Weight training for teachers and prison guards

[Patrick Fa]

Not long ago, I saw an ad for a teacher at a new school. It
turns out that the school will be working with the local court
system, and most of the students will be juvenile delinquents.
Intrigued, I sent in my resume, and soon found myself
interviewing.

The principal seemed impressed with me, but somewhat concerned
about my lack of background in dealing with discipline
problems. I've never taught in an environment where anyone
gave me much trouble. He wasn't sure how I'd do in a classroom
full of teenagers who greatly resent authority.

One solution is to look into Thomas Gordon's Teacher
Effectiveness Training. Another--and I'm only partly
kidding--is to modify my weight-training routine to fit the
job.

I could go for a Ken Shamrock look (
http://www.tuttowrestling.com/ken4.jpg ), big and ripped. Or I
could leave out the cutting cycle and just go for "big," like
Tank Abbott:
http://www.catchclub.com/catch/Images/TankAbott/04.jpg . Or I
could forget about the aesthetic issues and set performance
goals, as an Olympic judo player would.

The whole question may be moot. I received a call last night
saying that the project was on hold, apparently for lack of
funding. But I never stopped considering a question just
because it was moot. What do you think? If you had to deal
with a room full of violent, angry young men, how would you
prepare for it?

Patrick Falcon

[Lee Michae]

"Patrick Falcon" <falconeyes29@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ks3du0lvqnpltd8bkn5k747bnhtkv9188n@4ax.com...
> Not long ago, I saw an ad for a teacher at a new school. It
> turns out that the school will be working with the local
> court system, and most of the students will be juvenile
> delinquents. Intrigued, I sent in my resume, and soon found
> myself interviewing.
>
> The principal seemed impressed with me, but somewhat
> concerned about my lack of background in dealing with
> discipline problems. I've never taught in an environment
> where anyone gave me much trouble. He wasn't sure how I'd do
> in a classroom full of teenagers who greatly resent
> authority.
>
> One solution is to look into Thomas Gordon's Teacher
> Effectiveness Training. Another--and I'm only partly
> kidding--is to modify my weight-training routine to fit
> the job.
>
> I could go for a Ken Shamrock look (
> http://www.tuttowrestling.com/ken4.jpg ), big and ripped. Or
> I could leave out the cutting cycle and just go for "big,"
> like Tank Abbott:
> http://www.catchclub.com/catch/Images/TankAbott/04.jpg . Or
> I could forget about the aesthetic issues and set
> performance goals, as an Olympic judo player would.
>
> The whole question may be moot. I received a call last night
> saying that the project was on hold, apparently for lack of
> funding. But I never stopped considering a question just
> because it was moot. What do you think? If you had to deal
> with a room full of violent, angry young men, how would you
> prepare for it?
>
> Patrick Falcon

I hac a friend of mine who taught at a state facility for the
worst juvenile offenders for the entire state. If they
couldn't control you at the local level, you got sent to the
"hellhole". He was hired as a teacher with no credentials as a
teacher cuz they couldn't get anybody with a teacher's
credentials to go into the place.

And to make it even stranger, he was not particularly big
or strong.

What he did was to make friends with about three of the
"leaders" of this pack. Over time, he became the one guy in
the place who could find out who did things and head off
trouble. Just good old communication skills. Of course, this
guy could talk to horses and animals too. He was a
communicator.

And he never successfully taught anybody else to do it.

[Larry Hodg]

Patrick Falcon wrote:
> Not long ago, I saw an ad for a teacher at a new school. It
> turns out that the school will be working with the local
> court system, and most of the students will be juvenile
> delinquents. Intrigued, I sent in my resume, and soon found
> myself interviewing.
>
> The principal seemed impressed with me, but somewhat
> concerned about my lack of background in dealing with
> discipline problems. I've never taught in an environment
> where anyone gave me much trouble. He wasn't sure how I'd do
> in a classroom full of teenagers who greatly resent
> authority.
>
> One solution is to look into Thomas Gordon's Teacher
> Effectiveness Training. Another--and I'm only partly
> kidding--is to modify my weight-training routine to fit
> the job.
>
> I could go for a Ken Shamrock look (
> http://www.tuttowrestling.com/ken4.jpg ), big and ripped. Or
> I could leave out the cutting cycle and just go for "big,"
> like Tank Abbott:
> http://www.catchclub.com/catch/Images/TankAbott/04.jpg . Or
> I could forget about the aesthetic issues and set
> performance goals, as an Olympic judo player would.
>
> The whole question may be moot. I received a call last night
> saying that the project was on hold, apparently for lack of
> funding. But I never stopped considering a question just
> because it was moot. What do you think? If you had to deal
> with a room full of violent, angry young men, how would you
> prepare for it?
>
> Patrick Falcon

I'm ok at communication. But when that doesn't work, fighting
skills are handy to have. Even if you don't hit the other guy,
at the very least you'll be able to protect yourself in the
event you're attacked. Three years ago, I had a guy out of the
blue throw a punch at my face. There were other issues that
led up to it of course. He was a guy that shared office space
with me, and we had a disagreement about something that day,
and he just turned around and fired a crosshand to my face.
All I did was block
it. It was nothing I expected, and my blocking was simply
pure instinct and reaction. But I broke / injured his
thumb in so doing, which immediately ended the
confrontation. To this day, I can hear the loud crack of
his thumb and it still creeps me out.

By the time I saw it coming, it was half way to my face and my
hands were at my sides. Even so, I blocked so fast, it
surprised me. There was no time to think. Without training,
there was no way I could've blocked it. What made it instinct
and reaction was my training. I didn't have to think about it,
or even how to block it. It just happened.

In conclusion, knowing I can defend myself allows me to relax
and concentrate on communicating in a given confrontation. I
have calmed many situations simply with that.
--
-Larry

[Delenn]

Patrick Falcon wrote:

> The whole question may be moot. I received a call last night
> saying that the project was on hold, apparently for lack of
> funding. But I never stopped considering a question just
> because it was moot. What do you think? If you had to deal
> with a room full of violent, angry young men, how would you
> prepare for it?

Martial arts training. It's partly psychological: look calm,
confident, and know you can throw/block them (depending on
what you train in.)

I think this is an interesting puzzle, too. We've got a
half-way house in town for sexually inappropriate boys (i.e.,
child rapists who are still teen-agers) and I know a couple of
people who work with them. My take is that projecting an
attitude of "there's no shit you can shovel at me that I can't
take" is a good idea.

Wendy

[zaraelbeda]

I taught for five years at a max secure juvenile (male)
facility in New York State. I also worked for two years
prior to that as a Cadet Leader in a Juvenile Boot Camp. I
agree that you find the leader of the group and once you
have him most things will fall into place. However, unless
you have experience in determining who is indeed the leader,
it may take awhile. Much of the time it is the quietest one
of the group. They give orders, the "soldiers" carry them
out and unless you are the wiser, you will not be able to
pick him out.

The most important thing is to be firm, fair and consistant.
You need a sense of humor and don't show "brute force". They
will just keep trying to prove to you that they are tougher
than you. That's for the Youth Aides to deal with. Of course
defend yourself, however, child abuse laws and assault do
apply to you as well as the youth.

I found that perception worked in my favor. My students knew I
was in the Army (I taught History and would talk about
countries I lived in and visited while in the Service) and at
that time was in the Army National Guard. I am tall for a
female and stayed in shape. I knew a smattering of Spanish.
When I pronounced a Hispanic students name I did what I always
do with Spanish, I use a Spanish accent. The students
"presumed" I knew alot of Spanish and was proficient in
hand-to-hand combat. When they asked if I knew Spanish I would
not lie. (Never lie). I would deny being fluent in Spanish
(the truth) but say it in a way which they think you are
kidding them and that you do. It's just
psychology. It doesn't work with all the residents but if you
get the respect from some it tends to effect others. You
have to be firm in your voice but not loud and angry and
certainly don't act like you are better than they are.
You'll be tested over and over for months by these kids.
They will do the fake lunge toward you when they are walking
by just to see if you "jump". Always keep an eye on your
surroundings and never get so comfortable with any of them
so that you let your guard down. There is a book called
"Games That Criminals Play" that you and anyone else who
plans to work with inmates or juvenile offenders no matter
if it's teaching or as a CO or cook in a correctional
facility. It will save you alot of grief.

Zara

[Patrick Fa]

On 13 Jan 2005 10:10:43 -0800, zaraelbedawi62@yahoo.com wrote:

>I taught for five years at a max secure juvenile (male)
>facility in New York State. I also worked for two years
>prior to that as a Cadet Leader in a Juvenile Boot Camp. I
>agree that you find the leader of the group and once you
>have him most things will fall into place. However, unless
>you have experience in determining who is indeed the leader,
>it may take awhile. Much of the time it is the quietest one
>of the group. They give orders, the "soldiers" carry them
>out and unless you are the wiser, you will not be able to
>pick him out.

That may be part of why Lee's friend found it difficult to
teach others his own methods. Perhaps they were trying the
methods on the wrong people? I don't know, obviously, but both
you and Lee have given me some good points to consider.

>
>The most important thing is to be firm, fair and consistant.
>You need a sense of humor and don't show "brute force". They
>will just keep trying to prove to you that they are tougher
>than you. That's for the Youth Aides to deal with.

The principal mentioned the aides, but we didn't have a lot of
time in the first interview to discuss their role. That was on
my list of things to discuss next time.

Of course defend yourself, however, child abuse
>laws and assault do apply to you as well as the youth.

Right. I'm hoping I can avoid physical confrontation entirely.

>
<snip>

There is a book called "Games That Criminals
>Play" that you and anyone else who plans to work with
>inmates or juvenile offenders no matter if it's teaching or
>as a CO or cook in a correctional facility. It will save you
>alot of grief.
>
>Zara

I'll look into it. Thanks!

Patrick Falcon

[Curt James]

Larry Hodges wrote: (snipped here and there)
> Patrick Falcon wrote:
> > Not long ago, I saw an ad for a teacher at a new school.

> > classroom full of teenagers who greatly resent authority.

> > If you had to deal with a room full of violent, angry
> > young men, how would you prepare for it?

> I had a guy out of the blue throw a punch at my face.

> All I did was block it. But I broke / injured his thumb in
> so doing, which immediately ended the confrontation.

And he didn't sue you?

Amazing.

I teach in an elementary school, but the upper grade level is
currently 7th grade. Our school services emotional support
students whose behavior can be volatile. My strategy includes
patience and a healthy sense of humor.

If a child is given the opportunity to cool down things often
can turn from ugly to pretty fairly quickly. The wrong move is
to keep pushing when a student is in a foul state of mind.

*Pick your battles* is always good advice.
--
Curt http://curtjames.com/

[Lucas Buck]

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 12:24:23 -0500, Delenn
<Delenn@whoever.com> wrote:

>Patrick Falcon wrote:
>
>> The whole question may be moot. I received a call last
>> night saying that the project was on hold, apparently for
>> lack of funding. But I never stopped considering a question
>> just because it was moot. What do you think? If you had to
>> deal with a room full of violent, angry young men, how
>> would you prepare for it?
>
>Martial arts training. It's partly psychological: look calm,
>confident, and know you can throw/block them (depending on
>what you train in.)
>
>I think this is an interesting puzzle, too. We've got a
>half-way house in town for sexually inappropriate boys (i.e.,
>child rapists who are still teen-agers)

Ah, love that liberal spin.

Rape of underage girls is merely "sexually inappropriate".

Why not just call it the Halfway House for Girls Who Won't Go
All the Way ?

($1 to Jim Stafford)