Teacher Quits Job After School Called Her 'Dramatic' For Her Reaction Over A Stranger Trying To Enter Her Classroom
Teachers have to be more careful than ever when it comes to strangers in the building.
@Jeskazeeeee / TikTok Teachers in America face difficulties in their jobs every day including a heavy workload, long hours with low pay, managing unruly students, and a lack of resources. But the greatest challenge by far is the enormous pressure to protect their students in the event of a stranger forcing their way into the building, especially in today’s climate.
You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting kids and, if a stranger is trying to enter a classroom, there is no better course of action than preventing them from doing so until you're sure it's safe.
One school teacher who took appropriate actions to protect her students after a stranger entered her classroom did not receive the support from the administration that she should have.
The teacher called the front office after a man she did not recognize entered her classroom.
The unnamed teacher, who previously worked at a junior high school, recalled her story in a TikTok video that has been viewed nearly 4 million times. She refers to the incident as one of the reasons out of a thousand that she eventually quit teaching. According to her, one Friday afternoon her students were lined up at her classroom door at the end of the day a few minutes before dismissal.
“All of a sudden, a man that I have never seen before in my life kind of barges into my room,” the teacher shares. “I wouldn’t say in a mean way, but definitely in a very determined, semi-aggressive way.”
She says that the man began “pushing through” some of the students and walked right up to her as she was standing with her back against the wall. The man then began having a conversation with the teacher whom she describes as “frantic.”
“I don’t know him, and I don’t have any clue what he’s talking about, the whole thing was frantic,” she says. It was at that point she realized that her students may be at risk of the strange man’s presence in the room. The teacher dismissed them for the day in a calm and collective manner to protect them from any potential threats that could occur within the next few moments.
Remaining calm, she picked up her classroom phone and called the front office to alert them about the intruder in her classroom. While admitting that she doesn’t remember what happened “in between” the incident, she clearly recalls what happened the next day.
“The administrator that I guess handled the situation told me that [the man] was a graduate,” the teacher says. The administrator was surprised that the teacher was not familiar with him or had not seen him before.
She reminds viewers that she taught in a school that had students in seventh through ninth grade. “This was apparently a graduate from the year prior,” she says. “So an adult, not a student. Certainly not a seventh or ninth grader.” She adds that the man did not have siblings in her class. The administrator informed the teacher that there was “nothing they could do” since the man was a graduate of the school district from the year prior and to them, he was not a threat.
School administration and the man’s mother believed that the teacher was being ‘overdramatic.’
“Also, his mom is really ticked at me because she felt that I was being overdramatic and that he [the man] agreed,” the teacher added. She claims that the incident is just one of the many examples of why she decided to quit teaching.
Over the last few years, violent incidents, primarily shootings have unfolded on school grounds. Many of the perpetrators were not students of the school at the time and were easily able to get into the building. Some of them were even graduate students. Now more than ever, teachers need to take extra precautions to ensure that their students are safe and protected on school grounds.
In the wake of the tragic school shootings that have occurred in the United States in recent years, many schools have implemented various security measures to try to prevent or mitigate such incidents, including controlled access to classrooms, metal detectors, security cameras, and active shooter drills.
The teacher did everything right after a stranger she did not recognize entered her classroom, and many other TikTok users seemed to think so.
“That could have easily been a dangerous situation. The fact that the administration didn’t have your back is insane,” one user commented.
“You did the right thing. Teacher of 23 years…I don’t care if it is Jesus, he needs a pass from the office to roam the halls,” another user wrote.
“As a teacher of 30 years, my heart aches to listen to you talk. I’m so sorry. There’s a big divide between passion and what we’re allowed to do,” another user pointed out.
When it comes to the safety and well-being of students, no teacher can ever be too “dramatic” about it.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.