Assault
When searching for definitions of particular criminal offenses such as assault, laymen tend to rely on legal dictionaries such as Black's Law Dictionary, originally written by Henry Campbell Black and published in 1891. Or they rely on Internet dictionaries such as Nolo's Legal Glossary. Although such dictionaries are often brilliant works of scholarship, attorneys and judges prefer whenever possible to get their legal definitions from federal or state case-law — the published decisions of judges. These definitions frequently carry more weight in the real world than dictionary definitions alone.
Therefore, to define assault, turn to a federal case — Harris v. United States — decided by the United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, in 2005. The case's citation — the reference number you use to look up the case in reporters or case books — is 422 F.3d 322. The citation means the case is found in Volume 422 of The Federal Reporter, Third Series, page 322.
When you look up the case, you find that the Court, referencing Ohio state law, defined assault as, “the willful threat … to harm or touch another offensively, [where that] threat or attempt reasonably places the other in fear of such contact.” In other words, although some jurisdictions define assault as hitting, kicking, etc., most jurisdictions make clear that you're guilty of assault if you terrify a reasonable person into thinking you're about to wallop him.
Be cautious about using online sources to further your knowledge of education law. Try to use recognized websites such as Wex, maintained by the Cornell Law School, and Findlaw. Although new websites deserve a chance to establish themselves, use ordinary caution and triple check everything, every time.
No one is permitted to illegally assault another person, and teachers are not permitted to assault students. That is, you may not put a kid in reasonable fear that you're about to wallop him. Different fact patterns will show whether or not you're guilty of assault. For example, if one of your students whistles during a work period, you might thoughtlessly remark, “Joe, if you don't stop whistling I'll remove one of your fingers. Decide which one.” The class laughs, including Joe.
And, although your comment is crass and unprofessional, it might not rise to the level of assault. That's because neither Joe nor anyone else has any reasonable fear that you'll really get some scissors and lop off digits.
When you're furious, do the traditional thing — count slowly to ten. American consultant Richard Templar agrees with this advice in his book, The Rules of Life: “[G]et in the habit of counting to ten under your breath while you hope and pray that the feeling of impending rage will subside. It invariably does for me.”
But suppose, in that same hypothetical, you suddenly stand up and slam your fist on your desk. Joe and the other kids freeze. You march toward Joe, grab the textbook he's using, raise it high above your head, and yell, “Joe, so help me, if you don't stop that freaking whistling, I'll bop you with this book!” Joe cringes in terror, holding up both hands to ward off an imminent blow. You grunt, toss the book onto his desk, and march back to your desk, leaving Joe trembling like a rabbit.
Under this fact pattern, you might be guilty of assault. Joe's attorney, hired by Joe's parents the next day, might be able to show a jury that you threatened to harm Joe and he believed you. Loss of your teaching credential, your job, your money after losing a civil suit, and potential jail time — all of these may await you.
Remember all the strategies you've learned thus far for dealing with problems in the classroom? Use those, and any other intelligent tactics that you'll devise over the course of your career instead of wild, emotional, unprofessional stratagems such as putting kids in fear of an imminent beating.
Never forget that professionalism could well be defined as “keeping your doggone temper under control at all times under all circumstances while on your job.” A professional does not give in to the temptation to lose her temper, scream like a banshee, and loudly threaten people with thrashings.
In the sometimes high-stress world of teaching, you must remember that while others lose their minds you must be the one to stay even tempered and in control. Your students don't need a big, immature, hyper-emotional kid — they need a teacher.
Do not make threats of violence, thereby setting yourself up for an assault charge. Instead, make professional promises: “Joe, if you don't stop whistling, I'll need to send you next door to write a behavioral essay. People are trying to work here.” Nine times out of ten, Joe will say, “Sorry” and you'll have no further problems. Wasn't that easy? Remember, in your classroom-management toolkit, assault is a tool that's nowhere to be found.
