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 ...
Geez, about everybody on this thread thinks they have been mistreated and abused by their teachers. I don’t know what age people we are talking about but kids today are the most spoiled brats ever. If the teacher looks at them cross eyed, they think they’ve been abused. Grow up people, it’s a character building process. It won’t hurt your precious little self esteem.
There’s a difference between a chewing out and ridicule. To say in front of the class, “ Oh, this paper is stupid. I can’t believe you picked a topic like this. Can you believe it? “ and laugh while you say it. That’s wrong.
The problem was, he gave us the option of picking the topic. We could write on anything we wanted to; anything that interested us. And to then go and do something like that? That goes deep when someone publicly ridicules you over something that means something to you.
You can’t tell me there’s not better ways of handling a matter than that. Speaking to a student about the quality or type of work privately would go lots further.
Exactly. Hard I responded to. Mean, I did, too, but not in the same way.
I didn’t mind strict, or high expectations.
Mockery and humiliation? I got enough of that from my classmates. I didn’t need it, or expect it, from my teachers.
Agreed.
When I grade papers, and again, I have the scores to back this, I check what is done well and only barely mark mistakes. That said, I bullying is a problem, yes. But I would wager a guess that teacher bullying would be a much more serious issue in a private school than in a public one. I say this because of the countless stories of nuns who would whip and beat kids relentlessly.
Go back to the Middle Ages if you are seriously looking for 'teacher bullying' or even to our own past in the Puritan times. It was not uncommon for teachers to beat and whip students for poor penmanship, talking in class, fidgeting, etc, up to and including univeristy level students. The difference was at that time there was no Child Protective Services, and students were expected to learn, in school, not at home. Granted, the students were all male, but they were educated in a school. Girls of course, went to Dame School. Dunce caps? Puritan times. Birch rods? Same period. But of course, no one thinks of that as child abuse. It is not as bad as it once was, I assure you.
As said on the thread before, most are reminiscing on the "Grand Old Days" back when teachers had autonomy in the classroom and could deal with students. I would challenge anyone to attempt such disciplinary action on some of the hardcore students I teach, who already seeing a fight as a means to survival.
So, in this day and age of caring about feelings and self-esteem, 45% is nothing compared to the 100% of the days of yore, yet strangely, those in the past managed way better than we ever would *think* of surviving, and they went to a public school to boot!
But, metmom, you are correct, that teacher should be censured for doing that to the student.
Geez, the worst I can remember was the Synchronized Book Drop.
Thirteen years of childhood experiences like that, and is it any wonder that America is becoming a cynical, atheistic country?
On a thread like this, I think it is important to realize that not all teachers are bullies. Next, I will have to tell you about Mrs. Haven, (6th grade) Mr. Youtsey (7th grade history and English) and Mrs. Pierson (8th grade literature).
I will respect public school teachers when their schools compete on a level playing field with all other schools. As long as they oppose vouchers, I know they are opposed to a fair competition and to parental freedom in education. The current system bullies parents. Why should I be surprised by the presence of individual bullies, when the whole system is based on coercion?
What the hell, leave it up the children if they want to be there or not. Let the parents worry about it.
Shouldn’t we all behave like that in the adult world (to get what we want from people)?
I hate that SOB to this day and that was 49 years ago.
Maybe it’s just me, but I think the majority of my teachers were bullies. I think we were all tougher kids back then, because we grew up with our parents telling us things like, “If Mrs. Doles has to give you a paddling at school, then you can expect to get a second paddling when you come home, young lady!” Most of the little mollycoddled kids nowdays couldn’t handle the discipline that was dished out at our schools and from out parents and more’s the pity for it.
Had a kid who wouldn’t do a simple task I ASKED him to do. After twice reminding him not to do it (it was minor), TOLD him if he does it again, he’s going to the office for insubordination. He did it again, almost had to get the cops to help me get him to the office, on the way down he told me I needed to know who ran this school. I bowed up, chest bumped him, got in his face and in no uncertain terms told him who ran the school (without cursing) and continued to take him to the office. Promptly suspended and not that much trouble rest of year until he dropped.
I bullied this kid into acting better. It worked. And the rest of class never gave me problems again (me bullying the bully). BTW, he was a school due to a court mandate from drug possession and other crimes found out later.
Bullying can work as a teacher if done right and used judiciously. Survival of the fittest at times. And the borderline kids want no part with a teacher that will humiliate them for stupidity. Note I said stupidity, not ignorance. Stupid should hurt.
**from out parents**
from OUR parents
Preview is wasted on me.
Starting in the fifth grade class, when called upon to do problems on the board - I am terrible at math - and would get the problem wrong, the teacher would make fun of me. By the 7th grade, I would tell the teacher I did not know how to do the problem and would get sent up anyway. I would then just draw something and get sent back down. Eventually, the teacher never called on me.
I have other stories of bad teachers but needless to say, it did not take me long to figure out that the majority of teachers were no smarter than the students. When I hear the crap over and over again that the majority of teachers are dedicated professionals in a beleagured field - well, that is just crap and it makes me want to throw up. If it was only a few bad apples than we would not have such a major problem in our schools. If you want to look at a organization that is truly full of dedicated professionals with a few bad apples, than look at the military.
Someone mentioned earlier that the schools resemble miniture prisons. I remember the first time I saw an all-air-conditioned school - no windows. It was in DC and it looked like a prison. I remember Northside Elementry in Staunton. Darkened halls and unfriendly teachers and students. I came to believe - before I graduated - that the only purpose of the public schools was to condition children in working a 9-5 job for the rest of their lives. For 12 years, children are forced to get up in the morning, get washed up and go to school. Monday through Friday. Homework is nothing but reports due by the office boss. I am so glad I never had children because I would end up like the ones you read about where the school sic's the police on.
My kids are told that almost to the word. “If you get in trouble at school, you will get in trouble at home, no matter what the reason.”
Been there, done that. My K and 2nd grader know if they get a “card pulled,” punishment begins when they get home. Met with the principal once for my 1st grader last year because of his actions. After the conference with the child, we had a little meeting in the bathrooom along with a half meter stick of education. Not been back since. They are in private christian school, btw.
My boys are learning self-discipline and starting to show it. Something many namby-pamby children with permissive parents that I coach (high school) just don’t have.
Discipline/bullying can be a fine line. But erring on purpose many times on the permissive side has created many problems in our society.
“I dislike tracking people especially at such a young age...after all Einstein and Tesla were “poor” students -— their brilliance not shining until they were older.
“no—I do think however that all students should be involved in technical/occupations pursuits as well academics.”
In this country, we wouldn’t be able to institute a two-tier system of academic and non-academic routes because it conflicts with our notions of equality, but it might work if the kids had freedom of choice. You can opt out of the academic track and go into an apprenticeship program beginning at, say, the age of 14. (People can argue with the specific age.) I do agree with brytlea, however, that it is highly unlikely that these changes will come about. It’s a shame, though, that all that youthful energy is going to waste. The notion of equality is an ideology which will never actually come to pass. Instead of graduating functional illiterates who have no job skills, we could graduate functionally illiterate people who are ready to enter the work force.
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It is abusive to force the other children to endure this student.
An adult has the First Amendment Right NOT to be forced by government to associate with this “court mandate”, “drug possession”, court convicted criminal. It is a HUMAN RIGHT that the government can NOT do this. It is call the First Amendment Right to free assembly.
So,,,if it would be considered a human rights abuse for government to force an adult into imprisonment, day after day, for 6 to 8 hours a day, for 9 months of year with this low-life scum, why on earth do we think it is OK for a **CHILD**!!!!????
Let’s call this what it truly is: Child Abuse! The government is guilt of child abuse of the normal and law abiding children in this minimum security prison. ( mis-named “school”)
If this delinquent is a criminal then we have criminal laws to manage his access to freedom. The other children are NOT criminals but are being treated as if they were!
Is this the wonderful “socialization” that homeschoolers are missing? Gee! The wonderful opportunity to see how criminals must be bullied to be controlled?
Hm!...I am an adult, and in my entire adult life, in my family, among my friends, and at work, I have **never** witnessed anyone being “chest bumped”. Chest bumping is not a behavior that is functional in the normal civilized world of work, family, and friends in which I have the First Amendment Right to choose.
There was only one time when my father intervened in a school punishment and that was an extreme case. During a softball game at school the team captain got mad at me because I took too long to get to the plate (she was already upset because she knew that we were going to lose the game if I struck out and I was lousy at batting). This girl screamed at me that I better not strike out and then swung the bat into my stomach. She swung so hard that it knocked me backwards and knocked the air out of me.
I had never said a curse word in my life, we weren't even allowed to say gosh or darn at home, but for my first curse word I picked a doozy and when I caught my breath I told the girl, "F U!" I was taken off to the school nurse. I only had bruises, no broken bones, so I was sent back to gym class.
The gym teacher pulled me into her office with the assistant principle who told me that I had to apologize to the girl that hit me or I would be suspended from school. I told the girl, "I'm sorry that I cussed when you swung a baseball bat into my stomach." They told me that that apology was not acceptable and sent me home with a note that said I had one more chance to apologize the next day or I would be suspended.
To make a long story short, my father was angry when he read the note, but he remained very calm. He took off work and took me to school the next day. He told them that his daughter had already apologized for what she did wrong and they would get no more apologies from me. He told them that I was being disciplined at home for cussing (I had to do extra chores for two weeks)and that he hoped that they agreed with him that no further talk of suspension was necessary. He told them that if they wanted to discuss it further then they needed to excuse his daughter from the room...there was no more discussion.
I miss my father so much. He taught me to stand up for myself and take responsibility for what I did and he led by example.
That’s a whole different issue than what most of us went through. That kid was just asking, no,... begging, someone to take charge and prove they were tougher than he. In that case, you called his bluff and spoke to him in a language he understood, and it worked. It was just what HE needed.
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