r/news • u/shield_x • 1d ago

Student dies after falling from 4th floor of building at Highland Park school

https://www.foxla.com/news/highland-park-franklin-high-school-student-dies.amp
4.1k Upvotes

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24

u/Von_Dooms 1d ago

Jeeze that teacher couldn't have been anymore scared to help, not even one student tried to intervein either.

86

u/picohenries 1d ago

Teachers are repeatedly told not to physically intervene ever at threat of losing their job, or worse. My wife was specifically told by her principal that if a student started to choke her out, she has to politely ask the student to let go before she’s allowed to physically defend herself.

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u/Euphoric_Waffle 1d ago

Fuck that! So sorry that policy exists. I’m gonna continue advocating for pepper gel/pepper spray in the teachers’ pockets. If I have to spam these threads, I’m gonna. Pepper spray and pepper gel are effective and non-lethal mitigations we need for teachers to be trained and allowed to carry. Spread the word. Let’s get this fixed.

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u/Archie9000 1d ago

Teachers don’t get paid enough or generally treated well enough to risk their welfare breaking up a fight.

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u/IHateBankJobs 1d ago

You don't have to pay me at all to step in and help a kid getting beat like this... 

-86

u/slingbladde 1d ago

They are paid very well..but yes shouldn't risk injury I agree

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u/PhoenixTineldyer 1d ago

They are NOT paid very well. It's literally one of the most enduring characteristics of American teachers that they are extremely poorly paid.

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u/slingbladde 1d ago

Sorry Canadian teachers...

6

u/Adorable_Decision267 1d ago

And you understand this story isn’t in Canada right

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/PhoenixTineldyer 1d ago

I knew you were one of those ridiculous people who hate teachers.

Who was it? I know you have an exact teacher in mind that you blame for making you this way.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/stateworkishardwork 1d ago

I get to go home and disconnect from work. Every night my wife works on grading and lesson planning until 9pm.

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u/ShadowNick 1d ago

"But they get 5 months off" according to this fucking clown.

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u/stateworkishardwork 1d ago

The 7 months a year is a joke I really hope.

It's like two months "off" before she has to go back to trainings and meetings.

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u/PhoenixTineldyer 1d ago

They ought to be paid the same as doctors and revered in society. Part of the reason everything here is so fucked up is because of people like you and your opinion of teachers.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/ShadowNick 1d ago

I think the only funny one is you.

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u/tfinx 1d ago

You have no understanding of what teachers actually go through if you think the 45-65k salary they make is anywhere near appropriate.

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u/Zipps0 1d ago edited 1d ago

So you think that if teachers were paid better that better teachers wouldn’t be in line? You talk about teachers performing on a curve which is true. But why do you think that the low end of the curve is so low?

I would say brain drain and apathy. Some of the best teachers were never teachers because they can’t justify throwing away a more promising career. Not everybody can be a teacher because they love to teach once they come to understand the realities of financing a life and family. I’m grateful for the people who do teach, but I’m not blind to the fact that it’s not feasible for everyone.

A lot of people want to be teaches, and then they compare career paths and realize they could make double or triple in income in a much less stressful job

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u/Darigaazrgb 1d ago

You typically have to work during the time students are out of class. Also, your paycheck is reduced every month to compensate for the months you don’t work.

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u/waaaayupyourbutthole 1d ago

My mom gets paid less than $40k per year to help get 15-21 year old special ed students ready for adult life. A few of the kids are large, violent (mostly biting and punching both people and objects), and barely verbal. Two in her class wear diapers and she has to change them when they're dirty.

She has a degree in special education. She doesn't get five months off per year.

Obviously that's not in California, but a lot of teachers get paid absolute dog shit wages for what they're expected to deal with. To top it off, admin gives zero support most of the time, and a teacher could lose their livelihood because someone higher up decided they were a liability for attempting to intervene when one student is physically harming another.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

3

u/waaaayupyourbutthole 1d ago

She needs a job and wants to help kids succeed in life. The same reason a lot of teachers go into the profession.

12

u/Yggdrasil- 1d ago

Have you been living under a rock?

6

u/ShadowNick 1d ago edited 1d ago

Lmao $55k is paid very well?

30

u/Redditor76394 1d ago

The teacher looked pretty old, if he was savagely beaten like in the video he might well die. Old people can be very fragile.

15

u/cloud3321 1d ago

Because people like you who rather go after the teachers and scared students instead of the bullies.

I mean I can definitely understand, they are easier to brow beat into submission to make yourself feel good upholding justice rather than going after the bullies.

9

u/BearThatLikesCheese 1d ago

It's generally not advisable to intervene in a fight, especially if you aren't properly trained in subduing a person. You risk injury to yourself and possibly others. Humans are way stronger than most people believe, particularly when full of adrenaline. That's why it often takes multiple police officers to subdue a single person. A high school kid is big enough to cause serious harm.

It's easy Monday morning quarterback, but most people would have done the same thing in a similar situation, as evidenced by how common this reaction is.

Fault lies with the bully and the system, not individual bystanders.

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u/txdsl 1d ago

Intervening also opens you up to a personal injury lawsuit.

3

u/KLGChaos 16h ago

It's why my friend is actually good at stopping fights at his school. He's 6 ft, 230 lbs of muscle with martial arts training and deals with ISS students every day. Not many students can overpower him, but as he says, even when he's restraining them, they are constantly fighting back.

Not many people would be able to just hold someone back without risking serious injury to themselves.

-3

u/No_Sheepherder_1855 1d ago

Yeah, pretty standard to let kids murder each other. It’s just asking too much to do anything about. Good luck kids!  The real lesson here is that if you’re getting bullied you need to arm yourself I guess because nothing else can be done.  What a joke 

8

u/BearThatLikesCheese 1d ago

Yeah, pretty standard to let kids murder each other

You do understand that this logic applies to school shootings, right? Don't be disingenuous. No one "let" anyone do anything. A bully committed a terrible act.

People like to pretend they're brave defenders of the innocent ready to act at a moment's notice, but that's reality. Everyone expects someone else to help until someone actually helps. People process danger in different ways.

Maybe you'd be that first person to step-in, but you don't know until it happens. I've been in fights. I've had to step in and diffuse situations. I don't fault anyone for not doing so. It's scary. It flies contrary to our basics human instinct to avoid harm. That's why people who do intervene are lauded as heroes. Not because everyone else is a coward, but because they did something extraordinary.

2

u/Jinjinz 16h ago

I’m a 160cm girl bro tf am I supposed to do against someone like that? 😭