Bullying has received increased attention in the past few years. Administrations have placed harder and clearer rules against student bullying, clubs, and organizations have formed in schools to address bullying, and legal actions have taken place against students who have bullied other students to the point of self-harm. Bullying, as we well know, can take […]
bullying
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Bullying: Did the School System Fail This Mother?
Before I dive into this article, I want to share a few statistics on bullying. Bullying According to the National Education Association’s article, “Nation’s educators continue to push for safe, bully-free environments” “Over 160,000 kids refuse to go to school each day for fear of being bullied.” Andrea Cohn and Andrea Canter, Ph.D. pointed out […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
A Delusional Parent Tried to Sue Me
Teachers are well versed in the helicopter parent. The helicopter parent hovers at all times picking at small things, meddling, and is generally over-involved. They will usually try to solve each and every small problem their kid encounters by asking the teacher to get involved or blaming the problem on the teacher. This new type […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
What Happens When the Teacher is the Bully?
As an educator, I am duty bound to ensure that all my students not only learn but are educated in an environment that is conducive to that learning. This means creating a space for creativity, critical thinking, and risk taking; a space where opinions are varied but respect is consistent; a space where students are […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Transforming the ‘Trump Effect’ in Schools
As early as March of this year, teachers were reporting a significant increase in anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and bullying behavior in their students since the start of the 2016 presidential race in what has become known as the “Trump Effect.” The Southern Poverty Law Center tries to get some data on these anecdotal reports, and ran […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Educators and “The Bully Pulpit”: Election 2016
“dope” “fat” “stupid” Those are “bullying” words that an educator in a school is trained to listen for and respond to in most states by law. In my State of Connecticut the law is specific and: “Requires that school personnel report, in a timely and responsive manner, incidents of bullying they witness or are aware of to […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
School Safety Doesn’t Mean What You Think
School safety is paramount to most parents. They want to believe that their children can go to school, get an education and not be bullied or threatened. The current problem in our schools is that those who make decisions about the safety of schools seem to be more focused with attacks from strangers rather than […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured
How to Stop Girl Bullying in the Classroom
“Stop putting your hot breath on me,” one girl yells from the back of the classroom. It’s the same boy targeted every single time, and it seems that no matter where you move him, there’s a problem. At first you think he’s doing something to upset people because you never catch anyone else doing anything. […]