A 15-year-old junior at Flint, Michigan’s Southwestern Classical Academy faces two counts of felony assault after throwing a chair at a teacher following a disagreement with another student.
According to ABC 12, after the chair struck the teacher, she fell to the floor and remained there for several seconds. On Sept. 28, a school resource officer was called to the classroom to break up the fight between the two students, and the officer found the teacher unresponsive with a head injury.
Both students were arrested, with Superintendent Kevelin Jones writing in a letter released on Sept. 29, “I want to emphasize that the scholar involved in the incident will be held accountable according to the law and by the Flint Community Schools Student Code of Conduct. We are committed to ensuring that our schools are safe and conducive to learning for all scholars, and we take this responsibility very seriously.”
David Leyton, the prosecuting attorney of Genesee County, authorized two counts of felony assault against the student who threw the desk chair that struck the teacher.
After the event video was posted online, it was shared across Twitter/X with users commenting on the condition of schools in Michigan.
Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig posted his opinion on what ultimately created the problem, writing, “This video perfectly captures the sad state of Education in Michigan – no sense of order or direction, no respect for teachers, and worst of all, NO LEARNING. Failure to educate young Michiganders is a recipe for increased CRIME, upticks in UNEMPLOYMENT, and SOCIETAL DISORDER. Michiganders deserve better.”
The post under the account “Libs of TikTok” is filled with users whose takes are similar to Craig’s, lamenting a lack of “home training” and basic respect for others. The replies are focused on a lack of respect for teachers, which has generally been a talking point whenever events unfold that make older people uncomfortable with the actions of younger generations. That take is supported by data that correlates with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the EdWeek Research Center, a survey of 1,058 educators, principals, and school district leaders indicates that 70% of educators say that more students misbehave in their classes in 2023, up from 66% in 2021. Of course, misbehavior is different from choosing to pick up a chair and launch it at a teacher’s head, but the general point of the data is clear: Teachers feel like students are acting out more than they have in years past.
Texas Monthly asked teachers about the behavior of students post-pandemic in 2021.
Stacey Ward, who has taught fifth-grade math for 25 years in Texas’ Humble Independent School District, said of the unique demands of post-pandemic education, “The social and emotional learning that these kids don’t have is a huge stressor. They don’t know how to make friends. They don’t know how to resolve conflict. They don’t know how to apologize. They don’t know how to put certain things behind them and move on.”