Unintended Physical Injuries Sustained by School Teachers As early as the teenage years, people involved in altercations tend to employ more intensity and inflict greater harm. In school settings, physical violence among adolescents is common, unfortunately. To protect the school community and maintain safety, teachers must act to intervene and stop these fights.
Authority Isn’t Always Going to Help
However, these attempts come at a cost to the teachers who frequently endure injuries themselves, often in the form of shoulder, arm, and leg injuries that require surgery. While these injuries can be avoided, training for how to break up fights safely is crucial for all school teachers. If you are a teacher in South Carolina, we encourage you to learn more about how to protect yourself during such situations.
Studies show that about 90 percent of these school fights involve two individuals. However, when teachers are involved in breaking up fights, they are more likely to face injuries like flesh wounds and fractures from severe blows. In a lot of cases, teachers overlook these injuries as they may be considered part of the job. Therefore, it is essential to stress the importance of ensuring that teachers take necessary steps to protect themselves from any harm when breaking up fights.
It’s important to know what tactics to use when breaking up fights. One method is engaging the use of a physical barrier, which involves the use of one’s body to create a distance between the students involved in the fight, taking care to leave excess space between the body and students and not to attempt to grab or hold any person. Another commonly used tactic is verbal de-escalation strategy where teachers use a low-pitched tone and an indifferent face as it is more effective than a confrontational ‘shouting match’ method.
Similarly, teachers must take care when they find themselves between fighting teens. It is advisable to position themselves at an angle, between the opponents blocking hand movements, ensuring that they are not pushed from the side at any juncture. It would help if you also eased into the situation, using non-threatening language to keep the combatants at ease and ensure that they are not distracted from the situation at hand.
Injuries Sustained by School Teachers
It is important to recognize injuries incurred as a result of breaking up fights amid teenagers. The most common of these injuries include sprains or fractures of the wrist, ankle or shoulder, as well as cuts, bruises, and lacerations. Sustaining these injuries may require surgeries and prolonged rest until fully recovered, hence the need to avoid getting into the scuffle as much as possible. Remember that safety is always your first priority.
Breaking up fights is a critical responsibility that school teachers must fulfill to maintain a safe school environment. We urge teachers to remember that they must take necessary precautions to ensure their own safety while carrying out this responsibility. The use of safe methods for intervening and training programs on appropriate methods for breaking up fights can prevent teacher injuries. Engage in safety training, use safe tactics, and take care of your own well-being along with the safety of the students in your care. Together, we can provide a safer school environment for everyone!
