Substitute Teachers Lounge
Substitute Teachers Lounge
When a Student Gets Hurt on Your Substitute Teacher Watch
What happens when a seemingly ordinary day in the classroom turns into a lesson in responsibility and maturity for everyone involved? As I recount an unexpected incident from my experience as a substitute teacher, you'll uncover the critical moments that tested both my role and the students' readiness for high school. One poor decision led to a student getting injured, and with the sudden turn of events, I was left to reevaluate my approach to ensuring a safe and respectful environment. Listen as I share the emotional impact and the tough conversations that followed.
Greg Collins. Substitute Teachers Lounge, episode 270. It is October 22, 2024. A little somber today. The episode is going to be about one of my worst experiences in the classroom, the worst experience in the classroom that happened to me relatively recently. I almost came home that very night and recorded, but I changed my mind because I'm one of those that feels like when you're still emotional about something, it's probably not the best time. So I took a while to think about it. But today we're going to. I mean, my day had gone perfectly for six hours and 55 minutes. It's those five minutes where one student just made the bad decision to do something wrong that resulted in another student's injury, and it happened on my watch. Substitute Teacher's Loud.
Greg:All right, we're going to talk about several different parts of this situation. We're going to talk about several different parts of this situation. We're going to talk about what happened. We're going to talk about was I responsible? We're going to talk about what changes, if any, I'll do in the future to try to keep it from happening again. We're going to talk about the aftermath, right after it happened.
Greg:This happened to happen if that's a proper use of words in the middle of a day in which my very next period was the planning period. So, in a way, that kind of made it worse, because I had to let that stew in my mind for an hour, although had I been with students right after it happened, that might've been worse, because I might not have been the type of substitute teacher that would have been proper for them at that moment. In fact, the later classes had heard about it and I'll tell you. I guess it's going to make more sense if I just start from the beginning. Okay, I had subbed for this class more than once and, as I said, it was a good day. I always tell the teacher at the end of the day. You know, I'll leave a note for them to tell them who I thought my favorite class of was today. Ironically, maybe I'm doing this in a manner in which I shouldn't, but a lot of times when I hear a class is the worst class of the day from the other students, well then I kind of go out of my way to try and make them the best. And that's what happened here. I chose a class that may not have been the best, but they were my favorite because I could tell they had potential to be bad when they came in and they actually by far improved more than anybody, in fact, even outside of their misbehavior. I didn't have any misbehavior, but their misbehavior people thought they would misbehave Reputation that's the word I was looking for. Would misbehave Reputation that's the word I was looking for their misbehavior reputation. They immediately got down to work so they had more room to grow than anybody else, and they did so. They were my favorite class of the day.
Greg:Before that, right after this, was a day in which I was taking all students to the library and the librarian was working with them, and when we came back to class he dismissed us five minutes before the end of the bell so that the students could come back and get their stuff together. So we got back to the classroom with maybe three minutes left. Now what I could have done is said sit down and be quiet for three minutes. Well, I'm not like that. I'm going to let them talk to their friends for three minutes. I mean, it was only three minutes. In that three minutes, one student decided apparently now a cap or something hard enough that it hit another student, made that student's cheek bleed I think there was a combination of marker color and I think, blood on the face, water in their eyes. They were trying their best not to cry, but I could tell there was an injury. I had that student go to the nurse immediately.
Greg:I made everybody sit down and then I lectured them a little bit from the standpoint at that moment, at that moment in time of how can you let yourself get so out of control that you let this happen in the three minutes. And I was like how can you let yourself get so out of control that you let this happen in the three minutes. And I told them that's why teachers want you to sit in your desk until the very last minute of class, because you guys can't control yourself for three minutes. Now I've also told them and this is true. I said now I'm not speaking to everybody. In fact I told every class this.
Greg:After that, even though most of them did not fall into this situation, I said listen, guys, I teach at every. This was in eighth grade. I teach at every eighth grade. In the county there's several eighth grade what is there like five, I think and I said you've got more, more immature students than the other eighth grade and it's something you really need to work on. You're going to high school next year. You're going to a good high school, the school that I teach at most often, and I know they've got great students there they always have, and I talked to them a little bit about that. I wouldn't let them go until I heard from the nurse and in fact what happened was the nurse called down to the room. I told them I didn't witness it and they told them to stay in their seats and basically what we did at that point since I didn't see it and none of the students were going to admit it or, at least at that moment, tell on their friends Well, we closed the class down, made them stay there for about 30 minutes, I would say, in fact, I would say at least 30 minutes, so that the principals could come down and interview everyone.
Greg:You know this is going to sound so corny. I, for whatever reason I saw an old advertisement I probably saw it on a Facebook page where it was talking about the Waltons, the old country series that was very popular in the 70s. It was based on the time around the Great Depression and how poor everybody was. The family was so close and I told somebody later. I said boy, it sure makes me think what in the world happened to families or to kids. I know, if I was a kid at this time and I did this, I might have done something stupid as this, but I would have felt so guilty about that person's injury I would have admitted it, I would apologize, I would take whatever punishment I deserved when I got home, through both the school and the home and I don't know. That's just my aside to this. So I lectured them. It wasn't harsh, but I told them. I said listen, guys, every one of you is getting interviewed. I had a student in my mind about that. I thought, maybe who did it? Obviously I couldn't just say they did it.
Greg:I talked to the students about circumstantial evidence. You know the the best it's when you don't see a crime but there's evidence that leads you to a person. The example I've heard that's given most often in a crime scene is if they find a glove at a crime scene and then they're interviewing a suspect in their home and they see the same opposite glove there, but just one glove. Well, that's pretty strong circumstantial evidence. I felt like I had enough circumstantial evidence for this kid to think that they did it.
Greg:One of the pieces was when they were in the library. This student that I think did it was playing with the cap of a marker and was making noise with it. So I took it away from them but I gave it back to him at the end of class. In fact I couldn't help but think, man, if I just kept it, maybe this wouldn't have happened, but anyway, so that's one reason that led me there. I noticed that the principals were interviewing students, two by two, basically, and I noticed when one student came back in and sat down, he sat down next to the student that I suspected, and that student leaned over to him and I'm sure he was one. I shouldn't say sure, I'm not sure. How could I be sure? I'm guessing that he was probably wanting to know what did you tell him? But the student that had just come back in was looking right at me and he knew that if he said something that I would see them talking. I told them later. I said listen, don't talk about this. In fact, when it was all over, even the principal said I know it's tough, but you are not allowed to talk about this when you leave the room for the rest of the day. Okay, now, I'm glad I didn't record the episode that very evening when it happened, because I wouldn't have thought about this.
Greg:A couple of things I want to say about the whoever threw the marker. I won't even call him the suspect, but whoever threw the marker bad judgment on that student's part. Did he mean to hurt the other student? No, in fact I'll even say it this way had it happened in class and I did see it and all that happened was that student threw the marker, would I have reprimanded him? Of course I would have. Would I have reprimanded him more sharply if it hit somebody? I probably would have. I mean, the thing that that student did wrong was to throw the marker. The result was the injury. I mean it could have hit the wall. It just happened to hit another student. I mean it could have hit the wall. It just happened to hit another student, this student also. If it's the person that I'm suspecting, they probably didn't do any work the time I was there, no matter how many times I came back to their desk. I will also say that that student spent the most time with the principals. Don't know if they concluded that it was that person. I also spoke to the injured person.
Greg:After we finally let the class go, I went down the hallway to use the restroom, came back and she was in there and she looked up at me and smiled and said I came back to get my stuff. Her face was cleaned up. I'm not sure how much injury. I couldn't tell how much, how bad the injury was. To be honest, I didn't even see a scratch at that moment, but I'm sure at best there's going to be bruising and that kind of thing. She was so friendly I almost I felt it was one of my kids. I would have hugged her. I felt like she just needed a hug, but I decided against that because you just never know. And while my lunch was right.
Greg:After that, and eventually this last student that was interviewed came back in and if that student was the culprit, they were very friendly, they spoke to me and they left the rest of the day. The very next class I had one student one student that's just spouts off at everything came back in and said hey, I heard somebody got their eye put out in the other period. Well, obviously that didn't happen. So that just tells you that. In the matter of what would that have been? Not even an hour. Probably that's the story that's going around.
Greg:And I told him listen. I said I don't get in a bad mood often, but I'm in a bad mood today because somebody got hurt and it was while I was in the room and I don't feel very good about it and I just wanted them to know. I told both periods Both periods already knew they expected me to maybe be a little. I wouldn't characterize myself as upset, in fact I joked around with them just like I always did. I said something wrong and one of them said around with them just like I always did. I said something wrong and one of them said something like I do, very sarcastic, and I sarcastically said shut up, I wish I hadn't. But they knew I was saying it comically, so they rolled their eyes and then they looked up and laughed. That's the what of what happened.
Greg:I talked to the kids that had to stay over in that period about various different things and just, you see, you got to be honest in life. If for no other reason, to protect yourself. You know, who knows that if everybody took up for this guilty student and didn't tell the truth about what they saw, well, who knows if they come back later and think you did it. I'm not saying that I like in fact I joke that I don't like snitches but when you're being asked a question directly, you need to answer it honestly. Now, with all that said, that was probably my most miserable day.
Greg:I won't go back to that school for a while. I don't go to it very often. Anyway, I've got weird reasons why I'll blame a little bit on the parking. I'm not crazy about the parking situation. That's not fair to that school. But you know I've got seven other schools I can go to, some of which, most of which, if they need me, will text me in advance. I don't actually, I have to seek it out. I sought out this class Teacher had to be with somebody or had an appointment, and in fact I know she did, because the students told me that she was visiting her mother. And I said well, I know this teacher. I always liked this teacher when she was at the other school, didn't even realize she was at this school. Now I'm going to go sub for her.
Greg:I kind of like to at least make an appearance or two in every school. Well, I did so. What would I do differently? First of all, was it my fault? Well, no and yes, did I throw the marker? No, should I have been able to see what happened? Probably I was having conversations with other students closer to the door. Maybe even some of you say it wasn't your fault.
Greg:I will tell the students often and I guess leaning back in the chairs is when I say it most often I will tell them don't lean back in your chairs, because if you get hurt, if you bang your head on the wall, if you bang your head on the floor, if you twist your ankle on the way down, well that's my fault. I should have told you to put your chair down. So to that degree I will accept fault here. It happened on my watch. So since I personally, I don't think the school blames me. I blame myself because there are some things that I could have done.
Greg:Here's what I'm going to do in the future. There are plenty of teachers out there not the majority, this is the minority but plenty of teachers out there that make their students stay in their chair until the bell rings. I know some teachers I've met. They won't even let them leave when the bell rings until they say okay, kids, look around, make sure everything's picked up. He'll wait a few minutes and then he'll say all right, you all can leave. That's probably the main thing that I'll change. I'll I will tell students from now on stay in your chairs.
Greg:I might even use this as an example. I said you know, when I let a class not stay in their chairs at the end of class, an injury happened. For that reason, I don't want that to happen again. It was an accidental injury. Even though it happened because a student made a bad decision, I am still going to start making students not congregate, not move from their chairs until the bell rings.
Greg:That could have prevented this. I hope it prevents it in the future and that's the main thing I'm going to change. I hope this never happens to you. I hope it never happens to me again. I'm going to try to keep it from happening to me again, because it is a miserable feeling. There is a student in that room that left the room in a more hurt condition than they walked in. Sometimes that can happen with words too. It doesn't just happen to be something physical. But we as substitute teachers need to do our best. Those kids, we have those kids in our possession for an hour each day, and we should put whatever measures we can in effect to keep bad stuff from happening again.
