Column: One Midlands teacher’s view from inside the classroom
A recent letter to the editor, written by high school teacher Sarah Jane Byars, grabbed my attention as it may have yours.
In the aftermath of the stunning video of a Spring Valley High School school resource officer extricating a disruptive student from the classroom late last month, here’s part of what Dr. Byars’ letter, published Oct. 28, said: “Before you decide the Spring Valley student was abused, ponder this: In the past two months, at least 10 students had to be escorted from my class; twice the school resource officer was involved. The problem: Students defied my instruction to change seats or apologize to a classmate.”
Wow. That hardly sounded good, so I called Dr. Byars.
She said “the majority” of students and parents today are “still wanting teachers and administrators to discipline and provide instruction ...” She said she continues to “have wonderful relationships” with most of her students.
But, she also said the reactions to the “Spring Valley incident were so disturbing to me that I had to respond.”
Dr. Byars has a doctorate degree in education. She has been teaching at the same Midlands public high school since 1973. She said she is currently teaching biology and physical science to “general track students, which includes a large number of special education students, English as a second language students, and many with histories of discipline issues.”
I asked Dr. Byars to describe, in general, what students were like when she began teaching some 40 years ago.
“Students, teachers and administrators were much more relaxed than today … In my first 20 years (of teaching), I can only recall two or three times that I had to confront defiance or behavior that warranted having the student taken out of class. Serious discipline episodes were cutting class or a fight…”
So what kind of behavioral problems does she encounter in the classroom today?
“Teachers’ authority about everything is challenged often in various ways …With highly academic students, teachers’ grades and late policies are questioned frequently. My husband, who is a retired teacher of mostly AP and honor students, had one set of parents demand conferences monthly with a lawyer present. Emails asking for explanations of grades flood the (in)boxes of those teachers.
“For lesser academic students, defiance of even the most benign instruction such as change seats or apologize to a classmate can explode into a major disruption and hijacking of the entire instructional time. The student becomes relentless in his/her rant and won’t stop. For the first few months of school when teachers are setting classroom protocol, this might happen every week or so depending upon the students in class. It usually subsides with time as those responsible for major disruptions are eliminated (from the classroom) or forced to comply. Special education students are close to untouchable unless they commit drug or weapon offenses, and even then they may return under probation…
“Today, the fights that occur on campus are far more vicious with intention to do injury unlike those years ago that would stop once one student had the upper hand. Some years ago, teachers were instructed to no longer intervene physically in a fight due to potential for injury…”
Dr. Byars said teachers also remain “on the defense for their jobs with challenges from parents threatening lawsuits and administrators attempting to appease such parents to prevent bad publicity. Every year, for the past 10 years, I have had a student tell me he/she is going to get me fired. It has already happened this year with three students signing a statement that the hallway film disproved … Teachers feel vulnerable to such accusations all the time.”
I asked Dr. Byars, on average, how many times during a school week she encounters behavioral problems that have an impact upon her teaching time.
“Daily, in my classes due to the students I teach,” she said. “(These) aren’t necessarily major events. If I pass a day without writing a discipline note, I consider it a great day … Since 1983, I began teaching my students appropriate behaviors using statements of affirmation that we repeat daily at the close of class. That is an attempt to counter the fact that many at-risk students have no one in their lives modeling socially-acceptable behaviors. When I have students bantering with each other, I hold mediation sessions with them at lunch to help them learn to resolve conflicts in a better fashion.”
I asked Dr. Byars about the advent of student resource officers (SROs) in her school system.
“The SRO entered our school in the early ‘90s. They are truly a blessing to have on campus. Their influence prevents far more than most people could ever imagine. They know students personally and keep watch over those mostly likely to cause trouble as well as protecting the most vulnerable ones. They’re essential in today’s climate.”
Dr. Byars talked about “two extremes of parenting. One type of parent, usually those of the upper academic and/or gifted athlete, is living vicariously through (the child). They micromanage every aspect of their being from their social life to every school assignment and every competitive event. Those students aren’t allowed to learn from mistakes and take consequences because mom or dad will prevent that from happening They’ll charge into school at the drop of a hat, even leaving work, to make sure their child suffers no wrong.
“On the other end are the parents who are difficult to find. They never appear on open house night. Often the numbers I have for them don’t work, and I have no way to contact them. If I do contact them about behavior or grades, nothing changes as a result. If I call repeatedly, I am told to quit bothering or they block the school number. These are the students who are most likely to cause disruption and face potential expulsion.”
Finally, I asked Dr. Byars what “regular people” like myself understand about what goes on inside today’s public school classrooms.
“Most ordinary people cannot conceive of what schools encounter today.”
Salley McAden McInerney is a local writer whose novel, Journey Proud, is based upon growing up in Columbia in the early 1960s. She may be reached by emailing salley@hartcom.net.