Is your child's teacher a bully?

As we begin a new school year, many parents think about ways to encourage and support students as they embark on their educational journey. This is normal process because in school we hope teachers will create an inclusive environment that is nurturing and enriching.

The thought of school being anything other than academically enriching should be preposterous. However, how many of us can remember a teacher who we believed did not like us? The teacher may have verbally abused us, humiliated us, and embarrassed us.  Many students may not possess the correct verbiage and articulation skills to express they may be getting bullied by their teacher.

Teacher-bullying shares many of the same characteristics as peer-to-peer bullying.  Teacher-bullying also shares the same attributes as workplace bullies. A notarized researcher named McEvoy characterized teacher-bullying as a chronic abuse of power displayed publicly by teachers to generate attention, degrade, and humiliate students simultaneously.  Teacher-bullying can take place in a public area in the school or academic atmosphere, but can also occur in a closed classroom environment. Research has shown teachers who bully students rarely receive retribution or consequences because administration is unaware of teacher-bullying behaviors and it is hard for students to talk about their experience. 
Teacher-bullying can be intentional or unintentional. Whether intentionally done or unintentionally done, teacher-bullying can have serious consequences for the students who are being bullied.

When does tough love and punitive classroom management techniques go too far? Some teachers may use bullying behaviors as classroom management techniques.  Teachers may use negative tactics to gain order in their classroom. Negative techniques are sarcasm, yelling, ridicule, name-calling, and taunting.  Similarly to other forms of bullying, teacher-bullying can bare extreme depression and other negative psychological affects for students. Teacher-bullying can cause dropout rates to increase, a decrease in self-esteem, a decrease in academic performance, and an increase in violence.   

What can we do to mitigate teacher-bullying?  As a parent, it
is imperative to be aware of the warning signs your child maybe getting bullied by their teacher.  Some warning signs are below:
1.       Does your child frequently believe the teacher
embarrasses him/her in class?
2.       Does your child frequently believe the teacher
belittles him/her in class?
3.       Does your child frequently believe the teacher
degrades him/her in class?
4.       Does your child frequently believe the teacher is sarcastic with him/her in class?
5.       Does your child frequently believe the teacher use opaque names to identify a group of students? 
6.       Does your child frequently believe the teacher verbally abuses him/her in class?
7.       Does your child frequently believe the teacher agrees with the actions of the peer bullies in school?  
8.       Does your child believe that their teacher does
not like him/her?

 It is imperative to recognize and document the negative behaviors displayed by teachers. It is crucial to hold the teacher and administration accountable for this negative behavior displayed by teachers.  It is true that, social, emotional, and academic consequences exist when teachers abuse their power and use control in a manner that serves no academic purpose. Children are very smart and they know when they are being mistreated. It is important for us to protect our children and hold teachers accountable for educating their students.

Written by: Alice M Prince
Published: Saint Louis American