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 ...
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.
Please ping homeschool and public school.
Thank you.
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.
metmom.
Please ping homeschool and public school.
Thank you.
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?!?
I agree. Teacher bullying was one of the major reasons I started homeschooling.
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
I hated them passionately. Forty years later I still feel like spitting when I visualize their faces. Grrrr!
He even threw me off of the bleachers once in frustration and he still is head and shoulders above all others.
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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.
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.
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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?
I had a fifth grade teacher who sprayed Glade air freshener around the room everyday because she claimed the class stank of body odor.
I had a fifth grade teacher who sprayed Glade air freshener around the room everyday because she claimed the class stank of body odor.
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Now that’s funny!
I suppose she thought that if you cage kids like gerbils, they will smell like gerbils as well. :)
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.
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.
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I am sitting here laughing and laughing!
Some would say that their SAT and GRE scores would prove you right!
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?
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