Is it true that he can't push me?

Interesting question.

I know that in some schools, there are administrators and some teachers trained on how to restrain students who become violent. There is a specific “hold” they can employ if needed. But this is only used if the student is assaulting someone. A push isn’t necessarily aggravated assault but then it depends on the strength of the push.

But I don’t think adults should “push” students back if they are pushed. It just doesn’t do anything but escalate the situation.

An adult legally cannot push anyone under the age of 18 or 17 in some states.

Yeah I’m talking about a simple push, not like smack them down to the floor push.

If a student tries that where I live they will end up in jail. It is assault. If you are old enough to ask this question on a site like fluther.com you are old enough to know better than to be contemplating pushing a teacher. Don’t do it if you are thinking you might.

I wasn’t and neither was my friend. It was just a hypothetical question

Sorry, I just assumed by the way the question was posted. It’s still illegal.

sorry for the confusion

@missingbite: your response was much more threatening to an observer than anything the “Comedian” has said.

“The ‘Comedian’” what is that supposed to mean?

I like the handle.

@“The Comedian” I’ve been called “the Pothead” on here before. I take it as a term of affection.

Ok well please don’t. I’d like to be refered to as either Comedian or Jamie. Please.

Now, back to the question

A teacher cannot push you back; however, whomever the school security/disciplinarian is can pick you up by the back of your collar and haul you off to the office, and you can end up suspended for it.

Two cases that happened in my school. An 80 yo retired teacher was subbing in a classroom when a kid started to just walk out of the room without permission. The teacher, who was 6” shorter and 50 lbs lighter, poked him in the back several times and told him to sit down. Kid tells mom that teacher touched him. Mother goes to police and demands teacher be charged with battery. The police actually came to the school and took the teacher to the station. In the end the case was laughed out of court.

Two of us were stationed at the door of the auditorium to make sure students didn’t leave without permission. A well known problem child tried to walk out and told to go back and sit down. He just walked right past us shoving me. I filed a battery complaint against him and refused to back down. He had to go through the system, pled guilty and received probation.

If anybody shoves, pushes, elbows anybody, there may be consequences.

I think it depends on the situation. One time in the cafeteria of my school, these two guys came to blows and the only way to stop them was for one of the teachers to wade in and push them away from each other. I don’t know how it would work if the student got physical with a teacher though.

Private schools, all bets are off. You waive your constitutional rights for contractural rights when you sign the student code of conduct.

It is true. jessturtle was absolutely right. No adult can have any kind of physical altercation with a minor. Unless, I assume, it would be to defend themselves against a minor who is actually attacking them. Even then, they could probably only react to the point of getting the kid off of them. Anything beyond it would get the adult in trouble.

Breaking up a fight is a completely different thing. A fight breaks out between a big sr girl and a little fr boy. Four teachers respond, 3 guys and me. Normally I wouldn’t put myself in this situation but all 3 guys grabbed the boy while the girl kept on swinging. I stepped up and started pulling her off. Th 14 yo boy and I were the only ones to actually be hit. But after a session with the Dean, both kids apologized and took suspensions. I still kid the male teachers about taking blows for them.

Why push a teacher? Why not use your words to express yourself? This is what we tell the very youngest pre-schoolers, and it seems even more relevant with older people. And to think of a teacher pushing a student back, if he was pushed, is even more bazaar. This is what language is for! Talk to each other—express your anger, your frustration, say that you have been treated badly…but physical attacks of any kind,...really!

@sk: I think everyone agrees with you, but the question wasn’t one of morality. It was a direct question about law and such.

Yes, it’s true. It’s technically assault. Even if they don’t touch you it can be assault. :)

Well, then, I would think that the law would not support a teacher pushing back a student.

Don’t forget, just because a teacher can’t legally push you, he can still push you, and you can still deserve it.

Hm, I know for a fact I had a teacher who beat the snot out of some kid that started a fight with him. I think the kid threw him into some lockers and it was on. This was high school of course, not like he was beating up on middle school aged kids True story.

This doesn’t only apply to teachers. If you came up to me and shoved me in a convenience store, I could still file a battery charge. That doesn’t mean that there would be criminal justice sanctions placed on you, as the case would be dropped by the State atty or cops in a second.

Teachers shoving students is more a concern of misconduct and abuse of power. Teachers are placed in a position of authority over minors, and are somewhat responsible for their well-being. They also want to prevent the school from getting their ass sued. These are the reasons that teachers don’t touch students, not battery charges.

The difference between a school situation and any other situation is when a student shoves, pushes, strikes etc a teacher there is a lot of pressure on the teacher to not report it,

I have been involved with a few incidents involving student injury (intentional and unintentional) to a staff member. In each of these incidents, the student was expelled from the school and charges were pressed. I have never felt pressure to not pursue legal action, that must depend on the administration. As far as a teacher, or any other adult, pushing a student, I cannot imagine a situation that would cause an adult to react so strongly to a child who he/she didn’t produce. As far as fights go, our district instructs teachers not to intervene when students are fighting, but to use words and crowd control until a staff member with restraint training arrives. This is to avoid possible injury to any adult. I know that is a pretty contentious stand (and one that often gets ignored) but that’s the policy.

Just to be clear, this isn’t really about teachers, but bus drivers

the “Comedian” has a bit of a chip on their sholder ,and if i was a bus driver and some punk kid tried too push me he would end up on the ground and with out a leg to stand on when he cried to the cops about his misfortune.