Teachers have certain duties to protect students on campus. A teacher’s duty of care stipulates that teachers have to take reasonable care so that children are not met with injury or harm (Elbaz, 2018). In that, the standard of care is equal to that of a reasonably-careful parent. As per current contractual agreements, some of the examples include monitoring the classroom, the playground, and the parking lot. However, there are many duties that are seen as part of the unstated agreement.
The first duty that is often invoked states that teachers should protect students from the threat of death, placing the lives of their wards over their own. Indeed, this duty has been seen done during many school shootings that have happened throughout the US (Elbaz, 2018). Teachers would often put themselves in harm’s way to protect others, and would often die in that line of duty. Another example of duty to protect involves defending students against bullies (Elbaz, 2018). This is a duty that teachers often fail in, when they mistake bullies for victims, and those who fight back – for perpetrators.
Finally, teachers have a duty to protect their students by being a role model. Many acts of violence, hate speech, and other ways to assail students can and should be prevented by the teacher taking a firm stance against them. Since students look up to teachers for guidance, they would be less likely to endorse violent and destructive beliefs if their role model is against them (Elbaz, 2018). Likewise, students should see their teacher as a bulwark, and a safe person to come to and relate their worries and fears. In essence, a teacher is a second parent, and should accomplish most, if not all of their protection duties.
Reference
Elbaz, F. (2018). Teacher thinking: A study of practical knowledge. Routledge.