Morley wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:29 pm
Jersey Girl wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 5:02 pm
If you witness an incident, stop immediately and call the office. If you can possibly yank a teacher out of a classroom, do that as well but still call the office. While you are waiting for a professional to arrive, document the incident on paper (carry a pad with you or use one of the papers you copied for the teacher). Write what you saw and heard taking place, where you saw it taking place, including student names if you know them and if you don't know the students, write a description of each student involved. Date it. Time stamp it. Sign it. After a professional has arrived, take your report directly to the office. Have the office furnish you with a copy of your report.
On a lighter note and as an alternative, one way to intervene without formally intervening is to disrupt the interaction. You can do this by simply greeting the students. "Hey guys! How's it going?" and say that with a smile on your face.
If your attempt to disrupt the interaction in a positive way works and the group disperses, you still to provide written documentation of the incident (Including what you did and said when you greeted the group) and don't forget to get that copy of your report for CYA purposes.
ETA: Given the fact that I'm professionally trained and educated to employ behavior guidance techniques as well as providing methods of safe physical restraint if a situation warrants it (I'm trained to know when that is), if I were to volunteer in a public school right now, I could not use those skills in the position of volunteer. I would still have to reduce my role to providing the written documentation that I mentioned above. Know your role. Know your boundaries.
Brilliant.
Nah. Education, training, and experience. In this day and age, you could video tape the interaction but I would caution against an adult volunteer doing that because it will violate school policy with regard to photographing and in this case, video taping, students
without parent permission. Also, if you video tape, you can expect your entire phone to be searched and you might not want that to happen for whatever reason.
In my view, there's no suitable substitute for written documentation. When you put it in writing, you do it as if your report is the video tape. In my field, that type of report would equal what's called a running record. It's one form of written observations that are used for specific purposes. A running record is time consuming and difficult to keep up with, with time and experience it becomes second nature and you can do it without students knowing what you are doing.
Example: In the case of the high school students picking on another student. You've come out of the office or work room with your copy work. You can simply find a nearby table, or wall to lean against, to stop and write your documentation. You could sit on the floor with your notepad. That is to say, you do it like a fly on the wall. Students will think you're simply making a list or writing a note to yourself.
With young children, I was able to monitor conversations and make notes if I needed to, by simply standing right in front of the group with my back turned to them. If I needed to do a running record, I would station myself at a nearby location where I could see and hear the students, and create the observation. Watch, don't stare. When done discreetly, even high school students won't think that you're monitoring their conversations and interactions.
You'll have to do it in real time so you get it right and don't go from memory when you leave the scene. The report will become part of a file. Get it right the first time. It's a piece of documentation that could potentially become part of a law enforcement or social services case.
I've done documentation for social services and law enforcement, and for the courts. The courts upon request for developmental assessments in cases of children going through the adoption process.
