Teachers who torment children

I’m 14 and a supply teacher (who just so happens to be my next door neighbour) is taking us for Science and she also has one of the other classes in my year and she has been talking about me to the other class! I had a problem with my weight and I am very self conscious about it and she has been talking to the other girls in my class and discussing how fat I am. I now feel horrible and I and don’t what to do about it because I am now the topic of everyone’s conversation!

I know how you feel. I was bullied by a teacher in primary school, im now in my 20's and I still get angry about it, which annoys me. it has affected my confidence and self esteem. He too had his favourites, usually the ones whose families had a bit of money. He often went out of his way to be-little me, anything I did in class was never good enough. one incident that really sticks out in my mind is when he had a maths test in class and I didnt score very well on it - he screamed in my face for a good 5 mins (he was 6ft tall and I was a small 10yr old) and had me in fits of tears while the rest of the class looked on in shock, what really got to me was that the boy sat next to me, daniel, had scored even poorly than me and he never said a word to him! that just proved to me that I was getting picked on. even when I passed my 11+ he didnt even congratulate me, just said 'I expected you to fail'.

I still to this day consider writing to my primary school to complain about this, I dont think he is fit to teach young children

I know you feel, I went to my little sister parent teach over view and she was just patronizing her in front of my very eyes. This woman is only 4 years older than me but I found it totally unacceptable. How do we deal with these kinds of self-righteous people?

Hello I need some advice.I have a sister who is 16 and she goes to a high school were I went at her age.she is being bullied by all the teachers from what shes told me.She is an honest girl who wouldnt lie,she told me that the teachers blame her for everything even if it was someone else who did it an if she tries to stand up for herself they send her outside or give her detention.one teacher grabbed her by the arm because the lesson she had at the time the class wasnt there so she went to go look for them and he spotted her on her own and asked why she wasnt in class,he thought she was bunking off and pushed her against the wall and wouldnt let her speak to explain.she comes home crying now and pulls sickys so she doesnt have to go in,she has her exams this year and shes not looking forward to them.when I was at that school it wasnt like that.shes made statements and well they have been brushed under the carpet.I agree with what some of you have said teachers stick together dont they.it sounds as if they have labelled her and not give her a chance to explain. its anoying.

miss - splett; very sorry if I have ofended you wiv pooor speling - on the odd accasion even a techur will mis spell a wurd! We are only human!

I feel so sorry for you.

Quite a few years ago now, my (at the time) 7 year old nephew suddenly began hating school. He is a bright child - who excels in Maths and Science. However, his handwriting is terrible and he is slow at writing. But you can't be good at everything and he tried hard.

Anyway, nobody could understand why my nephew had suddenly taken such a dislike to school to the point where he would cry every morning. It turned out in the end his new teacher was making his life an absolute misery over the issue of his handwriting. Instead of helping and encouraging him - she did the opposite and he was kept in at playtimes as he was slower with his writing than the other children, she had him up in front of class berating and humiliating him in front of the other children etc. My sister only discovered all this after endlessly asking my nephew what was wrong and at parents evening she saw first hand that this woman really did just seem to have it in for my nephew. She refused point-blank to discuss the many aspects of school work he was good at and focussed on his (what she deemed to be) 'laziness and refusal to write'. None of his other teachers had ever before or since stated he was lazy or unco-operative.

We discovered the following year that my nephew is dyslexic which contributed to his struggles in English but by this time it was too late - this awful woman had destroyed my nephew's confidence and he has absolutely hated school ever since. I personally blame her for virtually destroying his education and honestly would have her sacked if I could.

Bad, bullying teachers are a menace.

Having watched only yesterday a member of the Senior Management at my school intimidating a year-seven pupil (who had actually been seeking his help) I cannot differentiate between the bullying of a student by another student or a member of staff, except to say that at least one of them should know better and be just as responsible for his actions. To see him bent double, face contorted with rage and hatred, screaming his threats at an 11 year-old boy left me feeling disgust, revulsion, and due to the fact I was too fearful to intervene, ashamed of myself.
I cannot imagine - outside of the military - any other circumstance when it would be countenanced in a civilised society, in fact it must constitute child abuse. Had it happened in the high street I am certain a citizen would have intervened, as no doubt would the police.
As for the person writing on this site taking T Boy to task for his spelling, that's yet another form of intimidation no doubt intended to diminish the views of a victim of bullying by another bully. Snobbery is the commonest form of neurosis, and the sanctuary of elitist fools who like to think themselves superior but only at the expense of others.

I am more concerned about the fact that T boy is a qualified teacher and cannot spell the word professional. Perhaps the teacher was right, if you cant spell at 6 you may never be able to. Was this your experience T Boy?

It does go on! My daughter who's now in Year 5 had a teacher two years ago who made her life hell. The woman was vile and a bully. My daughter's very bright but very sensitive. The teacher was jealous of the first and took advantage of the latter by being nasty to her and shouting at her - a lot. Her teaching methods are ruled by shouting but she particularly had it in for my daughter. We were up and down to the school throughout Year 3 but it was as though my daughter had a problem and was giving the teacher grief. But a few times we had to say, hold on, who are the grown-ups here as the teacher was acting in the most childlike, bullying way. The trouble is that teacher is now in Year 6 and we have the prospect of repeating a year with her in September!

man, if a teacher was bullying my kid, I'd be waiting for him. With a bat.

Teachers who bully students engage in abuses of power. It is a non-sexual abuse of power that has serious social and academic consequences for the student. The effects of this are felt long after the child leaves the classroom, as you have depicted above. Degrading students publicly or privately is wrong. This type of bullying shares similarities to peer on peer bullying. Parents can help by demanding that their school systems adopt policies to to eradicate this type of behavior or have policies in place to deal with complaints. It certainly raises the spector of school liability especially if school officials know there is a problem, as like sexual harrassment (the same type of bullying except with sexual overtones)--it creates a hostile, intimidating, threatening, environment in which the child feels trapped. School officials who have been given appropriate notice but fail to act, risk both compensatory and punitive damages. This issue has been gaining attention in many areas. It is about time!

I have just read what you have had to go through and as a parent of a child being bullied by a teacher I can sort of understand what your saying. I have tried to sort out the problems my son is having at school but the headteacher just starts on me and I'm an adult. the worse thing he has said to me is that I couldn't read a letter that was sent to me properly, the thing that got me about this is I have been helping teach pre-school children to read for over 18 years. the one thing I have found is that no-one from the education department or even the school governors will take this seriously. luckily my son is due to leave this school in a few weeks and I hope that he turns out as strong a person as you sound. just remember you are a better person than all those others put together.