6 in 10 teachers experienced physical violence or verbal aggression during COVID

6 in 10 teachers experienced physical violence or verbal aggression¹ during COVID

Transcript²

A new study suggests that violence against school personnel is greater than previously³ thought.

Hanna Barczyk for NPR

Tonya Shonkwiler, a special education teacher in Montana, remembers the moment she realized she had to leave her last job.

A high school student, taller and stronger than her, who was "working through lots of significant behaviors," had just hit her in the nose. She was in the hallway, holding the door shut on the student – following his behavior plan – and trying to compose herself, as her nose bled.

At that moment, an administrator⁴ walked by.

"He's like, 'Are you OK?' I'm like 'I'm fine!' – crying and holding the door, not really communicating my needs. [Teachers are] not good at that. And he was like, 'OK!' And he just kept walking. Clearly, I'm not OK. Right? Clearly, I needed help."

The school district did not respond to requests for comment.

Educators are taking blows from all sides, and they sometimes feel like no one is hearing them. That is the key finding of a big, new COVID-19-era survey from an American Psychological Association task force. Responses, collected between July 2020 and June 2021, came from nearly 15,000 school personnel – from psychologists to bus drivers – in all 50 states. On Thursday, Shonkwiler told her story to members of Congress and the task force briefed lawmakers.

As part of the survey, educators contributed around 7,000 written responses, says Ron Avi Astor, a school safety researcher at UCLA and a member of the task force.

"I read every single one of those 7,000. I had to stop every 20 minutes just tearing up and crying, how powerful they were."

Here are some of the task force's key findings.

Overall, 59% of teachers, 58% of administrators⁵, 48% of support staff and 38% of school psychologists and social workers reported being victimized in some way while at work.

When it came to physical violence, support staff – like school resource officers, aides and even bus drivers – were the most likely to report physical aggression. More than 99% of the aggressors were students.

Specifically, 22% of staff, 18% of school psychologists and school social workers, 15% of administrators and 14% of teachers reported acts of violence such as what Tonya Shonkwiler experienced. Notably⁶, the survey asked about incidents during the early phases of the pandemic, when large numbers of schools were remote or hybrid⁷. This meant less in-person contact. So the task force members believe the survey may actually understate the true prevalence of violence.

Children act out physically⁸ when their needs aren't being met

Shonkwiler, the experts and the respondents to the survey were clear that children act out physically when they have significant needs that aren't being met, perhaps because they have trouble communicating them.

"Most kids aren't being violent because they're choosing to," says Shonkwiler. "There is an underlying⁹ need that we have to get to."

Linda Reddy, a school psychology¹⁰ professor at Rutgers University, and a member of the task force, says the solution is not in punishing individuals.

Most kids aren't being violent because they're choosing to. There is an underlying need that we have to get to.

Tonya Shonkwiler, special education teacher

"Violence against teachers – it's an organizational system health problem. This is a public health issue," she says. The answer lies in "training teachers and supporting teachers on how to use research-based practices."

This includes evaluating children for special education services and interventions¹¹ in a timely way. As it stands, it can take months for a student who is acting¹² out in class to get the help they need, survey respondents told the task force.

Then, specialists create a behavior plan, but that's just the first step. Everyone in the building needs to be trained and confident on how to follow those plans, Reddy explains. Shonkwiler says, in her experience, educators, especially in rural areas, often lack training.

The task force speculated that staff members, including police officers, reported experiencing violence more often than teachers precisely¹³ because they are called into tense situations and don't know the best way to de-escalate.

Shonkwiler and other survey respondents said the number of disruptions has gotten worse during the pandemic. Children came back to school with missed learning, rusty¹⁴ social skills and sometimes trauma¹⁵ from being in unsafe homes.

"Everybody kind of had to come back and learn, 'OK, what does it mean to be a student again'?" Shonkwiler says.

Verbal aggression is more likely to come from parents

Verbal aggression, the task force members agreed, is in some ways an even tougher issue to manage. That's because it's very often coming from parents.

The survey's definition of verbal aggression goes far beyond an unpleasant conversation. It asked about threats, slurs¹⁶, bullying¹⁷, online harassment¹⁸ and sexual harassment.

Administrators were the ones most often caught in the crossfire¹⁹: 42% said they experienced this behavior from parents, while 37% said they got it from students.

Meanwhile, 33% of teachers reported verbal aggression from students, and 29% from parents.

Sara Foppiano, a high school teacher in Washington state who was not part of the survey, says the hostility²⁰ from parents and other community members is the worst she's seen in a decade of teaching.

"I don't get paid enough to put up with this kind of verbal abuse," she says. "I don't know how much longer I can really exist in a space where I'm constantly being attacked, but I also need to do you know, 'the customer is always right' kind of response and just sit and take it because I'm a teacher."

I don't get paid enough to put up with this kind of verbal abuse. I don't know how much longer I can really exist in a space where I'm constantly being attacked, but I also need to do you know, 'the customer is always right' kind of response and just sit and take it because I'm a teacher.

Sara Foppiano, high school teacher

She thinks Zoom²¹ school made things worse, because parents can walk by, overhear and take things out of context. "It's like they're looking over my shoulder and auditing²² how I do my job."

A parent complained about her Black Lives Matter t-shirt. Parents rejected her requests that students follow the mask policy. Another parent berated²³ her on the phone for more than 20 minutes after she called to do a routine welfare check on a student who wasn't handing in assignments.

"After that phone call, I went and cried in a colleague's office for a little while. And then when I got back to my classroom, I had a missed call from my administrator because that parent had then hung up with me and immediately called the administrator to report me for targeting their child."

Reddy, at Rutgers, observes that everyone in the school community is carrying a lot of stress right now, and teachers and administrators may be ending up as dumping grounds.

"The level of mental health needs for school personnel, children and of course parents is at the highest level it's probably been in this country. And the pandemic ... has highlighted the inequities and also the mental health needs that are being not addressed for families and communities and schools."

How lawmakers can help

Task force recommendations often boil down to asking Congress for more money, and this is no exception. APA's task force and its partners – including two national teacher unions, the National Association of School Psychologists, the National Association of Social Workers and the School Social Work Association of America –

backed several bills that have to do with educator training, as well as supplementing payand replacing education jobs lost to COVID-19 budget cuts.

They also endorsed²⁴ a House bill, called the "Comprehensive Mental Health In Schools Pilot Program Act," which would fund things like restorative justice and social-emotional learning programs.

Ron Avi Astor at UCLA says that he wants to do more research on the approximately one-fifth of schools where people reported no ongoing²⁵ problems with violence, verbal or physical.

"We spend almost no time talking about positive places that have had obstacles and overcome them ... We could learn a whole lot from those places too."

In the meantime, an increasingly harried²⁶ workforce²⁷ of educators will keep going the best they can, until they can't take it anymore. Shonkwiler transferred to a different position at a middle school two years ago. Foppiano put in her resignation in January.

1 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

5 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

6 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

7 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

11 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

14 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

15 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

16 slurs   

含糊的发音( slur的名词复数 )； 玷污； 连奏线； 连唱线

参考例句：

• One should keep one's reputation free from all slurs. 人应该保持名誉不受责备。
• Racial slurs, racial jokes, all having to do with being Asian. 种族主义辱骂，种族笑话，都是跟亚裔有关的。

17 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

19 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

20 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

21 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

22 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。

23 berated   

v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marion berated Joe for the noise he made. 玛丽昂严厉斥责乔吵吵闹闹。 来自辞典例句
• It berated Mussolini for selling out to Berlin. 它严厉谴责了墨索里尼背叛、投靠柏林的行径。 来自辞典例句

24 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

26 harried   

v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰

参考例句：

• She has been harried by the press all week. 整个星期她都受到新闻界的不断烦扰。
• The soldiers harried the enemy out of the country. 士兵们不断作骚扰性的攻击直至把敌人赶出国境为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。