( CNN ) -- In Florida , a 64-year-old bus driver has been criticized for failing to physically intervene in a three-on-one fight that took place in July . The bus driver says he was afraid to step in . As a high school teacher , I ca n't blame him . The adults who work in public schools are outnumbered . When a violent , hormone-fueled scene unfolds , it 's our duty to quell the calamity with every resource we have in the name of safety . But where do we draw the line ? Early in my teaching career , I was afraid of some of the bigger boys at school , especially one . I could see he carried a great deal of hatred inside -- for me , for his classmates , for the world . He was tall and muscular ; he could have been an athlete , but his poor grades , bad attitude and spotty record kept him from playing sports . One afternoon , as I waited outside my classroom door , I heard a scuffle behind me . The boy I feared and another , smaller boy were shoving each other by my white board . I stepped in , and told them to stop . When they did n't , I shouted louder and told another student , my go-to helper , to get another teacher . As the shoves turned to punches , rage grew in the larger boy 's eyes . The other student asked him to stop , but he had thrust his hands around his neck . I tried to pull him free , but the large boy shoved , pressing the other student and my arm against the cinder block wall . I felt trapped and frightened , and thought I might black out . Just then , two male teachers pulled the boys apart and dragged them to the office . `` Are you OK ? '' a third teacher said . `` Look at your hand ! '' My wrist was red and swollen . It hurt , but not as much as knowing I was n't safe in my own classroom . My neighbor teacher took over my class so that I could go to the office to fill out an incident report . I could barely grip the pen . Two police officers assigned to our school urged me to file assault charges against the boys , but I insisted they just had n't seen me . I wanted to believe that they would n't hurt me , but I also wondered if the boy would retaliate if the law got involved . Fortunately , my wrist was only sprained and I returned to work the next day in a cumbersome brace . But I kept wondering , what if the boy had pushed the other one harder ? What if his anger was directed at me ? Suppose it was my head that was smashed against that cinderblock wall ? What if he 'd had a weapon ? On the other side , what if adrenaline gave me undiscovered strength and I had hurt one of them ? Could their parents sue me ? Would I lose my job ? Both students were expelled , but the one I 'd been afraid of eventually returned . `` C'mon , man , '' he 'd scowl when I asked him to hurry along to class . When I saw anger in his eyes , I backed away , and if needed , I asked for help . Almost a decade later and much wiser , I 'm no longer afraid of my students , but I 've made some changes to how I approach fights since then . I shout at students to stop and try to keep the crowd under control from a distance . If available and in working order , I 'll use a radio or phone to contact administrators or school resource officers . Their appearance usually signals the end of a fight . After all , administrators are the disciplinarians in the school , with more training and higher pay than teachers , bus drivers or janitors . Officers wear badges , carry the pepper spray and , above all , are trained for combat situations . Of the many classes one must take in order to earn a teaching degree , not one prepares us for the possibility of classroom combat . Supplemental training in restraints and fight intervention is made available to some teachers , but I and most other teachers I know are mainly qualified to fight ignorance . We 're the ones who can prevent fights from happening in the first place . I always ask a student who seems angrier or quieter than usual what 's wrong , even if , `` nothing , '' is the only answer I receive . I always listen to my students ' seemingly banal chatter because fights seldom break out without some sort of a build up . Many times , one of my students , like a high school Don King , will bring an upcoming brawl to my attention . If fight rumors start to flood the hallways , or even if something seems a little off , it 's best to bring it to the attention of the administrators or school resource officers . In many cases , students want an adult to intervene before the first fist is thrown . I 've learned that the most responsible action can be protecting yourself so you can care for others . In keeping myself safe , I 'm better able to protect my other students , the innocent bystanders . I have children of my own who need me to be functioning at 100 % . I 'm pregnant now , and when school starts in a few weeks , I must first and foremost protect my unborn child . For all of those reasons and more I will remain a conscientious objector during fights that occur in my classroom . As a parent , I 'd expect the same of my children 's teachers . I know that , like me , they did n't enter their classrooms to be prison guards , and that they 'd prefer to guide children toward higher roads to civility . Sometimes it just takes a peaceful protest to get them there . Would you step in to stop a fight among teens ? Do you expect the people who work at your child 's school to do it ? Share your thoughts in the comments , on CNN Living 's Facebook page or on Twitter @ CNNschools .
A Florida bus driver was criticized for failing to stop a teen beating . Teacher Robyn Barberry says school administrators ' n't always intervene . ` ` Teachers I know are mainly qualified to teach here , '' Barberry says . Barberry : ` ` The most responsible thing can be protecting yourself so you can care for others ''