III. Discourse Structure
From March 2020 – June 2021, the American Psychological Association surveyed nearly 15,000
pre-K–12 teachers, administrators, school staff, and counselors about their experiences with physical
threats and attacks from students and parents. One-third of the teachers reported being threatened by
a student within the year, including verbal threats, cyberbullying, intimidation, or sexual harassment;
and 29 percent reported at least one incident from a parent. __16__
Educators, principals, and parents understand that kids are having a hard time, so it’s difficult
for them to agree on how to discipline students, how to provide them the additional support needed,
and where school districts can find the funding needed to get students the help they deserve. __17__
One way is to demand from politicians and those who control school budgets to invest in
hiring more counselors and interventionists. This would allow trained specialists to fully dedicate
their time to students, just so long as they’re not assigned to lunch duty, too.
__18__ These professionals can help build relationships with families and find organizations
that can provide services to students when they need them.
Another way is through teachers’ union. __19__ The local and state unions can help ensure
discipline policies are being followed and can advocate on educators’ behalf.
Kent Education Association (KEA) has been able to bargain for strong language in their
contract to ensure safety protocols are followed. These protocols document the number of incidents
that occur at a school. __20__ This sets in motion a series of actions to ensure educators are
supported and protected. If two or three plans to curb behavior have failed, Martin, President of
KEA, explains, the union can request that someone from the central office sit in a classroom with
all parties involved until a plan is devised.
To sum up, students experiencing hardships coupled with few school interventions or
resources can at times escalate school violence and put educators at risk. Fortunately, promising
solutions have been proposed and teachers’ unions are stepping in to help stop the attacks. 【題組】20.(AB) Still, all agree that despite the challenges, if nothing is done, the behavior issues in schools may
only get worse.
(AC) Laws that protect teachers from harassment and violence while on the job vary by state.
(AD) No students are named, just the number of incidents and the teacher.
(AE) We know suspensions or expulsions seldom amplify the school-to-prison pipeline, and then
there’s nobody at home to support the students.
(BC) Parent and community liaisons are also critical positions.
(BD) Fourteen percent of teachers said they had been victims of physical violence from students.