School Spins....Bullying and Disrespect by Teachers in Our Schools

Over and over, when bullying is being discussed, I hear a lot of talk about it being a result of the assailant having been bullied him/herself by peers in school or having had a dysfunctional home life. Nothing is ever said about how bullying and disrespect dished out by teachers could be playing a part in this problem. High school kids have attempted to expose the problem by filming it using cellphones but, rather than addressing the behavior that has been recorded, schools and the media seem to focus on the 'problem' of cellphones in the classroom. Don't get me wrong, said recordings often exhibited outrageous actions by one or more students and the use of cellphones in the classroom has become a bonafide issue. However, what happens to cause children to be so emboldened and why is there no focus on the deficiency in classroom handling skills when it is exposed?

While I know that there are many wonderful, capable and well-meaning teachers in our school system, I believe there may be an equal number of baggage-laden, incompetent and mean-spirited ones. The latter is found at all levels of the school system (JK, onwards) and we are forced to entrust our children to them. Children who are exposed to the vitriol and disrespect dished to them by these individuals are bound to pass it on in the playground. Further, I'm betting that such children account for a high number of those who, by the time they reach high school, are confrontational and prone to disrespecting both teachers and peers.


I'm not saying that teachers are the sole problem, I'm saying there needs to be acknowledgment that teachers are sometimes part of the problem and this needs to be monitored and eradicated from our classrooms. There are teachers who employ sarcasm, yell at children, embarass them, ignore them, show favoritism or punish all for the transgressions of one or a few. They criticize children publicly, intimidate them, punish them without impartiality and even speak over them when a child is trying to explain his/her actions. I've said it before, certification is not another word for competence and we need to get a system in place that rewards competence and creativity - perhaps this would motivate the others to improve their classroom handling skills.


Can you imagine, in this day and age, an elementary school-aged child being told by a teacher that she expects him to fail High School and amount to nothing? This happened to a classmate of one of my boys towards the end of Grade 6, last school year, and not only was it said but, it was said in front of the whole class. How about a teacher yelling at a child that if his head was not attached to him, he would lose it too - this happened in my daughter's 4th grade class.


If a child is exposed to this kind of thing (directed at him/her or at others) regularly, and this is combined with issues faced at home as well as exposure to other children's challenges, how can it not contribute to bullying? Some of the stories that I've been told about things said or done to other children has been awful and makes our family's experiences look mild in comparison however, our experiences have caused me to be very wary, so I take no teacher at face value anymore. Is it a wonder that more and more moms are having to put on their battle face to attend parent/teacher meetings? Can you afford not to? And, when you hear the phrase, "If you're not talking to your children, someone else is", does it ever occur to you that that someone could be a teacher?


I would encourage you to listen to your children, ask questions, trust them; compare notes with other parents and be their hero (we want them to be self-sufficient but this is not an even playing field). We don't have to resort to intimidation ourselves but we can let teachers know that we're aware of what's going on in the classroom and this may give them pause for thought.


Lastly, for the children's sake, please don't live such an insular life that you don't concern yourself with the problems of other people's children. The child you ignore may be the adult you meet on a dark street or whose help you need in the future. The "Village" can be revived and it's wonderful when it's fully functioning. Much Love.