This is an enormous pant load of merde. As if teachers have ANY disciplinary weapons at their disposal any more. You want to see bullying? Sit in the principal’s office with a rabid parent of a budding sociopath.
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45% of teachers self-report that they have bullied students. That makes me think that the actual incidence is much higher.
As for using a Spanish word for excrement, does this make it any more polite? If you are a teacher, I know that as a professional you would never do this to a naive, and immature student.
I think the incidents of bullying by educators that people are reporting here is their memories of suffering emotional abuse by teachers, not physical discipline; humiliation, ridicule and the sort. I wonder if the current lack of discipline in the schools is driving the cruelty exhibited by some teachers. In the past, teachers could rely on strict discipline existing in the school and enforced by the administration. Now, a teacher is often on his or her own to create and maintain order in the classroom. I think these conditions tend to weed out the kind teachers and selects for the meanies.
It seems that hiring principals care more about a prospects "classroom management" skills than knowledge or love of children.
The end result is a staff that is better suited to be middle school cafeteria aides or meter maids than purveyors of knowledge.