Teachers and pocketknives??

You also have to take into account the environment you're working in:

--National, and possibly your school: schools are about to inflict a wave of layoffs on teachers. This is not a good time to buck the system, if you're talking about going into a classroom now. If you still have a couple of years in school before you hit a classroom, however, it may be very different. Remember, as a starting teacher, you won't have tenure, and you will be low man on the totem pole for layoffs. This is not the time to "see what you can get away with". A lot of school systems may be actually looking for ways to terminate folks; don't give them an excuse. This, of course, totally depends on your school district; some, like most in North Dakota, are doing just fine. But check before you leap, so you know what the local sitrep is like.

--Check out your principal. These folks are very, very important in your lifeon the job, and are inconsistent. This is from an article in the NY Times about a teacher in that area:

“I don’t have a principal who is crazy now, but I’ve had other principals who would have fired me in a New York minute. It had nothing to do with teaching — things he would take as a personal insult.”

--The region you are working in: generally speaking, a rural school is more likely to be tolerant, as knives are working tools for those folks. My hunch is that urban and suburban school districts are less likely to be tolerant.
 
i ll go out on a limb and say with proper training i wish teachers could pack pistols, let alone a little SAK. and YES, i have two daughters in grade school
 
Thanks once again to all who have contributed. I appreciate the information, as usual.

I think it's best for me to leave the pockets empty until I have a good UNDERSTANDING of the established laws. Then go from there once I know. Afterall, no sense in wasting all the education just so I can carry a pocket knife with me, regardless of how silly "I may think the rules are". Am I not supposed to be an example and enforce the rules to the students? (This comment could be another thread in itself!)

Thanks all.
Matt
 
The general culture of your school may be different from district to district. I agree with the above statement, tread carefully and wait until you have established a little rapport with those who can make your working day miserable.
 
Whatever you ultimately decide, you are obviously a thoughtful person. I am glad that there are people like you still going into teaching. Good luck and thank you. :)
 
I teach elementary and used the scissors on a Vic Huntsman to cut something out once. One of the other teachers started breathing hard like it made her nervous! I keep it out of sight now--only the vice principal knows I have it on me, and she's used it and doesn't mind that I have it. Most of the other teachers would probably freak out.

One of the female teachers keeps a paring knife in her desk and uses it to cut up fruit all the time, however, and nobody bats an eyelid.
 
34 years as a Middle School Science teacher. Carried a Gerber Multi in a belt pouch for many years.

"Mr. Hoffman, How come you can have a knife and we can't":grumpy:

"Because I'm an adult and you aren't. Get over it.":eek:

A science teacher without a knife is like a shop teacher without a saw, or an art teacher without scissors, or a cafeteria cook without a knife, or a custodian without many sharp pointy things. PC folks, "Get over it!"

Bill
 
I'm a teacher in Alberta, Canada. I carry a 940 or a Pioneer in my pocket. I used to carry a SwissTool Spirit in a pouch on my belt. Several times, when we took our children on outdoor education trips, I had a 16" khukuri hanging off my belt. That was in Ontario, and the law their was explicit: students could not bring knives or weapons to school. It said nothing about teachers.

TC
 
It really depends.

At my university, in my subject area, a few professors (at the very least) carry a SAK.

In fact, one of my professors even recommended the purchase of a SAK to the class. One of his TA's even carries a large Sebenza in a belt sheath (right next to his Leatherman and flashlight).

Of course, my major is a little more "outdoorsy".

I also see pocket clips on large part of the student population.

However, at the K-12 level, you might need to be a little more careful. And discretion is always important.
 
maybe things have changed since the late 80s (LOL), but woods class had a whole cabinet full of woodworking knives and all students were trusted to use them when making their projects. not a single knife ever dissapeared, and these were STUDENTS! i see no reason why a teacher cant be trusted, afterall you trust them to mold your childs mind, right?
 
By now I'm sure you have figured out that , it depends! Have been substitute teaching for 15 years and in one district I would be hesitant to carry a knife with a clip but a discret folder in the pocket was never a problem. In the other district no sweat either way. As pointed out many teachers; science, vocational, etc. carry multi tools on their belts and I see a lot of clips on pockets; many students carry and , while they aren't supposed to, it hasn't been an issue. Just like any job environment feel your way first!
 
woody d said:
maybe things have changed since the late 80s (LOL), but woods class had a whole cabinet full of woodworking knives and all students were trusted to use them when making their projects. not a single knife ever dissapeared, and these were STUDENTS! i see no reason why a teacher cant be trusted, afterall you trust them to mold your childs mind, right?
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more woody d! But as I'm learning from these comments, it seems nobody is to be trusted...even the "adult" teachers. I quote adult loosely because at times, I admit I can even be a bit childish...just ask my wife!

But, you're right. They trust us as professionals to work with their children; I don't see any reason either. We have the same constraints as the children; either in the name of fairness or zero tolerance, or whatever. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, I just don't get it. Oh well. It is what it is and I can play the game either way.
 
Bill Hoffman said:
34 years as a Middle School Science teacher. Carried a Gerber Multi in a belt pouch for many years.

"Mr. Hoffman, How come you can have a knife and we can't":grumpy:

"Because I'm an adult and you aren't. Get over it.":eek:

A science teacher without a knife is like a shop teacher without a saw, or an art teacher without scissors, or a cafeteria cook without a knife, or a custodian without many sharp pointy things. PC folks, "Get over it!"

Bill
Click to expand...

I like your comment here about getting over it. "Because I'm an adult and you aren't." So many now adays would cry about fairness. My father taught me that life's NOT fair. Someone's lying to these kids by telling them that life is.

Oh well.

On a little side note, kind of fits in with the rule following and such... I guess.

I teach Sunday School. In class yesterday this young 4th grader was being quite the "pistol" He wouldn't follow the rules. Asked him to sit quitely, while I was giving instructions. "Sure", and then he'd turn around and do it right again. Tried the good ole' basic reasoning. "If I let you get away with it, than I have to let everyone"...He said he understood and would stop. He went and made these inappropriate, distracting noises again. I thought what the h#!!??

I questioned him quietly, yet sternly, "what's the problem?" His response was amazing to say the least! He said, "I have ADHD and am allowed to act like this." I was dumbfounded for a second. Regardless of what you have, or don't, you still need to follow the rules and try to fit in with the rest. Someone lied to this poor kid and basically told him because of the way he is, he doesn't have to follow the rules....
 
mshambone said:
I couldn't agree more woody d! But as I'm learning from these comments, it seems nobody is to be trusted...even the "adult" teachers. I quote adult loosely because at times, I admit I can even be a bit childish...just ask my wife!

But, you're right. They trust us as professionals to work with their children; I don't see any reason either. We have the same constraints as the children; either in the name of fairness or zero tolerance, or whatever. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, I just don't get it. Oh well. It is what it is and I can play the game either way.
Click to expand...

Actually, and tragically IMHO, having put two kids through grade school (they're now in college), parents almost universally expect teachers to be the real parents to their kids. The degree of abdication of responsibility in our society is shocking, even horrifying, to me. But that's an entirely different topic. :(
 
Check your state and local laws and then the school's policy. Talk to your boss or the Pricipal. Get things clear in advance....
 
mshambone said:
~~~~~~~~
I know the stories about students carrying and how it's against the rules and such. But what about teachers?...The "responsible adults" of the bunch.

I'd like to hear from teachers; or those who know teachers, who carry something and how they have got along. Thoughts? Any problems? What do you carry? etc. I figure with as big as BF is, there has got to be a few people in this profession that can give some encouragement.
~~~~~~~~~
Please, I don't want this to get off track and into a legality thing or such. I'm just looking for people's experiences. Hopefully more modern ones too!

Thanks in advance for your comments,

Matt
Click to expand...

Matt,

Here is my experience........

I taught school for 28 years in public schools, junior high.
I openly carried [pocket clip showing]and used a knife every day.
I never tried to hide it.

Only once, due to one little "turd"; did it almost bite me in the rear. But due to a school administrator that had a brain and used it.... the situation turned into a total non issue.

Sadly, it would seem; there are many school administrators that either do not have a functional brain or do not use them if they do. :D

As far as students with knives...... my official policy was .....
Don't ask..... don't tell, for the responsible student anyway.

If I knew a trouble maker had a knife...... I would take it and return it to them at the end of the school year at the end of the last day.

I only had to take away 1 knife in all those years I did not return.

One poor boy literally lost his mind one day in class, stood up and pulled out one of the largest folding knives I have ever seen and calmly announced to God and everybody he was going to cut my head off...... :eek: ;)

I calmly told him OK, but could we go out into the hall so as not to get blood on the other students. ;) He said .... sure, turned, and started for the hall with me behind him.

I locked the door behind me as I followed him into the hall.
Thankfully, I was able to talk him into giving me the knife without incident.

He ended up getting suspended because another teacher saw what was happening and reported it to the principal.... who arrived on scene very shortly after I had the knife in my possession. The principal took him away.

It turns out, later that night he tried to kill his sister with a butcher knife [she locked herself in a bathroom to escape] and then chased his mother down the street trying to stab her.

Witnesses said it took 5 grown men to restrain him before the authorities arrived.

He went to a mental institution and as far as I know is still there.

Anyway, I guess I have kind of rambled..... but there is some first hand, true stuff. ;)
 
Having been raised on a farm, I always have a knife. Being a high school teacher (grades 10-12), I still carry a knife. In this instance it is the smallest SAK made: one of those with a blade, a fingernail file, a toothpick, tweezers, and scissors. Comes in very handy at times. Everybody knows I have it -- no problems.

Too bad the rules don't allow this but -- if they did -- don't see why a Kershaw Shallot wouldn't work real well -- being very thin and all -- clipped to the top of one's trousers at about the one o'clock position and allowed to slant down at an angle. I would imagine such an arrangement would be undetectable, comfortable, and -- as one forum member put it, "It's just feels right to have a knife," or something to that effect. I tend to agree.

Regards,
sweetwater
 
I'm not in the US... I teach elementary school and have been carrying a Spyderco Dragonfly everyday for the last 3 years. There are no rules against teachers carrying a knife but schools are generally known to have a large population of middle-aged, unmarried women and from my experience they have a tendency to get their undergarments in a bunch at the sight of a knife. I keep to small-medium sized folders and almost never clip them to my pocket preferring them to sit at the bottom of my pocket.

The adults are the least of my worries. I'm more concerned about what my charges might think about their teacher carrying a knife. I've used it on quite a few occasions; mostly during outdoor lessons, in the lab and on one occasion when we were redecorating the class; and only when a scissors was truly impractical. They never batted an eyelid. I guess they understood that I am an adult and that it is more a tool than a weapon though they know I was in law enforcement for 10 years before becoming a teacher. My principal knows about me carrying a knife and has on a couple of occasions used mine to open packages. Since he's okay with it I suppose what the head of departments think isn't an issue. I can tell you how useful a knife is at school but this is a knife forum after all.
 
Check your school's rules.
That said, if you can't carry a small SAK you'll have to cut your apple with the 8 inch carving knife in the lunch room! At least it's safe.

Greg
 
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