THE TACKLE: Barnstable High School teacher placed on...

HYANNIS – [HN NOTES & THOUGHTS] – The first indication something had gone awry is when a parent of a Barnstable High School student messaged, “This happened at BHS today. I’m picking up my [child] shortly. A teacher tackled a student and his head hit a filing cabinet.” The parent then linked a brief video clip which apparently showed just that, a man running after a student and attempting some sort of open-field tackle that obviously didn’t work out as planned. And it sickeningly appeared the teen had just cracked his skull against the unforgiving corner of a full metal filing cabinet.

It looked really bad and my main concern was the condition of the teenage boy. Meanwhile, other parents began reaching out…

One parent messaged that her child was scared to go back to school in the morning.

People immediately began commenting on the initial HN Facebook post that included the video. Some were adamant the child only struck his knee. Others were sure he banged his head. Nobody, however, seemed to know the current condition of the child.

The comment section was reeling with conflicting information and speculation until a reliable source (who leveled with HN on the condition of anonymity) reached out. The source, who is in a position to know, stated, “That kid at the school hit his knee, not his head and he wasn’t injured at all. I know the video looks like he hit his head, but I’m positive he didn’t. He did go to the nurse for precaution, but he wasn’t hurt.”

Based on the proven integrity of this particular source, it appears that was likely the case; the child was not seriously hurt. The source has no reason to lie, is in a position to know, and would not stupidly risk the possibility of the putting out contrary information. (If, however, this information turns out to be deceptive, HN will promptly update this story… and I know this source knows that… and up to now, I have yet to hear any reliable information to the contrary.)

One source says there may have been some type of altercation between two students when the teacher intervened. While others say the two students were simply misbehaving, playing around with rulers. The majority of the FB comments seem to lean toward ‘kids goofing around with rulers.’ But at the time of this report, no information as to what actually preceded the video has been officially confirmed.

As a matter of historical perspective and experience, I attended Barnstable Public Schools during the late 1960s through the early 1980s. And some teachers in those days were openly hands-on aggressive with students. I personally had been grabbed roughly by angry teachers on several occasions, starting in kindergarten, with the last time being when a nasty-breath high school teacher buddied my shirt collar and slammed me against a wall. The guy in a teacher’s costume was at least a 250-pounder. A known heavy-handed thug. I only weighed about 130 lbs in those days. As for being handled by this rabid ape, I didn’t like it. And to this day, I strongly feel I didn’t deserve it that particular time…

… while there are a couple of other times where I probably did. And I was considered a relatively “normal,” albeit sometimes excitable boy. And other boys got handled and bounced around much worse, and more often.

In those days, boys sort of just accepted what one teacher later jokingly referred to as “wall-to-wall counseling.” And whether or not I ultimately turned out “okay” after all those years of “counseling” is still open for debate and scrutiny…

… and so life continues to roll on… whatever…

But one thing is certain, it is absolutely no longer acceptable for teachers to tackle students. In this particular case, it’s especially no longer acceptable to tackle one in a way that could have seriously injured the kid. And I wasn’t there, and I don’t know what happened… but I do know that tackling is no longer appropriate in just about every case and scenario. This is a time when we are supposed to be a more civilized, polite society. (And whether or not we are actually more civilized, also remains open for debate…)

I will say this based on my experience as a whole: I absolutely would not want to be a child these days. Despite being bounced around as a wee lad – sometimes unreasonably – I believe I felt much safer at school during the late 1960s and early 1970s when hairy knuckled teachers “maintained order.” And from what I’ve seen in today’s schools, and this from the perspective of someone with over a decade of past teaching experience, along with a Masters in Education (for what that’s worth these days), I do not believe I would feel safe as a young student these days… but that’s me. And I certainly would not feel confident in the so-called “education” I was getting… and that’s a very sad thing for me… and it’s a sad thing for a lot of souls from my particular generation and “ilk,” the “boomers” of the world… and I grieve for these youngsters and the world they are inheriting. But again, that’s me… (I’ll spare everyone from my full dissertation on what actually works… and just leave it at that.)

But regarding yesterday’s infamous tackle, that incident is still under investigation by the cops and school department.

The Barnstable School District issued a statement, it reads:

“Dear BHS Community,

At approximately 8:15 am [yesterday morning], a Barnstable High School teacher inappropriately physically intervened in a matter between two students. The teacher exhibited actions contrary to the values and expectations of Barnstable Public Schools, and has been placed on administrative leave. The incident is under investigation and BPS will take appropriate steps based on the outcome of the inquiry. We want our BHS community to know that we take this matter very seriously, and that the health and safety of our students remains our first and foremost priority.

Sincerely,
Meg Mayo-Brown”

HN will be trying to find out more about this incident. There has been no official word on what happened prior to the video. (But it’s probably safe to say at this point it did not warrant a tackle.) And anyone with firsthand knowledge of this incident is welcome to message HN privately on FB or at our direct email, rjbastille@yahoo.com … (HINT: If you’re polite and respectful, I’ll probably listen to you… I’m still sort of “old school” that way…)

Sources can be kept confidential.

Bottom line, the main takeaway from yesterday’s tackle caught on video is that in today’s culture, except possibly in extreme situations, like a school shooter, or a knifing in progress, teachers are expected to keep their filthy paws to themselves. Like it or not, it’s no longer acceptable to handle any child… at all! And looking back, I’m cool with that, only because, that even in my day, when a couple wall-to-wall bounces arguably ended up keeping me out of more trouble (at least that’s what I was told at the time), some of those violent teachers of my “yute” – the 250 pound Barnstable High School “teacher,” especially – were complete mouth-breathing morons who ended up doing way more harm than good to myself and others. (But God bless ’em and their messed up methods, wherever they are…)

* WARNING * The following brief video contains violence that may be disturbing to some viewers.

[TACKLE REPLAY – PRESS PLAY]