was trying to carve through his desk with an xacto-knife. Another had made a makeshift bow and arrow set and spent most of his time firing arrows into the the ceiling tiles, the curtains or the projector screen if it was down. Kids would climb out the windows, throw chairs, scream at the top of their lungs, run out of the class and generally behave like extras from Lord of the Flies. This was a team taught class so I had a Japanese teacher in there with me who was supposed to be responsible for discipline and translation of meta-language. He mostly just took a chair and sat in the back with the 14 year old girls he was hoping to molest though.

3 girls from the same school were arrested for pimping out some 13 year olds in a telephone dating service in Machida, Tokyo. Two kids took a baseball bat and brained the Lawson's convience store clerk because he wouldn't sell them ciggies. (one was arrested for murder 4 years later, but not before he and his buddies stole my scooter from my apartment, rode it to the beach and trashed it there while I was away on summer holidays). The PTA called an emergency meeting with the parents to discuss just how out of hand things were at the school. While the meeting was going on, the kids went out and pulled the wipers, mirrors, and hubcaps off most of the cars and threw them in the street. They then went into the teachers' office and threw books and chairs into the swimming pool.

Ahhh....memories......