Fight!

Today was one of those days that you dread as a teacher . . . the day when you walk out of your room and see a larger than normal crowd and they're all looking in the same direction.   Uh oh.  Fight.

Students who normally have a difficult time bringing a pencil to class are able to make a perfect impenetrable circle in mere moments when a fight breaks out.   As a teacher, trying to pentrate this circle involves pushing students aside and praying you don't get sued for "touching" them.  Then  you get to the actual fight where the thought again becomes, "What can I do to stop this and not get sued?" 

And that's what happened today.  As a small female teacher, penetrating the circle was hard enough.  When I then got to the center of the circle, there was another female teacher trying to separate two boys who were rolling around on the ground punching each other and bleeding all over the place.  I grabbed the student that was closest to me by his shirt and with the help of a student, was able to drag him away.  The other teacher did the same with the help of a student. 

This makes me wonder several things.  Why is the punishment for fighting not being carted out in cuffs and charged with assault?  Why do we not make the punishment for fighting more severe so that fights don't happen every other week?  Does my employer not care if I get injured breaking up these bi-weekly fights?  How has the school not been sued by a student or staff member injured in the fight?  Why, when 200+ students are standing around, do only two students help break up the fight and zero students go get another adult?  Why are the bus routes arranged such that several hundred students stand around outside for 15-30 minutes?  Why are there no administrators out with bus duty? 

That was the second fight I've had to break up in my career.  I hope it's the last.