Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Teachers Who Bully ( We shouldn't be surprised)
WebMD ^ | December 03, 2007 | Katherine Kam /Charlotte Grayson Mathis, MD

Posted on 12/03/2007 2:44:21 PM PST by wintertime

In recent years, a slew of books have offered parents ample insight into the minds of young bullies.

But what if it's the teacher who screams, threatens, or uses biting sarcasm to humiliate a child in front of the class?

Teacher bullying gets little attention, say Stuart Twemlow, MD, a psychiatrist who directs the Peaceful Schools and Communities Project at the Menninger Clinic in Houston. But his new study, published in The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, hints that the problem may be more common than people believe.

In his anonymous survey of 116 teachers at seven elementary schools, more than 70% said they believed that bullying was isolated. But 45% admitted to having bullied a student. "I was surprised at how many teachers were willing to be honest," Twemlow says.

He defines teacher bullying as "using power to punish, manipulate, or disparage a student beyond what would be a reasonable disciplinary procedure." Twemlow, a former high school teacher, insists that he's not trying to denigrate a praiseworthy -- and often beleaguered -- profession. "This is not being done to victimize or criticize teachers. There are a few bad apples, but the vast majority of teachers go beyond the call of duty. They're very committed and altruistic."

Nevertheless, bullying is a risk, he says. When Twemlow quizzed subjects about bullying, "Some teachers reported being angry at being asked the question," he writes. "But more reflective teachers realized that bullying is a hazard of teaching."

(Excerpt) Read more at webmd.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bullying; homeschool; school; teachers
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 121-128 next last
If children are treated like prisoners in buildings that look like minimum security prisons, if they are marched aroung like herds of sheep to the sound of Pavlov's bell, if they isolated in unnatural same-aged packs, is it any wonder that they form protection gangs ( cliques) and bully? Is it any wonder that the school employees find themselves acting like bullies themselves? Should we be surprised that we read, nearly daily, of teachers sexually abusing their charges?

I don't think it is surprising we see such dysfunctional behavior. It is not normal to treat children this way. In fact, I call it abusive. In more than 150,000 years of human existence we have never done this to children. Our human ancestors, if they could see the huge, modern, factory-like schools ( that look very much like minimum security prisons) that children must endure every day, would be blinking in surprise and confusion that we would do this to children

The author of the study writes that 45% of teachers admitted to bullying. I conclude that the actual incidence is higher.

1 posted on 12/03/2007 2:44:23 PM PST by wintertime
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: wintertime
metmom.

Please ping homeschool and public school.

Thank you.

2 posted on 12/03/2007 2:46:49 PM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wintertime

Our daughter had a teacher like that in the first grade. She was dreadful.....nicknamed the child Messy Jesse because, well, it rhymes! She duct taped a child to his chair to teach him to sit still. Cruel and mean spirited. And protected by tenure.

We were able to get her away from our child, but not out of the school.


3 posted on 12/03/2007 2:48:23 PM PST by trimom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: metmom
OOps! I will try this again.

metmom.
Please ping homeschool and public school.

Thank you.

4 posted on 12/03/2007 2:51:29 PM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: wintertime

IF YOU DON'T EAT YOUR MEAT, YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY PUDDING!!! HOW CAN YOU HAVE ANY PUDDING IF YOU DON'T EAT YOUR MEAT?!?

5 posted on 12/03/2007 2:51:59 PM PST by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wintertime

I agree. Teacher bullying was one of the major reasons I started homeschooling.


6 posted on 12/03/2007 2:52:16 PM PST by cinives (On some planets what I do is considered normal.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wintertime

The best teacher I ever had, both showed love and discipline. And he did it all while being a great example of both.

He even threw me off of the bleachers once in frustration and he still is head and shoulders above all others.

RIP Mr. Sonneman


7 posted on 12/03/2007 2:53:25 PM PST by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (There once was a dream called, "Hippy Beat Down." The mere whisper of if caused cops to weep.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wintertime
I can recall two instances with two different teachers, in which I was ridiculed in front of the class who then laughed uproariously.

I hated them passionately. Forty years later I still feel like spitting when I visualize their faces. Grrrr!

8 posted on 12/03/2007 2:58:15 PM PST by Max in Utah (If your neighbors habitually trespassed, wouldn't you want a nice tall fence with razor wire on top?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig

He even threw me off of the bleachers once in frustration and he still is head and shoulders above all others.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

And what would happen if social workers knew that a parent had done that?

I think there should be a gold standard.

If a certain incident or behavior would have the SS knocking on the door of a parent, asking hard questions, then Social Services should be knocking on the doors of teachers and principals as well.


9 posted on 12/03/2007 2:58:34 PM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Max in Utah

Been there, done that.

I had an English teacher make fun of the topic of a paper I wrote in front of the whole class. “Hate” would be an apt word for what I felt.


10 posted on 12/03/2007 3:01:20 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Max in Utah
I hated them passionately. Forty years later I still feel like spitting when I visualize their faces. Grrrr!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thankfully, humans are resilient. Most do overcome their abusive institutional school experiences.

But,,,,shouldn’t we look at the system and recognize that it is abnormal to institutionalize children the way we do in prison-like settings?

11 posted on 12/03/2007 3:02:09 PM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: trimom

I had a fifth grade teacher who sprayed Glade air freshener around the room everyday because she claimed the class stank of body odor.


12 posted on 12/03/2007 3:02:25 PM PST by Max in Utah (If your neighbors habitually trespassed, wouldn't you want a nice tall fence with razor wire on top?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Max in Utah

I had a fifth grade teacher who sprayed Glade air freshener around the room everyday because she claimed the class stank of body odor.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now that’s funny!

I suppose she thought that if you cage kids like gerbils, they will smell like gerbils as well. :)


13 posted on 12/03/2007 3:04:16 PM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: wintertime
Teachers Who Bully ( We shouldn't be surprised)

I'd guess that they fall into 2 categories:
1. Teachers that are coaches...and that "bullying" (aka motivating!)
is part of their job.

OR

2. Teachers that are leftist nut-jobs, ready to hand out a "C-minus"
or worse to any student questioning the Marxist-Maoist-Stalinist
paradigm.
And ready to flunk anyone that exposes them to the rest of the class
as a pithed-frog-brain Commie nutburger.
14 posted on 12/03/2007 3:04:38 PM PST by VOA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DaveLoneRanger; 2Jedismom; aberaussie; Aggie Mama; agrace; Antoninus; arbooz; bboop; bill1952; ...

ANOTHER REASON TO HOMESCHOOL

This ping list is for the “other” articles of interest to homeschoolers about education and public school. If you want on/off this list, please freepmail me. The main Homeschool Ping List by DaveLoneRanger handles the homeschool-specific articles. This is becoming a fairly high volume list.
15 posted on 12/03/2007 3:04:39 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: trimom
And protected by tenure.

Tenure won't stop a projectile. And some day, one of these teachers is going to mess with the wrong child....or his/her parents.

16 posted on 12/03/2007 3:05:03 PM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (I am Spartacus! ................Oh hell...who am I kidding? I'm Peter Griffin.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: abclily; aberaussie; albertp; AliVeritas; Amelia; AnAmericanMother; andie74; AVNevis; bannie; ...

Public Education Ping

This list is for articles relating to public education. mcvey and republican professor have asked me to take over the list. If you want on or off this ping list, please FReepmail me.
17 posted on 12/03/2007 3:05:11 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Max in Utah
I had a fifth grade teacher who sprayed Glade air freshener around the room everyday because she claimed the class stank of body odor.

It probably did. My wife taught 5th graders down in TX for a year, and it was noticeable. Hot, sweaty boys can smell bad, even at 10 or 11.

18 posted on 12/03/2007 3:05:48 PM PST by r9etb
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: VOA
pithed-frog-brain Commie nutburger.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I am sitting here laughing and laughing!

Some would say that their SAT and GRE scores would prove you right!

19 posted on 12/03/2007 3:06:19 PM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: wintertime
But,,,,shouldn’t we look at the system and recognize that it is abnormal to institutionalize children the way we do in prison-like settings?

Yes, but I can't at the moment think of how else we'd do it. Do you have any practical suggestions about changing the public school system?

20 posted on 12/03/2007 3:09:10 PM PST by Max in Utah (If your neighbors habitually trespassed, wouldn't you want a nice tall fence with razor wire on top?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 121-128 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson