i can already see the scenario now - starfish student does something out of line like yell at the teacher or take a phone call in the middle of class, and mr. teacher, who didn't have his coffee that morning, and just had a really awful fight with his wife, is gonna go aggro and smack the student with this tiny bat, and BOOM all the bats are gone.
EDIT: the bats are symbolic, now i feel like an idiot lol