Teacher Worries For Her Safety After Student With ‘Severe Behavior Issues’ Learns Where She Lives — ‘I’ll Never Answer A Knock Again’
"I'm mentally preparing for kids to show up at my door."
Lightfield Studios / Shutterstock.com In a recent post to the “Teachers” forum on Reddit, a teacher revealed she’s been grappling with a safety concern. Not in the classroom, but rather outside — in her own home.
After she was spotted leaving her duplex by several students, including one with behavioral issues, she asked fellow teachers if she had cause for concern.
A teacher is worried after a student with ‘severe behavior issues’ and her friends saw her leaving her duplex.
“Changing a lot of details to stay anonymous,” the teacher started in her post. “Essentially, [some of my students] saw me walking out of my apartment. My only advantage is that I live in a duplex, and they don't know which half I live in.”
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For teachers, the line between personal and professional life can get blurry, especially when you’re living and working in the same community. You’re a huge part of your students' lives, and vice versa, so it can be difficult to separate the identity of yourself from your occupation. You see kids at the grocery store, at football games, and even at community events.
It’s why many teachers opt to live outside their districts, something this teacher said she doesn’t have the luxury to do. Now, she's hoping it doesn't become a safety concern.
Knowing it’s ‘not ideal’ to live where she teaches, she’s even more concerned about kids’ ‘gossiping’ about her address.
She explained, “I live in the town where I teach. I am aware this is not ideal, but every surrounding town does not have affordable housing, so I am kinda stuck here. I would much rather live out of town, but the next closest affordable place is about an hour away.”
Admitting that her students have some “pretty serious behavior issues” alongside a tendency to gossip, she can’t help but worry that her address will become common knowledge among classmates.
"I am mentally preparing myself for kids to show up at my door. Best responses? Should I sneak out the back door and never return? I will probably never answer a knock again."
While most students with behavioral problems tend to focus their antics within school walls, there are stories that stick with many professionals about their safety at home.
Many teachers have been victims of student stalking, or even worse, once they leave school, serving as an unfortunate reminder of the potential for safety issues in their personal lives.
For students in high school who are becoming adults and dealing with complex and heightened emotions, teachers can feel uneasy enforcing consequences, especially if there’s a history of misbehavior. It’s exactly why it’s so important for districts to invest in counselors and behavior professionals — teachers shouldn’t need to bear the burden of severe behavior problems in classes.
Thankfully, most teacher commenters assured her that while living in your school district can be annoying, it’s often not as big of a safety risk as it might seem.
“Worked in a terrible school with at-risk youth. I taught current gang members, witnessed crimes, and dealt with the ‘worst’ of my community. All while living in a house walking distance from one of the schools I taught,” one teacher shared. “I have never been the victim of a targeted conflict. I have paid former students handsomely to water my garden when out of town… At the end of the day, we are members of our community.”
Other teachers calmed her nerves, admitting they’ve never truly had poor experiences with students in similar situations.
Other teachers wholeheartedly agreed, sharing that their student neighbors were not a safety concern. Ultimately, setting clear boundaries helped to eliminate privacy concerns.
While the teacher updated the post, admitting that she’d “slept on it” and felt a lot better about her initial concerns, many teachers offered tips in case a student was to actually pay her a visit.
“Odds are, 99% of your students will never come by your apartment and bug you. That 1% that will, will probably be the behavior issue kids. If it were me, I would answer the door and tell them to leave me alone. If they didn't, I'd call the police and have the cops deal with it. It's not a school matter once it reaches your front door,” one wrote.
At the end of the day, no matter how unfortunate and “wrong” it may be, this is the reality many school professionals deal with — their safety is their number one priority. Especially in circumstances where their administrators won’t be able to protect them, they have to do what’s best in their own homes.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.