Teachers that bully kids

Offy · 12-04-2011 10:10pm #1

Im posting here rather than in the Education section because Ive noticed that this subject tends to get locked rather than discussed in the Education section.
Think back to your school days, do you remember any teachers that used to bully their students? I remember been canned in primary school after it was banned, been punched by teachers in secondary school and on one occasion I had my head slapped of a wall for leaning against a rad on a cold wet winters day. A generation later one of my children reports been hit by his headmaster (the same headmaster taught me and he is heavy handed) and a younger child reports been singled out and ridiculed because she has problems with spelling. I failed my leaving cert because I have trouble with languages yet I have two degrees in engineering so whats the problem with bad spellings? When they grow up they can use a spell checker!
Why do some teachers think it is acceptable to bully children and what can parents do to stop this practice? All comments and ideas are welcomed even if they are yore ma! Suggestions anyone?

Toto Wolfcastle · 12-04-2011 10:13pm

If your child is being bullied physically or otherwise then you need to go through the correct complaints procedure. That sort of behaviour isn't acceptable. The school should be able to provide you with a copy of this procedure.

El Weirdo · 12-04-2011 10:14pm

Offy wrote: »

Im posting here rather than in the Education section because Ive noticed that this subject tends to get locked rather than discussed in the Education section.
Think back to your school days, do you remember any teachers that used to bully their students? I remember been canned in primary school after it was banned, been punched by teachers in secondary school and on one occasion I had my head slapped of a wall for leaning against a rad on a cold wet winters day. A generation later one of my children reports been hit by his headmaster (the same headmaster taught me and he is heavy handed) and a younger child reports been singled out and ridiculed because she has problems with spelling. I failed my leaving cert because I have trouble with languages yet I have two degrees in engineering so whats the problem with bad spellings? When they grow up they can use a spell checker!
Why do some teachers think it is acceptable to bully children and what can parents do to stop this practice? All comments and ideas are welcomed even if they are yore ma! Suggestions anyone?

AH answer: Spell checkers don't tell you the difference between "been" and "being", though.

Serious answer: If a child is being bullied by teachers at school, surely the teacher should be reported?

hondasam · 12-04-2011 10:15pm

Offy wrote: »

Im posting here rather than in the Education section because Ive noticed that this subject tends to get locked rather than discussed in the Education section.
Think back to your school days, do you remember any teachers that used to bully their students? I remember been canned in primary school after it was banned, been punched by teachers in secondary school and on one occasion I had my head slapped of a wall for leaning against a rad on a cold wet winters day. A generation later one of my children reports been hit by his headmaster (the same headmaster taught me and he is heavy handed) and a younger child reports been singled out and ridiculed because she has problems with spelling. I failed my leaving cert because I have trouble with languages yet I have two degrees in engineering so whats the problem with bad spellings? When they grow up they can use a spell checker!
Why do some teachers think it is acceptable to bully children and what can parents do to stop this practice? All comments and ideas are welcomed even if they are yore ma! Suggestions anyone?

Can I ask did you go into the school and speak to the teacher ?

ShamoBuc · 12-04-2011 10:15pm

What fraction of modern day teachers do you honestly think 'bully' children?
I reckon it's less than the percentage of teachers that are bullied by the modern day teenager!

hondasam · 12-04-2011 10:18pm

I wish people would stop pointing out punctuation and spelling here in AH. It is not an exam.

starbelgrade · 12-04-2011 10:19pm

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

If your child is being bullied physically or otherwise then you need to go through the correct complaints procedure. That sort of behaviour isn't acceptable. The school should be able to provide you with a copy of this procedure.

They might have procedures now, but if you complained years ago about a teacher bullying you, the procedure was to whack you on the back of the head & tell you to shut the fuck up.

sinjin_smythe · 12-04-2011 10:19pm

How did you get 2 degrees without a leaving cert?

EverEvolving · 12-04-2011 10:20pm

should be shot with bullets of their own shite.

But seriously, I think sometimes the teachers that bully try to make the pupil they are teaching out to be dumb so they don't get the stick for being a crap teacher.

The teaching system really isn't fair in this country, if a teacher is made permanent then they can sit back and relax. In fairness though, most of my secondary teachers were decent enough but my national school teachers were witches disguised in human bodies. Real pushers of catholicism and had us in ship shape for the priests/bishops visits. For the run up to the visit we got no education except religion. We even had to rehearse our questions and that rubbish. Still, there are some things I learned in national I will never forget.

born2bwild · 12-04-2011 10:21pm

hondasam wrote: »

I wish people would stop pointing out punctuation and spelling here in AH. It is not an exam.

#Yeah but then the fabric of civilisation would unravel and the IMF would be running the country with a gormless puppet from Mayo to take the flak...oh, wait a minute...
A lot of teachers get into teaching precisely because they are bullies.

easyeason3 · 12-04-2011 10:22pm

Bullying should not be tolerated, particularly by teachers. When I was in school, & it's not so long ago, teachers could say the most horrific things & get away with it. I got slapped on the knuckles a few times in primary school but it was usually for something trivial.

And on the spelling thing. I have a few friends that are highly intelligent but can't spell if their life depended on it. These people have, like yourself an engineering or a scientific background. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Report your concerns to the appropriate person.

Toto Wolfcastle · 12-04-2011 10:22pm

starbelgrade wrote: »

They might have procedures now, but if you complained years ago about a teacher bullying you, the procedure was to whack you on the back of the head & tell you to shut the fuck up.

I'm sure it was, although I'm not old enough to have experienced it.

The most important thing now is that the OP's children are treated properly.

Solnskaya · 12-04-2011 10:22pm

Agree totally, some teachers seem to form pets and brats in their own mind and then take it out on the (often unfairly labelled)brats. My version of dealing with this is to present myself up to the school and bully the teacher. I have 1 "bold" kid and 1 "very quiet nice" kid and the teachers leave the gurrier alone(he's mouthy, like me) and pick on the quiet lad who is very hard working and studious. The other one doesn't do a tap, but the teachers just tolerate him, the quiet one gets picked on the whole time. Personally, I am not a huge fan of teachers in general, realise that is a massive generalisation, but hey, there you go.

ShamoBuc · 12-04-2011 10:22pm

EverEvolving wrote: »

should be shot with bullets of their own shite.

But seriously, I think sometimes the teachers that bully try to make the pupil they are teaching out to be dumb so they don't get the stick for being a crap teacher.

The teaching system really isn't fair in this country, if a teacher is made permanent then they can sit back and relax. In fairness though, most of my secondary teachers were decent enough but my national school teachers were witches disguised in human bodies. Real pushers of catholicism and had us in ship shape for the priests/bishops visits. For the run up to the visit we got no education except religion. We even had ro rehearse our questions and that rubbish. Still, there are some things I learned in national I will never forget.

I had the Christian Brothers in charge.... I learned how to duck!

Offy · 12-04-2011 10:23pm

weedhead wrote: »

How did you get 2 degrees without a leaving cert?

Mature student.

Frowzy · 12-04-2011 10:23pm

There's a saying that you need a licence to own a dog but anyone can become a parent.

I fear the same thing can be said about teachers. Once you have a qualification you can teach, when clearly not everyone is suited to it!

I do agree to a certain extent with ShamoBuc however. I suspect that modern day teenagers are a force to be reckoned with and of course they're backed up by parents still carrying the anger from their own youth. The job of a teacher definately isn't what it used to be, don't know if that's a good or a bad thing!

If your child is complaining of unfair treatment, or God forbid physical contact, then you should take it up with the Principal ASAP!

admiralofthefleet · 12-04-2011 10:24pm

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

If your child is being bullied physically or otherwise then you need to go through the correct complaints procedure. That sort of behaviour isn't acceptable. The school should be able to provide you with a copy of this procedure.

somebody very close to me was called 'tick' and 'slow' by teachers in a very well known girls secondary school in terenure becuase she has numerical dyslexia, when her parents challenged it they were fobbed off and told they would be taking on the government if they were to pursue it. it resulted iin the girl being removed from the school becuase of the bullying she suffered at the hands of teachers

themadchef · 12-04-2011 10:24pm

El Weirdo wrote: »

AH answer: Spell checkers don't tell you the difference between "been" and "being", though.

Serious answer: If a child is being bullied by teachers at school, surely the teacher should be reported?

Grammar Nazi gotta work too bro!

Offy, who are they reporting to? If it were me i'd make an appointment to see this headmaster, and dont go in steaming either, write it all out if you can. I can imagine that would be tough for you but i'd say it's the first step in any complaints procedure.

Inform the board of Management as well. If you go online to the Dept. of Ed they must have a complaints procedure.

It is never acceptable to bully a child, and frankly he sounds like a dinosaur.

ShamoBuc · 12-04-2011 10:25pm

Solnskaya wrote: »

Agree totally, some teachers seem to form pets and brats in their own mind and then take it out on the (often unfairly labelled)brats. My version of dealing with this is to present myself up to the school and bully the teacher. I have 1 "bold" kid and 1 "very quiet nice" kid and the teachers leave the gurrier alone(he's mouthy, like me) and pick on the quiet lad who is very hard working and studious. The other one doesn't do a tap, but the teachers just tolerate him, the quiet one gets picked on the whole time. Personally, I am not a huge fan of teachers in general, realise that is a massive generalisation, but hey, there you go.

you must be some role model!

WhatNowForUs? · 12-04-2011 10:29pm

Offy wrote: »

Im posting here rather than in the Education section because Ive noticed that this subject tends to get locked rather than discussed in the Education section.
Think back to your school days, do you remember any teachers that used to bully their students? I remember been canned in primary school after it was banned, been punched by teachers in secondary school and on one occasion I had my head slapped of a wall for leaning against a rad on a cold wet winters day. A generation later one of my children reports been hit by his headmaster (the same headmaster taught me and he is heavy handed) and a younger child reports been singled out and ridiculed because she has problems with spelling. I failed my leaving cert because I have trouble with languages yet I have two degrees in engineering so whats the problem with bad spellings? When they grow up they can use a spell checker!
Why do some teachers think it is acceptable to bully children and what can parents do to stop this practice? All comments and ideas are welcomed even if they are yore ma! Suggestions anyone?

There is a lot in there. Why did you send your kid to the school that bullied you especially if the particular teacher who bullied you is now the headmaster? Out of interest how long did it take you to get an engineering degree after you failed your leaving cert? How did you go about it? Spelling is important even in eng. (Apoligies for my spelling)
On the issue at hand,
1/ If it is the only school in the area you need to go to the Guards and tell them what is happening and also put it in writing and send it to a solicitor at the same time.
2/ If the bullying continues go up the school and complain. Let the guards know that you complained and also let the solicitor know.
3/ If it happenes again make sure that the info that you are getting from your kid is correct by asking other kids in the class and their parents. If it is correct go and beat the **** out of the teacher bully.

I might have the process order wrong there but the people involved here are directly responsible in making your kids learning unbearable.

hondasam · 12-04-2011 10:29pm

born2bwild wrote: »

#Yeah but then the fabric of civilisation would unravel and the IMF would be running the country with a gormless puppet from Mayo to take the flak...oh, wait a minute...
A lot of teachers get into teaching precisely because they are bullies.

I have no idea what point you are making.

Offy · 12-04-2011 10:30pm

themadchef wrote: »

Grammar Nazi gotta work too bro!

Offy, who are they reporting to? If it were me i'd make an appointment to see this headmaster, and dont go in steaming either, write it all out if you can. I can imagine that would be tough for you but i'd say it's the first step in any complaints procedure.

Inform the board of Management as well. If you go online to the Dept. of Ed they must have a complaints procedure.

It is never acceptable to bully a child, and frankly he sounds like a dinosaur.

Hiya K,

Ive reported it to the headmaster and got fobbed off so I wrote a letter of complaint to the board but got no response.

Solnskaya · 12-04-2011 10:31pm

ShamoBuc wrote: »

you must be some role model!

No, I am quiet and studious and hardworking, but asking the school nicely to leave my nice, sensitive son alone did not work, so I decided to take the opposite tack(I am nice, studious,hardworking, very large and gnarly). This simply resulted in the teacher taking the schnide comments route rather than the outright bullying. I might have to blast him with bullets of sh1te to get this sorted. I am sure I am not half the role model you yourself are, obviously.

Toto Wolfcastle · 12-04-2011 10:32pm

Offy wrote: »

Hiya K,

Ive reported it to the headmaster and got fobbed off so I wrote a letter of complaint to the board but got no response.

Contact the board again or find out what the next step is. They can't ignore you. This is a serious issue.

PeakOutput · 12-04-2011 10:33pm

I had a disgusting teacher for 4th class, he was well known in the town for being a prick but I guess I got singled out

I was getting bullied by kids at the time as well but it was far worse coming from the teacher and I wasn't the only one in the class I would say me and two other lads got the brunt of it, never physical. we would just always be the ones asked to recite things and asked to answer questions and if we got anything wrong we would get the worst punishment immediately (I got banned from playing in the gaa football schools final because he was the coach and I couldnt recite a paragraph of an irish essay nobody else had ever gotten a punishment like that for anything). if we were caught getting bullied it would somehow be our fault etc etc.

He was the type of teacher who would have the girls come up to the top of the class and sit on his lap to read their part of the story and he would be petting and rubbing their heads.

as it went on my behaviour got worse and worse and I got in a fight with two lads (didnt start it) and got my ass handed to me and one of their friends who happened to be a girl came over and started kicking me while I was on the ground. parents came to the school and the 5 of us were outside the class talking about what happened when he started petting and rubbing her head in front of my parents and leaning down and whispering in her ear that he knows she would never do anything wrong and not to worry so my dad flipped and went to the principle. what did she do? absolutely nothing and I was able to put up with it for about a few more months and then they just took me out of the school.

While I can honestly say being bullied has made me a better person in the long run if I was ever to meet that man I would spit in his face

edit; thats probably the most bitter I have ever sounded about anything haha

Dudess · 12-04-2011 10:35pm

Definitely saw it when I was in primary school and secondary school in the 80s/90s. Ok the teachers didn't (couldn't) physically assault the kids but they used tactics like singling out, as well as isolating, humiliating, "pouncing", sticking their noses into the kid's business outside of class/school.

Some kids are little sh1tbags to teachers but it wasn't those I saw getting bullied by the teachers - sure, some of the troublemakers got snide remarks from teachers but at least that was provoked.

Offy · 12-04-2011 10:35pm

WhatNowForUs? wrote: »

There is a lot in there. Why did you send your kid to the school that bullied you especially if the particular teacher who bullied you is now the headmaster? Out of interest how long did it take you to get an engineering degree after you failed your leaving cert? How did you go about it? Spelling is important even in eng. (Apoligies for my spelling)
On the issue at hand,
1/ If it is the only school in the area you need to go to the Guards and tell them what is happening and also put it in writing and send it to a solicitor at the same time.
2/ If the bullying continues go up the school and complain. Let the guards know that you complained and also let the solicitor know.
3/ If it happenes again make sure that the info that you are getting from your kid is correct by asking other kids in the class and their parents. If it is correct go and beat the **** out of the teacher bully.

I might have the process order wrong there but the people involved here are directly responsible in making your kids learning unbearable.

I thought after two of the teachers I had were thrown out of teaching for hitting kids that that sort of thing would have stopped. There is only two boys schools in the town and the other one is one of the worse in Ireland for leaving cert results. First degree took four years and the second only took one year. I served an apprentieship after leaving school and went to college a few years later.

winston82 · 12-04-2011 10:35pm

ShamoBuc wrote: »

I had the Christian Brothers in charge.... I learned how to suck!

FYP

EverEvolving · 12-04-2011 10:36pm

ShamoBuc wrote: »

I had the Christian Brothers in charge.... I learned how to duck!

Christian Brothers/Nuns - they should really hook up and not be so damn wound up!!

easyeason3 · 12-04-2011 10:36pm

PeakOutput wrote: »

I had a disgusting teacher for 4th class, he was well known in the town for being a prick but I guess I got singled out

I was getting bullied by kids at the time as well but it was far worse coming from the teacher and I wasn't the only one in the class I would say me and two other lads got the brunt of it, never physical. we would just always be the ones asked to recite things and asked to answer questions and if we got anything wrong we would get the worst punishment immediately (I got banned from playing in the gaa football schools final because he was the coach and I couldnt recite a paragraph of an irish essay nobody else had ever gotten a punishment like that for anything). if we were caught getting bullied it would somehow be our fault etc etc.

He was the type of teacher who would have the girls come up to the top of the class and sit on his lap to read their part of the story and he would be petting and rubbing their heads.

as it went on my behaviour got worse and worse and I got in a fight with two lads (didnt start it) and got my ass handed to me and one of their friends who happened to be a girl came over and started kicking me while I was on the ground. parents came to the school and the 5 of us were outside the class talking about what happened when he started petting and rubbing her head in front of my parents and leaning down and whispering in her ear that he knows she would never do anything wrong and not to worry so my dad flipped and went to the principle. what did she do? absolutely nothing and I was able to put up with it for about a few more months and then they just took me out of the school.

While I can honestly say being bullied has made me a better person in the long run if I was ever to meet that man I would spit in his face

edit; thats probably the most bitter I have ever sounded about anything haha

Alarm bells ringing. I'm sure everyone can hear them.

SuperInfinity · 12-04-2011 10:37pm

PeakOutput wrote: »

He was the type of teacher who would have the girls come up to the top of the class and sit on his lap to read their part of the story and he would be petting and rubbing their heads.

HAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA.... wow, I never heard of teachers like that.

He wouldn't get away with that now! He'd have to take them into a back room for that sort of thing these days...

themadchef · 12-04-2011 10:37pm

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

Contact the board again or find out what the next step is. They can't ignore you. This is a serious issue.

+1

The department wont ignore you.

Any witness? Anyone to back her up?

Local-womanizer · 12-04-2011 10:37pm

My mum got a slap of a teacher one day at school,her mother went in that day and told that teacher if "she ever lay a finger on her daughter again she would beat her,the only one allowed to hit my daughter is me"

Seemed to work pretty well.

In todays world,a complaint to the college about that teacher and if they refuse to take it seriously the Gardai would be interested to hear about it I would assume,after all assault is assault no matter where it happens.

To hit another persons child baffles me,no teacher would even think about doing it in front of the parents.

doolox · 12-04-2011 10:37pm

Its assault and so should be reported to the Guards.
Don't let them away with it.
It wasn't my parents who thought me fear and self-loathing.
It wasn't the schoolyard bullies, many of whom I found out in later life had bullying parents.
It was some of the teachers.

I regret now that I didn't follow up on reporting and getting some action taken to stop the violence and bullying.

Now, just like the zero-tolerence policy to clerical child abuse, a similar policy should be in place for violence directed at children.

ShamoBuc · 12-04-2011 10:38pm

winston82 wrote: »

FYP

personal experience?

Dudess · 12-04-2011 10:38pm

And I have heard of teachers giving kids grief because they have difficulty with certain subjects, might even be dyslexic - it's upsetting to think an adult assuming parental responsibility would behave like that.

:mad:

Latchy · 12-04-2011 10:40pm

hondasam wrote: »

I wish people would stop pointing out punctuation and spelling here in AH. It is not an exam.

The people who use spell checker to cover their own little errors here and there are the worst culprits .Some of them will be teachers to .:cool:

Offy · 12-04-2011 10:40pm

themadchef wrote: »

+1

The department wont ignore you.

Any witness? Anyone to back her up?

Only other children Im afraid.

ShamoBuc · 12-04-2011 10:40pm

EverEvolving wrote: »

Christian Brothers/Nuns - they should really hook up and not be so damn wound up!!

I had the very same conversation with a work colleague last week, 4 or 5 times a year - a shag weekend!

Toto Wolfcastle · 12-04-2011 10:42pm

Offy wrote: »

Only other children Im afraid.

Witnesses are witnesses. This issue needs to be investigated. If you are ignored try again until someone listens.

ShamoBuc · 12-04-2011 10:42pm

Solnskaya wrote: »

No, I am quiet and studious and hardworking, but asking the school nicely to leave my nice, sensitive son alone did not work, so I decided to take the opposite tack(I am nice, studious,hardworking, very large and gnarly). This simply resulted in the teacher taking the schnide comments route rather than the outright bullying. I might have to blast him with bullets of sh1te to get this sorted. I am sure I am not half the role model you yourself are, obviously.

agreed;)

born2bwild · 12-04-2011 10:43pm

hondasam wrote: »

I have no idea what point you are making.

None, really, at first. I changed durection mid-stream of consciousness and decided to answer the OP's point with an observation about some teachers being bullies first; teachers second.

SuperInfinity · 12-04-2011 10:45pm

Once one of my teachers called me a "twit" because I forgot something for school when I was about 10. It was the hateful and cold way she said it that really stuck with me. What a bitch. And there was no reason for it at all, it was ridiculous.

Wibbs · 12-04-2011 10:45pm

Yea one. Well more than one, but this one got his comeuppance, beaten to a pathetic mess, with a side order of early bravado, in front of the school, by a 16 year old guy he had had previously bullied so much he had transferred from said school. And that's how you deal with bully's I reckon.

themadchef · 12-04-2011 10:47pm

Offy wrote: »

Only other children Im afraid.

They witnessed it nonetheless. Prosecute the spineless fúcker.

winston82 · 12-04-2011 10:47pm

ShamoBuc wrote: »

personal experience?

yes, you looking for tips?

cup the balls and don't slurp...

hondasam · 12-04-2011 10:49pm

Latchy wrote: »

The people who use spell checker to cover their own little errors here and there are the worst culprits .Some of them will be teachers to .:cool:

It's getting very annoying. There is different types of bullying and this could be seen as one of them.

padraig91 · 12-04-2011 10:49pm

I remember back when i was in secondary school, in french class one of the lads on the first day was told to sit down the back of the class and anytime he tried to ask a question the teacher would shout at him "You dont exist in this class" now the lad was a bit of a messer and i can only assume that this spread around the teachers on the first week of school and the teacher just took against him before she even saw him.

hondasam · 12-04-2011 10:51pm

born2bwild wrote: »

None, really, at first. I changed durection mid-stream of consciousness and decided to answer the OP's point with an observation about some teachers being bullies first; teachers second.

ok

ShamoBuc · 12-04-2011 10:51pm

winston82 wrote: »

yes, you looking for tips?

cup the balls and don't slurp...

surely sound effects heighten the sensation?

I'm inexperienced - fortunately;)

littlemis · 12-04-2011 10:54pm

In my opinion principals will protect their staff at all costs.It is the child who is wrong,and your child will never get an apology.
There is a saying those who cant do TEACH.

Teachers that bully kids

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