My nephew has been the target of one of his teachers this year in school. (This teacher has also repeatedly called grades out in front of the class, and allowed my nephew's classmates to check papers for her. There have been several occasions where this teacher was out of the room talking with a co-worker while her students were unsupervised!)
Being an elementary school teacher myself, I am very upset by the actions and attitudes of certain teachers. They should know better. There have been times where my nephew has served detention for talking in the cafeferia. This, by the way, is against his constitutional right of free speech. (In the 1969 court case, Tinker vs. Des Moines, the Supreme Court ruled a student's right to free speech was to be observed during any non-instructional time!)

I found this site while looking for information concerning teachers bullying students because my twelve year old son has been targeted. He is experiencing self esteem issues and has come home for the last week crying because his teacher has embarrassed him in front of others (making him sit on a desk in the middle of class, making him sit in front of the class sucking his thumb, having been shoved by the teacher down the hall and made to stumble and fall. This teacher has yelled at him so loudly that I have had other parents call me because their own children believe he is being treated unfairly. This teacher has also put my child in numerous detentions for n apparent reason and repeatedly told him to shut up whenever he asks a question. Upon our last visit to the school we enacted the 504 plan because he has a mild version of ADD and I thought perhaps I could garner some protection for him. Now the teacher is telling him he is retarded and she talks to him as very slowly as though he cannot understand. She does this in front of the other kids. I am so angry and I feel so guilty that I may have made it worse for him.
I find it criminal that the parents have no where to turn. The administrators stand behind the teacher and I can be prosecuted if I don't force my child to go to school. I am a Registered Nurse, My husband is a Police Officer and I we are astounded that we must hire a lawyer to protect us and our child. Why are these teachers not psychologically evaluate on a yearly basis? Nurses and Police are.

As a parent i freely admit childern can get out of hand,but i have also witnessed a teacher loosing her cool.My sons first day of kindergarden was a real eye opener for me.I walked into the classroom and saw the teacher grab ahold of a child who was crying(typical the first day)for his mother and the teacher was shaking him telling him to stop.Needless to say i put an end to it right there.I understand non-stop crying can get nerve racking,but to lay hands on a child when you get fustrated is uncalled for.I guess i did some bulling of my own when i made it clear she was to never lay hands on my child or scream in his face the way i caught her with the other child.I also made that childs parent aware of the situation.The teacher even apologized,but i continued to ask my son everyday about his classroom and made several unannounced visits.

We need more people like you in the educational field who understand that you forestall disciplinary problems by taking a strong stand at the very outset; sending the message to the disruptive students that their behavior will not be tolerated.

It is probably the teachers who don't do this or feel that they can't do this that must then resort to "bullying" to regain and maintain control.

I think it is the liberal, therapeutic mindset so prevalent these days that has lead so many teachers and administrators to loosen all restrictions on student behavior. Which in turn has lead to the proliferation of disciplinary problems.

I find this very interesting. Without a doubt a teacher may be viewed as a bully and in all probability some cases exist. Recently I was asked how to get the students in the high school up to level with reading, English and math expectations. When I said "Spank the Parents" there was no challenges regarding the statement. Schools continue to be used as a day care and babysitting service for parents. When the parents are taken out of their "routines" they become agitated and in some cases violent and threatening. Threats of law suits are common place when the parent has to answer for a child that has chosen to misbehave in spite of the rules that are placed on ALL students. Yet when a student chooses not to follow procedures, the teachers are usually viewed as in the wrong when student expectations are: be in class, be on time to class, behave in class, bring necessary materials to class, be respectful of teachers, administration and student peers, and do their homework. I have seen and heard teachers accused by parents of bullying when teacher has to have a youth removed that has chosen to disrupt the educational process when the teacher is trying to teach their classes, I doubt the bullying is the reason. Any teacher ordered to follow the rules--could easily be called bullies just by making students responsible for their actions. Are there bullys?--most definitely. Do they go overboard--?? I don't know--hopefully not but their are chances of someone somewhere that have overdone their actions. This type of action could be brought about by many situations--in many cases I have studied teacher frustration plays a big part in their actions. Schools and teachers have requirements to be met for all students. Jobs are being threatened at all levels and when a student is made to follow rules to protect learning of all students then the parents come to the defense of their children. Placing requirements on the students to follow rules bring out the worst in parents--TIME TO SPANK THE PARENTS.

I TAUGHT HIGH SCHOOL MATH FOR SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER RETIRING FROM THE MILITARY. MY PRINCIPAL SAID HE WOULD HIRE OLDER TEACHERS (MILITARY) AS A PREFERENCE. I LOVED STUDENTS, I LOVED TEACHING AND I RULED WITH AN IRON HAND. I HAD VERY VERY FEW DISCIPLINARY PROBLEMS WITH STUDENTS.

MY GENERALIZED OPINION OF ADMINISTRATORES AND TEACHERS IS THAT THEY ARE MICE MORE AFRAID OF ROCKING THE BOAT THAN STICKING TO THEIR GUNS.

MY GENERALIZED BELIEF OF EDUCATORS,PHDS, IS THAT THEY HAVE NO LITTLE OR NO CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE.

I'd have to see what the definition is for bullying. The many teachers I have known and watched were hardly "bullying."