When Teachers are the Bullies

            Over the last several years school bullying has received national attention.  Across the country states and school districts have developed anti-bullying policies and have campaigned to spread the anti-bully message to its students. 

While the anti-bullying campaign has produced mixed results in the education and elimination of bullying, the campaign is slowly gaining traction as a serious barrier to learning.  The old notions and belief systems of bullying being a rites of passage, part of growing up, or youthful indiscretion is being replaced with the affects of bullying from the victims perspective.  As more media attention from the victims’ perspective is being presented and the nation is learning how children are being irreparably damaged to the point where they are taking their own lives. The culmination of this media attention is witnessed in the critically acclaimed movie “Bully,” which chronicles several youth across the country who are victims of bullying.

In the discussion on bullying, there is always debate on the responsibility of the parents whose children bully other children.  Should parents be accountable for their child who bullies?  Should the parents who condone or fail to monitor their child’s aggressive behavior against other children be reported to child services?  Should parents of bullies have to pay fines, perform community service with their child, or mandated to family therapy?  In the discussions on the accountability of the child offender/bully, should they be charged with a criminal act?  Should “repeat “offenders of bullying be removed from their homes by child services and placed in temporary foster care or in juvenile detention until the child is “reformed?”  These are extreme ideas, but when countless victims’ lives are being ruined or taken away, harsh thing may have to be done for bullies and parents of bullies get the message bullying must stop now!

Unfortunately, the attention of bullying must turn to teachers.  Recent high profile incidents across the country, teachers may have to be added as offenders of student bullying.  Over the past year, there have been some disturbing incidents where teachers have been the allege perpetrators of bullying students with special needs.  The most recent case was in New Jersey where a teacher and assistants were allegedly caught on a recording device verbally bullying a 10 year old student with Autism.  This incident is on the heels of other allegations of teachers in other states who have been accused of bullying special needs kids. 

The idea of a teacher or staff member bullying a student is perplexing. Teachers are the adults in the school building who educate and protect all children.  Teachers are provided with anti-bullying training and in most schools have a bullying plan in their building.  Teachers are the staff where students’ who are bullied go to for help and safety.  If a teacher or a staff member is accused of bullying a student(s), disciplinary and criminal investigations should be conducted.  If the results of the investigations should determine the allegations are true, the teacher or staff member should be terminated, their teaching license, suspended for up to 1 school year, and restitution should be made (community service, fine, etc). 

There is no excuse for bullying by anyone, but there should be severe consequences as a deterrent for any teacher or staff member for bullying a student.  States and school districts may not be able to enforce parents to be better parents or desire to criminalize bullying and create a generation of youth offenders; they can do something about teachers who bully students.