Bad Meghan

Meghan is running in the hall, at full speed. I tell her to stop, she ignores me. I chase her down, pull on her backpack strap to get her attention. She denies running. “I was jogging.” I ask her name. She gives me her first name, then walks away. I call to her. I ask her last name. She gives it to me. A few minutes later I am in another teacher’s room. Meghan appears at the door to threaten me (at top volume) that I had better not leave the school because her mother is here and wants to talk to me. I fill out a discipline form, take it to the office. When I get there, the principal is meeting with Meghan and her mother. I am asked to sit down. Meghan’s mother gets to run the meeting. I am asked to explain what happened. It becomes clear the issue is not Meghan’s three offenses, but my behavior – Meghan says I “grabbed” her. Principal explains that it is not out of line for teacher to touch a student. Forget that I didn’t even touch the student, I touched her backpack. Meghan speaks to me abusively and interrupts during the meeting. Meghan receives no punishment. Note: Principal often complains because there aren’t enough teachers watching the halls.