Room 1

I worked at a school for emotionally and mentally disturbed children. The next few blogs will detail each classroom. I will start at the beginning.

The staff are trained to help students in crisis. Students at this school are less able to cope than typical students. They are at this school because of their behavior. Any event ranging from an incident at (group) home to a loud noise can trigger a crisis. The staff are trained to defuse situations by talking first. If the student begins to aggress, the staff are trained to evade attacks. Should evasions fail, the staff may manually restrain the student. (All staff undergo a 3-day training seminar to keep themselves and the students safe. Do not try this without training.) First, two staff grab the student by the arms. Should this fail, they may hold him up against a wall. If he is still combative, they may employ a floor-assisted restraint in which two to four staff hold the child on the floor. It sounds crazy, but you must keep in mind the population being served. There is one employee whose job it is to provide coverage during crises: classrooms call for assistance on the walkie-talkies or over the PA system, and he bravely confronts crisis situations throughout the day. He is one of the sweetest men I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, and he treats students with as much dignity as possible while they regain their composure.

Room 1 is empty. The plastic windows are locked. Twice I saw the small window at the door blocked with a paper showing a picture of a mariachi man with a sombrero and guitar. It’s not a photo, just an outline for coloring. Generally, I try not to look. From what I’ve seen, a staff accompanies the student in the room, and one or more staff wait outside the door, usually holding it closed. I don’t know what techniques they use to subdue these students, but I think they just talk to him until he’s ready to participate in class. Room 1 is for students who are really not safe.