When Teachers No Longer Feel Safe

A functioning civilization depends on a handful of assumptions so basic we rarely think to articulate them. One of those assumptions is that teachers can go to work without fearing for their physical safety.

That should not be a controversial statement. It should barely qualify as a statement at all. It should sit in the same category as “firefighters should have functioning equipment” or “air traffic controllers should be paying attention.” These are baseline operational expectations, not ambitious ideals.

And yet recently, I’ve had teachers from the Shawano public school system approach me privately and express exactly that concern: fear for their safety. Not generalized frustration. Not exhaustion. Not complaints about bureaucracy, administrative dysfunction, or the thousand ordinary burdens that accompany public education. Fear.

That distinction matters because each of those problems implies a different diagnosis. Burnout suggests overload. Frustration suggests institutional inefficiency. Fear suggests something more primitive: the belief that the environment itself has become physically unsafe. That is a fundamentally different category of problem.

This is not a problem only in Shawano County. I recently watched a short documentary on the growing issue of classroom violence against educators in Wisconsin: Why Teachers Are Quitting in Droves (YouTube)

The specific stories vary, but the pattern is disturbingly familiar: teachers being physically assaulted, verbally threatened, psychologically worn down, and increasingly expected to absorb levels of behavioral instability that would be considered unacceptable in almost any other profession except maybe prison guard.

Somewhere along the way, we seem to have normalized the idea that educators should tolerate physical danger as an occupational inconvenience.

One of the recurring problems in conversations like this is that reasonable premises are often used to smuggle in unreasonable conclusions. Yes, children are struggling in ways previous generations may not have. Yes, trauma, instability, and broader social dysfunction can manifest behaviorally in schools. Yes, punitive or poorly designed discipline systems can create harm. None of those claims imply that teachers should fear for their safety in school.

But increasingly, discussions around school discipline seem trapped in a false dichotomy: either you care about struggling students, or you care about enforcement and safety. That is a false dichotomy.

A child in crisis deserves support. A teacher deserves safety. The other students in the classroom deserve an environment where learning remains possible. These are not competing moral claims. They are obligations.

The deeper problem emerges when institutions become so reluctant to enforce behavioral boundaries that the practical result is paralysis. Boundaries are not cruel. Consequences are not inherently oppressive. In fact, predictable structure is often one of the very things unstable children need most.

To be clear, I am not making a statistical claim about Shawano schools. I am reporting something narrower, but still meaningful: multiple independent conversations with educators who expressed fear. People are much more willing to admit uncomfortable truths in personal conversations than in formal channels, particularly when they believe speaking openly may carry professional or social consequences.

The consequences of such a problem are predictable, as mentioned in the above documentary.

Good teachers leave. Potential teachers choose different careers. Administrative resources get redirected into crisis management. Learning environments deteriorate. Families lose hope. The public loses confidence in the school system. And perhaps most importantly, students internalize the norms the system teaches them, whether intentionally or not.

Schools do not merely transmit academic content. They transmit behavioral expectations, social norms, and assumptions about accountability. If one of those lessons becomes that disregard for rules, disrespect for authority, and violence carry little meaningful consequence, we should not be surprised when that lesson generalizes beyond the classroom.

I hope we can start a conversation to fix the problem at the institutional level. I’m happy to help any time I’m asked.

In the meantime, individual teachers can get help. I started teaching jiu-jitsu in Shawano specifically to help the average person deal with extraordinary, but still too common occasions of violence. I believe Gracie Combatives® is the system best suited to that function. Gracie Combatives was designed around a simple but powerful principle: a smaller, less athletic person should be able to protect themselves against a larger, more aggressive attacker using leverage, timing, and technique rather than strength.

It is also widely applicable to so many different situations because of the nature of jiu-jitsu. It’s not about punching, kicking, or causing damage to the attacker. It’s about control. Controlling distance. Controlling the attacker’s body without hurting them while preventing them from hurting you. This makes it perfect for situations in which someone is aggressive but still has to be cared for such as schools, hospitals, and care facilities.

So, to help Shawano teachers, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Shawano will offer free Gracie Combatives training this summer for all teachers. Not to harm students. To reduce harm to students, teachers, and public trust. To increase teachers’ confidence in their own safety and the public’s confidence in their schools.

Click here or contact us at the information at the top of the page to start your free training. We’re here to help.