How can teachers protect themselves at school? There's no doubt that the public school system has become a hostile environment. The fact is, nobody can protect you but yourself. Here are some tips to consider.
Demand communication and enforcement. Your employer needs to make you aware of any student(s) that have a history of misconduct for the safety of your classroom. The fact that they don't notify you is a result of Black Lives Matter at school, which is also called "Restorative Justice Practices" (which they have implemented). Regardless of any state framework, guidance, mandates, or legislation, your employer has an absolute obligation to keep everyone safe.
Arm yourself with non-lethal methods. There are several options available to carry in your purse or in your pocket. Take self-defense classes. If you think nothing will ever happen to you, you’re in a lottery whether you like it or not.
Take out a private professional insurance policy. It is imperative to protect yourself from any liability or harm brought against you. As an employee, the school won't protect you with their self-insurance pot through MABE (Maryland Association of Boards of Education). They will actually use their own lawyers against you, lie, vilify you, and lastly deny a remedy or settlement.
Leave the AFT, NEA, MSEA, and local county teachers' union. The delusion is that the union will protect you. They won’t. They are there to exploit you, and will leave you high and dry if you require legal assistance. They have worked diligently to foster a hostile environment and use its fear in hopes that you will seek their false security through your sense of belonging. They want to make themselves the savior to the problems that they worked to create. By being a member, you are enabling them by supporting their efforts. That makes you a part of their destructive activism that has eroded education: https://marylandeducators.org/action-resources/
Stand up to administration when they refuse to listen. Don't be afraid to share your experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and ideas when you know they are solutions to problem(s). Never compromise the truth.
Be immune to workplace bullying. The emotional endurance is more grueling than the physical. The greatest threat is within. The very establishment is dictating socialism instead of teaching core subject matter. We all know how it is - who's part of the union vs. who's not, liberal vs. conservative, administrative hierarchy, domination, admins drunk on power, unmerited promotion, double standards, no behavioral enforcement, replicated indoctrination, etc. Always be polite and immune to their tactics. Psalm 37.
Document every communication, phone call, and email from superiors or the school board that could possibly lead to being bullied into compliance, ignored, etc. Be meticulous with notes about students who misbehave to the point that you refer them to administrators for discipline. Put everything in writing and then PRINT it and keep it at home. Also, know your rights under your contract. The union won’t help you so do your own homework.
Refuse to teach or partake in any woke indoctrination ideologies such as what the school calls Social Justice Activism, Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI), Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Social Emotional Wellness, Restorative Justice Practices, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Implicit Bias Training, anything sexual, promotion of lawlessness, or any bias or double standards based on race or sexual gender identity. The school system has created and fostered this environment you work in, and you are now seeing the consequences progressively snowball for the worse.
Join a non-union teacher organization that believes in education and not indoctrination. Some of these organizations offer a wealth of support, resources, and professional liability insurance for a fraction of what one would pay in union dues.
American Association of Teachers: https://www.aaeteachers.org/
Conservative Teachers of America: https://www.conservativeteachersamerica.org/
Leave the public school system. There are private schools, professional education opportunities, and even other careers that can use your area of expertise that can involve the education of children. In the end, you can't teach if the environment is not conducive to teaching.
Fellows & Editors
October 17, 2023. DelmarvaPTC.org.
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