In their most recent issue, "Teaching Tolerance" has argued that sometimes the most dangerous bullies are not the kid teasing you in gym class or in the lunch line, but the person in front of the classroom. A recent incident in Tennessee has created a controversy concerning teacher bullies... below is an excerpt from the "Teaching Tolerance" article...
His teacher had urged him all year to be more organized, but he still had trouble keeping his work area neat. The boy’s papers and other materials were often scattered around, and when his classmates were ready to move on to the next activity, he lagged behind—trying to corral the clutter.
On this particular day, the teacher had lost her patience. According to a district report, she chastised her student:“Your area looks like a pig sty. Piggy, piggy! Oink, oink!”Exactly what happened next has been difficult to pin down. But by the time another teacher entered the classroom, the boy had been surrounded by his classmates, who taunted him with“oinks” and other pig sounds. Alone in the center, the boy was sobbing.
This was a Kindergarten class. I'm curious as to your thoughts on this... do students truly feel bullied by their teachers?