Areas of Negligence Must be Addressed in the Educational Environment
Accusations of negligence in the school setting have been, and continue to be, a problem in the educational system of the United States. While negligence affect students, parents, teachers, and support staff, the issue should genuinely concern administrators, who need to be focusing on the education of students rather than defending the teachers and their schools in a court of law. Legal records show that the term "educational malpractice" was first utilized in 1977 (Donohue v. Copiagugue Union School District, 1977). While accusations of negligence do not always determine a teacher is guilty of educational malpractice, the fear of this possibility should have administrators on their toes. If administrators are not aware of what constitutes negligence, they have little hope of having a staff that is aware and practicing safe habits and routines at all times during the school day. While some aspects of teaching rely heavily on common sense to avoid student injuries, not all teachers understand how their presence in a classroom could avoid a lawsuit. Very few educators in Indiana, if any, are required to take an education law class before earning teaching certificates. Due to this, administrators must lead the way t
Administrators must compel their staffs to become more aware of negligence during instruction, supervision, and equipment maintenance so that administrators do not have to spend valuable time reacting to accusations of negligence. Negligence is not an issue that is going to fade away, and it is imperative that awareness is established in every school building across the United States. Principals must also be acquainted with the most common areas of negligence in order to avoid potential lawsuits. This, unfortunately, is not a lone case in the legal archives. Principals should take it upon themselves to educate their staffs about the necessity of supervising students constantly. The court cleared a teacher of the charges of negligence during an absence from a Physical Education class while retrieving supplies out of a storage shed because the court ruled that even if the teacher had been present the accident would have taken place without the teacher being able to intervene to prevent the injury (Stevens v. While not all charges are avoidable, the administrators must do everything within their power to make sure that teachers are aware of the issues regarding negligence within the school. A system must be established that will allow a teacher to place a maintenance request for areas of that classroom that need attention. This happened when a child was misclassified as "retarded" in New York in the late 70's (Hoffman v. School District of Philadelphia, 1982). It is then the responsibility of every person in a leadership position, whether paid or voluntary, to follow the policies and procedures to ensure a safe and productive learning environment for every student. While principals have no control over what is happening in a classroom when the door closes, principals must feel safe in the fact that they have educated their staff about negligence and the expectations of the school; to do less than this is, perhaps, negligent on the part of the principal. Administrators, as well as teachers, are responsible for protecting students while they are on school property. Herbert Drumond, from the Ohio Department of Education, takes this idea a step further by insisting that anything found needing improvement must be put into writing for the administrator on a daily basis (2001).
Common topics in this essay:
Research Sadly,
Risk Management,
Alexander Alexander,
Physical Education,
School District,
District Philadelphia,
Board Education,
Department Education,
Stevens Cheeston,
Conclusion Administrators,
daily basis,
protect students,
accusations negligence,
students parents,
school day,
instruction supervision,
sewall 1995,
equipment maintenance,
extracurricular activities,
charges negligence,
alexander alexander 1984,
supervision instruction equipment,
result student injury,
instruction equipment maintenance,
alexander 1984 torts,
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Acceptance Essays
