Teaching seems like a frustrating job

I don't really see the issue here. Kid could be acting out due to low blood sugar. It's certainly a reasonable place to start.

Did the teacher expect the parents to say, "Sorry about that, we just bought new jumper cables to beat him with so it won't be a problem anymore."

Well, assuming that's the entire email that was sent, some basic level of empathy might not have been amiss. "So sorry about that, are you okay? We'll pay for the glasses. Obviously this behavior isn't okay; we've discussed it and we're going to try..."

It probably would have been more reassuring to get stronger protection guarantees on the teacher's side. Unless the plan was for the teacher to slot in as the punchable feedback loop until they eventually "get him back on track"?

I'm hoping this was cut off from a longer email, but if it was not she probably could've at least expected the parents to apologize on behalf of their kid, ensure they spoke to their kid about why it's inappropriate to hit people, probably have the kid apologize, and depending on some other factors offer some kind of compensation for the glasses at least as a token gesture.

If your kid hit someone in the face hard enough to break their glasses and your only response is maybe they were hungry here's how I can address that, I can potentially see why they might have done it in the first place.

In a situation like this is it better to punch the kid or the parents?

Assuming this is anything above pre-k, I'd be hoping that the parents would respond with "Sorry we've spoken with him about this unacceptable behavior / we're connecting with a children's counselor to address anger issues / etc."

If it's at the point that I'm getting punched in the face at work, I might also be annoyed at their response being

There's certainly more to the story just based on the use of the phrase, "break this routine." Punching people in the face is a routine?

They also clearly aren't holding the kid accountable for his actions. To me that's the larger problem. Trying to address root causes is fine, but you don't get to go around attacking people even if you aren't feeling well. Part of parenting is teaching emotional regulation and consequences for your actions.

Hear me out, maybe we need to teach the kid that hitting isn't okay even when they're hungry

“Little johnny goes around kicking dogs, but that’s society failing him, not anything we have done or latent inside him. He’s our little miracle, and we will sue you if you make him think otherwise”

Yea completely likely there's more going on. Sometimes kids with different needs can be more physical and it's possible this kind of occurrence is seen as just part of the job. Not saying that's acceptable, but it's a possibility. With no other context though it's not a great response if taken at face value.

Took those Snickers ads way too seriously

The other possibility is that they're thinking of it in a defensive mindset and aren't wanting to put anything in writing that could be construed as acknowledging fault, in case it results in a lawsuit.

The GOP party is acting out because of low economic output for the 1%.

Shit, when put like that, 100% yay orange pedo turd! I guess pedo boys will be pedo boys.

People will do anything but seek out a therapist. The kid may have a behavioral disorder, and seeking referrals for conduct disorder or something is usually a joint effort since parents get defensive even when such a disorder is often biological, like depression.

Or, y'know, zero tolerance bullshit and the kid gets expelled. That's more common in the US.

One key aspect to conflict resolution is to acknowledge the other side’s grievances, offer any appropriate apologies (being punched in the face and have glasses broken certainly warrants a heartfelt apology), and if necessary offer any remediation that would satisfy the other party (e.g. offering to pay for the broken glasses, and most importantly, suggesting that they spoke to their child to explain that behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable).

These parents did none of that, and just waved it off as if it’s okay for the kid to do this kind of thing “because they’re hungry”.

I wonder if they saw the ad and thought "a Snickers a day will get expensive, we'll give him a banana instead".

Coming up on three generations now who are afraid of conflict.

The issue is the parents’ refusal to take responsibility for their own child’s behavior.

Which is one of the tentpole requirement of being a parent.

After all, it's just a banana. How much can it possibly cost? Ten dollars?