Welcome Guest!
Teachers are welcome to read and post on Teachers.Net.
Login to access to these free features:
• Relaxed spam filters
• Post pics, links & comments
• Get notified of responses |
• Join teacher groups
• Apply to teacher jobs
• Post a resume |
Welcome Guest!
You must login to comment on posts.
Login to access to these free features:
• Relaxed spam filters
• Post links & upload pics
• Get notified of responses |
• Join teacher groups
• Apply to teacher jobs
• Post a resume |
Welcome Guest!
Your account must login to post.
Login to access to these free features:
• Relaxed spam filters
• Post, comment, & upload pics
• Get notified of responses |
• Join teacher groups
• Apply to teacher jobs
• Post a resume |
by understand
Sep 1, 2016
Bullying can be in many forms. Sound as though, you are being told that what you do and who you are is of no importance to the developmental well-being of the students there.She is stifling your growth as a teacher. Sometime, we have to have a come to "Jesus" talk with the ones we work with!
My name is Danielle Smith, and I am a student in the Community Health Department at the State University of New York at Potsdam. I am working on an Honors Program research project with Dr. Brent Crow (PhD, CHES), also of the Community Health Department. The purpose of this project is to investigate assess school-wide access, attitudes, quality of s...See MoreMy name is Danielle Smith, and I am a student in the Community Health Department at the State University of New York at Potsdam. I am working on an Honors Program research project with Dr. Brent Crow (PhD, CHES), also of the Community Health Department. The purpose of this project is to investigate assess school-wide access, attitudes, quality of services, and staff coordination regarding mental health in high schools in the United States.
If you are a principal or administrator, guidance counselor, mental health worker, student health services worker, teacher, or special education professional at a public high school in the United States, we could use your help in this project. Please note that your involvement is completely voluntary. Should you choose to participate, we would kindly ask that you complete the survey by clicking here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FKYX8N3. It should take no more than thirty minutes, and your responses will be kept anonymous.
Any questions may be directed to myself by sending an email to smithd198@potsdam.edu. Dr. Crow can also be reached for correspondence via email to crowbm@potsdam.edu or by phone at (315) 267-2124. Thank you very much for your time and your consideration.
Danielle Smith
Honors student researcher,
Department of Community Health at SUNY Potsdam
Dear K-12 teachers,
While you are understandably busy trying to insure that each student can pass the multitude of standardized tests they are faced with each year, this often forces you to turn your back on a much bigger issue plaguing our schools. I’m writing today to address the issue of bullying in our K-12 schools and the negative p...See MoreDear K-12 teachers,
While you are understandably busy trying to insure that each student can pass the multitude of standardized tests they are faced with each year, this often forces you to turn your back on a much bigger issue plaguing our schools. I’m writing today to address the issue of bullying in our K-12 schools and the negative psychological impact that it has on your students and their futures. I am calling for you to become more aware of the signs and symptoms, and to do more in your classrooms to prevent and stop this behavior. And in particular, I want to address the over proportional bullying of queer children in our schools. The culture of bullying is so tightly woven into the thread of academia that we can no longer say that the bullies are just ‘bad children’ and that their victims are ‘helpless but good.’ To take sides fails to recognize that the bullying culture that we allow through our silence influences how children interact with each other. Indeed, there were times in my life where I was targeted for being ‘different’ and there were times in my life that I would have just as easily been labeled the bully. Both of these experiences were harmful to the positive community that I know you try so hard to create in your classrooms. But a rapid increase in technology in the past decade has only made it easier for children to anonymously target others, while making it harder for teachers to put an end to it.
I first experienced bullying my first year in school. My best friend, a stranger at the time, was caught cheating on her eye exam, as she didn’t want glasses but needed them, and was told to sit in a corner by our teacher as punishment. Unfortunately, that experience wasn’t the end of her embarrassment, as students continued to tease her in the following weeks, calling her names like ‘four eyes’ and ‘windows.’ These names were damaging to her self confidence; I came to understand as I got to know her that these taunts became deeply rooted in her identity and how she perceived herself to be. By the third grade, I too was frequently teased by my friends and peers for my academic achievements, to the point where my teacher sent me to the counselor to make sure that I was okay. When I insisted that I was, she let me go without ever checking in on me again, and without questioning whether or not a 9-year-old is capable of acknowledging whether or not they are okay. When I was in the fifth grade, we had a new girl in our school named Chandee. She had spent her whole life traveling around the country, as that is what her father’s job entailed, and all of the students in our class took an instant liking to her. Everyone except my friend and I, who were uncomfortable with her newfound popularity and the damage it caused to our precious established social order. And in order to lower her self confidence, we created a fake e-mail account and would send her messages telling her that she was ugly and deserved to have no friends. She never responded, and the more unfazed by it she was, the more frustrated we got, and the more we wanted to see her unhappy. When I hit middle school, I was one of the first to go through puberty and was therefore constantly taunted for my leg, arm, and armpit hair. I remember one instance particularly well, when a male peer announced loudly to our band class that I was so hairy that I had more hair than him, a boy; I remember distinctly how it felt for the entire class to laugh along. I became self conscious about how I looked, and I begged my mom to buy me a razor to shave it all off. Wanting to dress more stereotypically masculine, I was made fun of for not putting my hair down or wearing dresses. I was constantly called a guy, and when I was coming to terms with my identity as a gay person in late middle school, I became terrified that I was just providing more ammo to be laughed at. I felt dejected, unhappy, and perhaps most sad of all, these ‘jokes’ made me feel worthless and unlovable.
My experiences were in no way abnormal, and being from a very liberal Seattle suburb, my experiences of intolerance were only a fraction of what other LGBT students experience every day. In fact, although one out of four students in general report being bullied in the last year, nine out of ten LGBT+ teens reported experiencing bullying based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is significant, as students who reported being frequently harassed because of their sexual orientation had a GPA that was half a letter grader lower on average2. Further, LGBT+ students are twice as likely to report not planning to graduate high school and not planning to attend college than their heterosexual peers2. Both of these statistics are indicators of the negative impact that being bullied has on academics, and how a learning environment that allows for bullying does to give all students an equal chance at success. Bullying is defined as the repeated psychological or physical harassment of a person who is less powerful than the bully. Since being queer is a minority, queer students often do not fit into the normative culture, leaving them less popular than other students. This creates a power dynamic between them and their ‘more powerful’ peers and leaves them vulnerable for torment from the majority. As teachers, it is your responsibility to be informed of the warning signs that a student is being bullied, in order to put an end to it. Some common signs include unexplainable injuries, loss of property (e.g., clothing or books), frequent faking of an illness causing school absences, difficulty sleeping, sudden decline in academic performance, sudden loss of friends, and self-destructive behaviors. There are also indications that a child may be bullying another child: one who views violence positively, has difficulty following rules, and is having issues in their home. Children are in school for the majority of the day, which puts you in the best position to notice these behaviors, especially changes in academic performance, friend groups, absences, and moods.
It is clear that we need to have more conversations with children about what behaviors we will absolutely not tolerate in our schools. Since bullying often goes unreported, as one study found that only 36&37; of bullying cases are reported1, teachers first and foremost need to encourage students to speak to a teacher if they are being bullied or see other students being bullied. We need to teach students how to be active bystanders, who can successfully intervene in a situation if they feel safe to do so. And lastly, every school needs a Gay Straight Alliance, where LGBT+ students can openly discuss these issues, find support, and act to fight against it. We talk a lot about how the suicide rate in LGBT+ youth is extraordinarily high; in fact, it is 8.4 times higher than their heterosexual peers2. This phenomenon is largely due to low self esteem and worthlessness caused by frequent harassment, the majority of which occurs in the same school hallways that you walk through every morning, with a head full of lesson plans and the overwhelming belief that every student deserves an equal chance to be successful. If you are idly sitting by and letting bullying occur in your classroom, please know that you are part of the problem. Please know that there are ways to fix it.
Sincerely, a concerned LGBT+ member, college student, and future K-12 teacher
by Is this person passive aggressive?
Sep 1, 2016
Being an active teacher in my school and community has always been a trait which I carry. I have been at my current school for a few years and the AP in charge of professional development is not helpful at all. Every time I go to this person expressing a desire to grow professionally or volunteer in the school I am told to clean, chaperone dances, ...See MoreBeing an active teacher in my school and community has always been a trait which I carry. I have been at my current school for a few years and the AP in charge of professional development is not helpful at all. Every time I go to this person expressing a desire to grow professionally or volunteer in the school I am told to clean, chaperone dances, decorate etc. There is NO support for my growing as a teacher. Been teaching many years, several certifications, a Masters, excellent relationships with parents, rarely absent, and an excellent record. Do not understand why I have so little support from the AP who is always trying to have me NOT be involved. Anyone else encounter this?
by Lu- Not an eye roller
Jun 2, 2011
I've read (on other boards on this site) that rolling one's eyes is considered to be bullying in some schools. Although it is considered disrespectful in my school and by me, it is not considered to be bullying in my school.
So, when you roll your eyes, or someone else rolls their eyes, is that bullying?
next page »
Teacher Chatboards
