Overview:

What do you do when teachers are bullied? While school administration has rules for when it happens to kids, what happens when teachers are bullied?

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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 many forms and can come from multiple avenues.  We even have in-services to address bullying among students and intervention strategies.  We know when and how to step in and take a stand against the bullying we see among students.

Here at The Educator’s Room, we have written in the past about teachers who are bullied by our administration team, but what about when the student is the bully?  Every day within our classrooms we encounter students who are obstinate to the point of vindictiveness, and we are often told that we do not have control over our classrooms.  Teachers being bullied by their students occurs more often than most people realize, and often this is a form of bullying that goes unreported.  If it is reported, sometimes nothing occurs or very little is done in terms of student discipline by the higher powers-that-be from in-the-school administration.

Definition of Bullying

Let’s start with a definition:  bullying is the use of superior strength and influence to influence and/or intimidate others to reach the desired outcome.  We know this definition well in regards to students bullying other students:  the clever put-down, the thrown food, the nasty names, the snide remarks, social media bashing, and the like.  What many fail to realize, however, is that teachers are just as much a target as students to the physical and verbal abuse of their students.

Media outlets have reported in the past about teachers who have been bullied and the footage caught on cell phone cameras.  I read one article in which a substitute teacher was verbally and physically harassed by students.  Verbal taunts were used and the teacher was repeatedly flicked in the face by students’ fingers.  When a report was filed, it was told that charges would not be pressed against the students and it would be handled within the school by the administrative team.  I read nothing regarding the consequences for those students. It makes me wonder, then, how many times incidences like this occur and go unreported because the teacher feels powerless and victimized to the point that they wonder if there is any purpose to even saying anything about the behavior within the classroom.

What does bullying look like in the classroom?

Daily, we are faced with students who are borderline out of control and occasionally we see little in terms of administrative support.  Students have said that they are called down to the disciplinary office, are told to not do it again, and are simply released without further action.  Emails and phone calls to parents on behalf of the victimized teacher often go one of three ways:  unanswered, uninterested, or lip-service.  Unanswered is rather self-explanatory.  Uninterested is when a parent/guardian will fluff off the student’s behavior and place all discipline (or even blame!) on the teacher.  Lip service is when we have parents who say they will speak to their student, the student is apologetic, and then the behavior returns to the same force as it once was.  Sometimes, it even becomes worse.

Students have multiple avenues by which to bully their teachers.  First and foremost are in-class behavior: items being thrown, acting out, snide remarks, intimidating behaviors, etc.  Detention is often one of the forms of discipline we have, and yet often that has no bite.  For instance, in one school I know of, the teacher who gives the detention is required to sit with that student in detention the day the student serves it.  One colleague, I knew of had a student threaten physical harm.  Being her first year in teaching she followed the rules:  she called security, had the student removed, and issued detention.  She was unpleasantly surprised when the security officer returned that student to her at the end of the day to serve the detention with her.

The school was too large to assign security to monitor a detention hall and the administration believed it was an issue that needed to be solved between student and teacher.  She spent the detention fearful and decided that she would never issue another one since it served no other purpose than to intimidate her further.  Another college friend of mine who is a teacher said that if he has problems with student behavior he would issue detention and send the offending student out of the room to a head of discipline.  Often he heard back that the detention was “taken away” by the administration team after a brief discussion with the student, rendering his last-ditch effort at discipline completely invalid.  The student found this laughable and found that it didn’t matter how much he/she misbehaved because the disciplinary officer liked the student and played a sort of favorites.

Outside of school, Students bash teachers on social media sites consequence-free because they are protected by free speech.  Thus, teachers are often rendered powerless in the face of bullying students and feel they have nowhere to turn to that give relief.  In more serious instances, personal property is stolen or damaged (slashed tires in the parking lot, for example), and if the student is not caught in the act then little can be accomplished to support the teacher.

Many teachers silently suffer the torment of their students, and anti-bullying campaigns rarely address students who bully adults.  We know that there has been a distinct shift in student behaviors regarding respect for adults in the past several years, and many reasons are given as to why this has occurred.  Unfortunately, few of them suffice when a teacher is shaking to enter his/her classroom each day or dreads going to work because of one or a group of students who will make it their mission to make that teacher miserable, knowing the administration will do little to support the teacher.

The question remains, now, is this:  what can we do to stop students bullying teachers?  I’d be interested in reading your comments and feedback below while I continue to research strategies to help the bullied teacher cope and take action.

A high school science teacher, Sarah Sorge has taught in private, charter, and public schools in grades...

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133 Comments

  1. This post really hit home for me. I have several classes this year that this applies to — a new experience for me although I am a veteran teacher. Thank you for writing it.

    1. Thank you so much for writing yet another example of how teacher abuse is rampant across the nation! Keep all the talk lines open regarding this issue. Administrators bullying teachers is so common now and it is illegal! How are they getting away with it?

      1. I was terminated after a I called a parent about her son’s behavior in class; he was not doing any work and I caught him and another student simulating a sex act (both male). The parent was very hostile and rude to me. The mother works for the district as the HR Director. She and her son, along with his friends began making very disturbing allegations about me which were all false. I had no support from administration nor my supervisor. I fought hard to fight my case but all they did was make my life miserable. I followed protocol but to no avail. They ruined my reputation by contacting the local newspaper and placing what happened in the front page. Needless to say, I am having a hard time finding employment. Justice did not prevail in my case.

        1. wowch !

          Not sure why i taught as long as i did. I had yrs of bad student behavior in my shop classes. Did what I could to eliminate it . Relate and often felt Powerless. Hope things are going ok for u .

        2. So sorry to hear that. That socks. We are facing bullying by kids too with little to no consequences. Shameful society

        3. I’m beyond appalled and sorry for what you experienced. I cannot fathom how you were able to deal with the situation or the aftermath. No school district should ever treat an educator, who brought forth what they witnessed the way they did toward you, especially with the authority they used against you because of their positions.

          Our school district is taking a more sensitive approach to children who act in inappropriate ways by giving them positive reinforcement and educational talks to discuss what they did and then reward with a lollipop and teddy bear. The teachers in our district cannot understand how administration finds rewarding bad behavior this way the “correct” approach to teaching better behaviors.

          Again, I am so sorry for what happened to you. Inevitably, school districts lose the good teachers and keep the ones that do not care. You will find your way and a better position. Stay positive and know something better will come your way.

        4. This is common..teachers need to start suing in great numbers. The biggest bullies are the administration.. Many should be terminated they have no control of their campuses if teachers are being so sbused

    2. What about a district rampant with nepotism, aggressive, non-teaching administration, and non-caring attitudes toward students? I work in a district that has accused me of everything that they can think of, from stealing to being rude to students to what sounds like accusations of abuse. In addition, they have indicated to me that I am below the intelligence level necessary to perform the job of a teacher. I have two Master’s degrees and a BA. I am a mother. I have no criminal record. I published a teaching book. I am also an accomplished musician. I realize that this stems mostly from their needs to control, lack of social skills, low-level intelligence, nepotism, and job security. However, I am so tired of bearing the brunt of these behaviors. It just doesn’t seem to stop. It is a weekly, at least, affair. And, since I am a substitute, few if any teachers extend any kind of a welcome, I have to listen to backstabbing, negative comments from people who don’t even know me, and rarely get the chance to interact with the students and teach, which I truly enjoy. Much of the time, the students (who will grow up to be administrators) are so full of anger and hatred that they just call me names, throw things at me, and generally try to mimic the attitudes of their aggressive and biased teachers. This district is horrible, and I will never work for them again. However, why can’t something done about these behaviors? All I can do is check my personnel file and write a rebuttal at the end of the year. NEA seems to only care about minorities. This state actually refer to the Common Core standards as their own State standards (created by them) (meaning altered to fit their needs) (meaning twist it until you look like nobody is ever going to get your job away from you, and you can do anything you want to those students.) I not only refuse to participate in such behaviors, but I am convinced that I am not mentally, or emotionally capable of doing so; thank God.

    3. I can relate 100% to your comment as a veteran teacher undergoing this unwarranted behavior. This article addresses many situations I’ve experienced since we’ve returned to the classroom. From nails in tires, slush and scratches on my car to direct derogatory comments and parents questioning why I am the “only” one with the issue with their student, I’ve been there. We, teachers, need help.

  2. Over the years, there have been many instances of bullying against me, the teacher, from false allegations to threatened bodily harm. Unfortunately, admin doesn’t take them seriously, sometimes becoming the bullies themselves. It’s not always a nice job, except for summer, which is wonderful! (And I’m as tough as they come, a world traveler, older mom, strict and confident.)
    I am looking forward to retirement. I will always be a hard worker, but at something more satisfying.

  3. There is a movie called Illume (https://www.facebook.com/IllumeTheMovie) which deals with this sensitive and pervasive issue. I have been casted as Ms. Sullivan a teacher that is bullied by a student named Ty. I really need YOUR help in acting this part. I would love to talk to any teacher/administrator who has been bullied. Your information will be in strict confidence. To find out more, please come to my facebook page and send me a private message. http://www.facebook.com/dianasrice71 I appreciate your help in this matter..Thank you so much ♥.

  4. I am a mother of a ” Troubled Kid”.
    And this is my perspective. Bullying has gain so much attention that instead of it being a preventive resource it has turn into a resource for kids on how to do it AND get away with it. Sort of like how to beat the system. It has also, lead to the recurring of what I refer to as premature judgement. Nowadays just about everything a child does is automatic a form of bullying. This is where i come in as a mother. I feel like teacher have given into all of this bullying thing. In my opinion Teachers and administrators no longer deal with situation giving benefit of doubt, compassion, logic and commonsense. Teachers have resorted to a man made law called bullying. We went from horseplay to bullying. From being insensitive to bullying, from expressing oneself to bullying. From growing pains to bullying, from making mistakes to bullying. It’s absurd how better off everyone was before this bullying thing was talked about. If my son is being rude in class, I have no problem with the teacher telling him to shut up. If his being rude, I have no problem with a teacher using some form of threats to accomplish what she expects out of a student. I have no problem of a teacher at time has a spit a word of profanity. After all, they are human. My child is a good kid but is turning mean because the bullying little is breaking him down. Teachers are breaking down and apart because they feel their arms are tied. They can’t so anything without there being fear of whether or not she it he will get in trouble for it.

    1. Mary,

      You and your child are not the bullying problem. While your child may pose discipline problems for the teacher, having a parent who will listen not only to the youth (who is likely trying to release him or herself from fault) but also to the educational professional is a great and increasingly rare thing. Parents like yourself use judgement in the best interest of raising a child who has been taught proper behavior and the consequences for not following it. Too often, and I am speaking from personal experience now, the parent listens only to the complaints and excuses of an adolescent in trouble and tries to blame the teacher or the school rather than admit that the child might actually be at fault. Worse yet are the administrators who immediately jump the minute there is a complaint about a teacher based only on the rantings of a disgruntled parent of an underperforming 14 yr old. Parents truly believe they are protecting their children from harm, but instead are pushing problems off to the future for these young adults who have not learned to handle consequences for behavior on their own.

  5. What a great posting. I was a new teacher and experienced bullying in my classroom. I think that new teachers should get a LOT of support their first year, and also NOT be assigned mostly students with behavioral problems. This is just wrong on so many levels. And, when there is trouble like this, a new teacher should have in-class help. A word of advice for new teachers and teachers transferring schools: Be sure your school allows you to see your students’ records (this did not happen when I taught) and make sure you have lots of support, a great mentor that has time to help you, and a working New Teacher Induction program. I’m sure bullying must happen to more experienced teachers too. (I see it does – – from another comment here). Also make sure you don’t get a classroom where the heat and air don’t work, you don’t have proper books, and the phone is out of order. You can’t call for help if you can’t call out. Always check these things before you accept a position. Need a job? Wait for one that is right. Don’t take one that could be dangerous to you OR the students.

  6. I take anti anxiety pills every morning to be able to work. This is the worst profession to be in right now. it’s hell.

    1. I am so sorry that you are so stressed from your job. I can relate to your feelings. I taught for 35 years, and the climate of the classroom and student behavior changed drastically over the years. In addition, the feelings toward teachers in our society is in a downward spiral. I don’t know how many years you have left before retirement, but if you are close, hang in there. If not, your health is worth more than any job and you might want to consider a job change. Again, I know and understand your stress – I’ve been there too. God bless you and seek Him for guidance relating to your stress. You are not alone!

    2. Yes it is!!!! The crappy pay is not worth the toll this job has taken on my health- both mentally and physically. Admin suck- they are just as bad as these kids. There is no accountability for the students, its always someone else’s fault- namely the teacher. Worst job I ever had!!!!!

  7. I was lucky in my 20 years of teaching that I only felt bullied once. I hated every minute of that class. No matter what I did, parent calls, principal visits, etc, nothing helped. Until one day I blew up. I told the kid that bullying wasn’t allowed in my classroom and that included bullying the teacher. I turned on the rest of the class and told them students allowing another student to bully were as bad as the bully and that was happening in my classroom here. I looked each kid in the eye and asked them how they would fell if “J” picked on then the way he picked on me? Would they expect other students to help them stand up to him? Well, that’s what I was expecting and wasn’t getting. Therefore, no student is allowed to speak, make noise, or anything unless I gave permission. The silence was deafening. Anyone (starting with “J”, because he pushed the envelope first, was sent to the classroom of a male teacher friend who had prep that period. This teacher was a former military man who basically put each kid through “basic training questioning” . Took about a week, but everyone came around. “J” realized that his hatred of women was NOT going to be transferred to me! Thank goodness I had support of fellow teachers!

  8. I would like to see administration that isn’t bullied into not disciplining a student either. There is greater pressure to be softer and softer on students for the sake of fitting some type of data marker the school gets judged against. Bad schools happen because bad neighborhoods happen. Perhaps instead of putting your judey-mcjudgerson puffy, perfect Pandora on lean in and say “not my kid”.

    ALL school deserves respect, not for the blind sake of authority but for the fact that we’re all just human beings who are trying to get on and be better with life.

    1. I completely agree…there are data that schools do try to protect to ensure good ratings and to protect financial interests. That is a sad commentary, but very true. Strong leadership (and by “strong” I mean, administrators with morals) can help shift the tide. I was a teacher for about 8 years, did administration at both elementary and secondary campuses, and then returned to teaching. In my 20+ years, I have seen bullying from students, parents, campus administration and upper administration. I have NEVER forgotten what it is like to be a teacher. As an administrator, I was absolutely a teacher advocate.

  9. I am a substitute teacher who works in a few good districts. Out of nowhere, I had two high school students from different classes, belittle me. The female one I dealt with more easily. The male has a hair trigger temper. I was wrong not to report it the first time it happened. This 16 year old talked down to me, insulted me, then called me ugly. I used to work in rough neighborhoods, and this never happened. I balmr it on the privileged status of the kid as a star in his school team in an upper middle class neighborhood. He had his first and last time to mistreat me consequence free. I was afraid to be a nuisance to the administrators.

    1. We see this with athletes at our school. Who you are matters. They can do what they want and get away with it most of the time. They are above the rules – and they know it. I watch teachers get bullied daily. There is little support from the administration and the teachers are just tired. They feel defeated. Unfortunately, I don’t know the solution. All I know is that the level of disrespect is at an all time high (in my experience.) It’s difficult to watch so many talented, inspiring professionals lose their passion after years of successful teaching experience. And new teachers – they barely last a year! They hit the ground running and don’t look back.

  10. I am a substitute teacher in a very small affluent school district. I am bullied on a daily basis by the students. When I complain, nothing is done. When I leave notes for the teachers and the teachers then give the students detention, I get the anger and blame when the kids see me in the halls. When I tell the teachers this has happened, the answer is to cancel my future bookings and take me off the request lists. I have dealt with students who are accountable to no one.

    1. Luckily for you, your child or relative wasn’t in the classroom to witness your abuse, looking on powerlessly. It happened to me. My friends turned on my and began to bully me and my 2 aunts who were our teachers. They would even get their parents involved to have my aunts fired and then laugh and tell me about it as if the teachers weren’t even my aunts, ouch.

    2. Same thing happens to me. I am also in a small and affluent school district. I report bad behavior in a classroom and everything you said happens. I also happen to live in the community so add in being out to dinner with my family and seeing kids who bully me in the classroom and have them walk up to me, in front of my husband and children, and laugh and say,” You’re that stupid f*ing sub. I am going to get you fired”. I feel as if the administrators are as bad as the students when it comes to mistreating me. I have no rights and no place to turn. My only choice is to quit or continue to be mistreated. I have a masters degree and took this job as a way to make some money and have hours that coincide with my children’s schedules. The level of dysfunction I see everyday is shocking.

      1. I am trying to find the place to turn legally. I know legally that there is a place, probably with a civil rights attorney. Your post just makes me want to throw a pie in their face. How sad that people can be so demeaning to someone like you (and me). I am subbing in a wonderful district that has an incredible administration and anti-bullying policy. I love this district!

      2. A former colleague who retired and now subs part time gets this too. Just this semester I have seen an increase in bullying by students who were previously fine. it’s gotten really bad in one class so now I am like a dictator in there. It’s too bad but I have to be.

        One is a kid off of probation who just constantly makes stupid remarks to be funny. The other is a girl who is a drama queen and if I ask her to move her seat, lets loose with a bunch of rude comments.

  11. Hi,

    I do not know when or how getting an education went from a privilege to an entitlement, but I believe that you can start to resolve this issue by simply removing students from school that either can’t or won’t behave in a respectful manner.

    No student has the right to interfere with either the teacher’s ability to teach or another student’s ability to learn.

    This is simple and does not require laws, discussions, blogs, group discussions, parents, or lawyers. It just requires the education system to take back control of their schools.

    P.S. The same thought process applies to parents. Your children and their behavior is your responsibility not the school’s, teacher’s, minister’s, police or anyone else.

    20 years teaching and educational management

  12. Wow, I’m so glad that I found this post. I’m 35 years old and I’ve searched the internet for months and months trying to find someone who has gone through the same thing that I’ve gone thru. I still haven’t found it, but this it the closest. My family’s generational curse, believe it or not, is being a school teacher. We are from a very small town with only one school and a very bad school system. The teachers are horrible and they don’t teach, and the students love them for this reason. If a new teacher is hired and actually comes in with the intent of being a good teacher by actually teaching, the kids will bully you to tears and do whatever it takes to get rid of you. Its like a circus at the school and has been for over 20 years. Unfortunately for me, my relatives are the good teachers who actually taught and were bullied and HATED by the students for this. Going to school was a nightmare for me. 2 of my aunts were the teacher in 6th grade and the kids let us have it! I had friends and was fine up until this point. My friends turned on me in the worst way and began to bully me and my aunts. May I add that my aunts were more than fair in the classroom, having me as their niece. They never treated me better than any other students. The bullies even told lies to get my aunts fired. They bullied my aunts and me and went home and told their parents that it was my aunts who were bullying them. These same friends used to come to all of my birthday parties and we even had sleepovers at each others house. All of the students would get a kick out of dogging my aunts out to my face. They turned on me and my family all because my aunts wanted to be good teachers. Wow, this has really haunted and scared me for years on how cruel students and parents can be. The same thing happened to all of my sisters and brothers when they got to the 6th grade as well. Life has never been the same for us in that town. All of these years later, people still turn their nose up at us bc our aunt was their teacher. I will never be a school teacher! I told my husband about my horrible school years and he was outraged as he had never heard of such a thing. Well, it happened to me & I have google this issue for months & Ive never heard of it happening to anyone else either. Has anyone else experienced being bullied because their relative was the school teacher?

  13. Glad to read this. I am currently being bullied by one of my students. She told her friends that she wants to get me fired. Luckily, those girls came to me to warn me. I reported that to my principal who basically told me not to worry about it. She glares at me in class and says terrible things about me to her classmates. She recently got into trouble for bullying another student, and, when confronted by the principal, she tried to make it about me. I consulted with another principal about it, and he talked to my principal, suggesting that I am also the target of bullying by this girl. I think he is beginning to see it now. I’m glad I reported it right away, and I’m glad I reached out to someone else when I felt helpless and unsupported by my principal. I still have to deal with the girl, but I feel like I might finally have some protection. I hope so, anyway.

    1. This happening to me too! A few “mean girls” have decided to get me fired. They have invented accusations of racism and absurd remarks. They are sending group chats out and trying to all to rise againgst me. Unfortunately, our principal is brand new! She has no idea that I have been a respected member of this community and an excellent teacher for over 15 years. I have NEVER had a bad evaluation ever. Some students are starting to tell me about the “plot” so I am beginning to have a clue. I wish I knew what to do!! My principal responded by putting me on a performance improvement plan. There must be something wrong with me and my teaching (all of a sudden). When I call parents about behavior issues the harassment get worse!

      1. This is happening to me. I am a dance studio owner and have coached dancers and taught english in my community for over a decade. I’ve never gotten a bad evaluation and never gotten a complaint. I was always admired by my students and respected by my colleagues. All of the sudden, a group of “mean girls” started conspiring against me. When I first was told about it I blew in off thinking these girls are ignorant if they actually think they’re important enough to mame my reputation. Well, I was the ignorant one. I have had every lie one can think up reported about me and spread throughout the school. I have students who never had me give me dirty looks in the hallways. Many of my former students who would otherwise high five me or shout “What’s up Ms. C” now scoff at me as I pass by. I think they simply don’t want to go against the grain, but I also think that the rumors and defamation have affected even students who deemed me their favorite and their respect for me. After a long list of complaints and allegations that were so absurd I didn’t even give them energy, I am now accused of using drugs during school and being fired for coming to school “high as a kite.” The mean girls have damaged my reputation and respect from the community to the point that they are actually getting me fired. Mind! Blown!!

      2. How did you survive this situation? I tried to stop a bullying situation and the result is that I got bullied by students and a parent. The parent made false accusations…now, I am being investigated. I have taught for over 20 years. I am still in shock that this is happening. The level of anxiety and stress I feel right now is off the charts.

        1. How did ur investigation go. I’ve been sitting in a conference room all day bc of crazy allegations and waiting for an investigator. I’m terrified.

    2. This has been four years ago, but I hope you got some satisfaction in the situation!! It sounds like you did the right thing.

  14. Thank you for posting this! I am a Guidance Counselor that is now teaching English (my 2nd year). I am planning on going back into counseling or leaving education when I can from the bullying I receive from about 5 students in one of my classes. As a counselor, I know that it is important to have set boundaries, but this goes beyond anything reasonable. My principal promised that he would read them the riot act, and instead, when he came in, gave them the warm fuzzies of how much he loves them, them left my room. I was left to address the issue of a parent stating that the students in my class don’t respect me because I use the bathroom between the two classes, and I sometimes arrive right after the bell, and I needed to change class policies. (I have to run across campus for the bathroom.) I am saddened at the manipulation students use and that my admin is willing to throw me under the bus in order to keep a parent happy.

  15. Warning to any substitute teacher coming to an elementary or primary school, less so with secondary, Don’t try to teach, you’ll be sorry. I have been a substitute teacher for 6 yrs now in New York City Public Schools and I can tell you the problem is basically two-folded. First the culture of the school, then the administrator and teachers that are vindictive if they decide they don’t like you just because of your attitude, looks, physical size or any classroom management problem that you may have that will take up the administrators attention diverting it from their own unproductive routines, even if it may be one second of the administrators time. The best approach to be successful as a substitute is to have whatever assignment you are to give them, and hand it out, don’t try to teach them or make them work, otherwise you risk a problem student who has been enjoying the entitlement “ride” and having not been accountable to anyone, of making a comment that he/she has been harassed by you, the sub. Remember, you are not their teacher, you are merely just A NANNY who is monitoring them for the day. Try and teach them, and it will be to your downfall by false accusations. Even worse, if there is another teacher in the room, who plain just doesn’t like you, that teacher may bully you through stating you did or said something that was in their feeble opinion, unprofessional. Finally, unless you have an administrator that favorites you, don’t both subbing in that school, because you open yourself to be either bullied by the teachers or student who will rearrange anything you said to make it seem like you are guilty of verbal abuse or even even worse..physical abuse.

  16. Thank you so much fir this article. I am bullied on a daily basis by a student and sexually harassed in front of other students. I have little to no support and I have to deal with it. When is it my right to feel safe and not humiliated in front of my clsssroom of students? I love to teach, but I will be leaving the profession soon. Students and parents run the schools. We as a society are not preparing our youth for the real world if they are allowed to do this without receiving the natural consequences for their actions.

    Please let me know where your research leads.

    Thank you

  17. I’m happy to find this post. I’m a 7th grade middle school science teacher at a charter school. I have one student who will come within inches of my face and yell at me that I’m ugly and a bad teacher. He infringes on my personal space, makes verbal threats and last week he pushed me. The administrators say there is nothing they can do and the mother is non responsive. When she does come to meetings, she tells me that I better figure out a way to make it work. I get no support and I’m not the only teacher he treats this way. I don’t know what to do. Four teachers have quit because of this student and the principal just gave her notice. I know I’ll look for another job next year, but it seems like I should not have to put up with this disrespect from a 12 year old. Please continue your research and contact us with avenues for justice. Thank you.

    1. So, I thought charter schools could pick and choose students. Wouldn’t it be easier for school to kick them out and retain staff from year to year? Is there a waiting list of kids to take this students place? I thought the strength of the charter school was that they could get rid of those students, while public schools couldn’t.

      1. I taught at public schools, private schools, and. A charter school. The charter school wad the worst. They do not kick students out. Admin denied their bad behavior and there were no consequences. I was severely bullied. One good student said, “You are being bullied. You should tell the principal.” But you know the principal will do nothing. One 6th grade class accused me of physically harming a child and then the admin team and someone from higher in the district hat a merging with me to determine if the accusations were true. Out was enraging that the bullies could make false accusations and the admin would act like they were true. A handful of teachers left in the middle of the school year. I left at the end of the school year.

      2. Cathy… Tell the kid who pushed you. “If you come into my personal space, built me, and push me again, I will have to call the policeon you.” I think you should go to the police and document your experience. You never know…this kid my have a record. If they fire you? You will be able to back up your accusations.

  18. Thank you for the article and for the comments that I have read about student bullying of teachers. I do not teach in public school, but I do teach 18-year-old Chinese English learners at a private university in an affluent region. Before that I taught English learners of many nationalities at a local community college. I have loved my job until this semester at the new institution. I would caution against framing this problem we’re discussing as unique or endemic only to American school systems. Many of the students in one of my classes in particular exhibit no respect for the learning needs of their peers or the expectations of the instructor for the learning process. They treat the classroom as though it is their personal domain and the teacher as someone who is there only to provide a menu of individual options that they can choose from like an interactive app or game. When they do not see any options that suit them on a given day, they set their own agenda and then act either aggressively or passive-aggressively toward the teacher for her not meeting their desires, and the administration does nothing to help these students see that this is not how education works. There need to be more activities in which members of the administration, students, and teachers are mutually engaged directly in different productive contexts so that students can learn how collaboration and mutual respect should function in an educational setting, and teachers are not left to feel isolated in their classrooms only to face willful ignorance on the part of administrators when students (or parents/funders) complain about some aspect of the pedagogical context or process. It seems to me that once a complaint happens against a teacher, even if the situation is the result of reprehensible behavior on the part of a student, it is difficult for the teacher to recover from that shadow once it’s been imposed on her. I think part of the solution to our problem is for the 3 camps (4 in pre-university setting) to have to work together in educational tasks rather than lock themselves into their respective zones of functionality. Outside of that, I do not know what the solution, but I hope to return to this site to read more in the future.

  19. Thank you for his article. I am a high school teacher and a student of mine has taken situations and blown them way out of proportion in order to get me in trouble. Luckily, my other students came to me and told me what was happening so I was aware.
    My question is, how do we as educators fight back when these kids and their parents decide to slander us? I am not moving schools just to keep people hush hush, because it’s not true… isn’t there some kind of law that doesn’t allow this? My work environment is hostile and I think my administration is on a witch hunt… how do we combat these things???

    1. These are great questions! Yes, what CAN we do? What laws ARE in place? I would like detailed information also. Teachers MUST have rights that are undergirded by laws in place so that we may assert the face that we ARE human…it’s a civil rights matter in my opinion. We also need to continue to guard the education process for students that really want their education.

  20. As a veteran teacher, I always shrugged off students inappropriate comments as immature behavior. Now, with technology at their fingertips bullying is alive and well. I have been negatively exposed on snapchat, twitter and instagram more than anyone should be posted on these social media sites. Students do feel entitled and are always in the moment. If they don’t get their way teachers are bullied. I have never experienced bullying like this school year. I have been disregarded as an educator because I am the only female teacher who is also a minority that is teaching a course that has been taught by males. I am challenged everyday by students to prove myself and I deal with negative comments dealing with my Mexican heritage. The worst thing is my dean and colleagues will tell me “yeah, it’s because you’re a woman of Mexican American descent.” It just bewilders me because most of the students doing the bullying are in my Advanced Placement classes. I was told by district IT that there was nothing I could do about the social media. I have three more years until retirement and I just want to quit.

    1. I think there are more schools now that disallow teacher cyberbullying. Do you agree? I hope things are better for you!

  21. Excellent article. Experienced something similar to this for the first time myself this year. I have a boy in my class that does everything in his power to undermine me in during class this year. In phone calls to his father I either get lip service or the father will take his child’s side no matter what I say he did in class. I’m a male teacher, so he knows he can’t physically intimidate me, but he does everything else in his power to make my life miserable. He laughs when I put in a referral for him saying he doesn’t care because the principal just tears them up. I actually had one referral put back into my mailbox with a message saying to “talk it out” with the kid. As if I hadn’t already done that several times. No matter what this kid does I get no back up from my principal, who often overrules our vice principal on suspensions. He’s threatened to get me fired and has even gone so far as to accuse me of assault. Every time he gets away with something he just feels emboldened to push me further. I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t taken a toll on my mentally and physically.

  22. I am wrapping up my first year of teaching, and to be completely honest, I don’t want to go back. My 4th graders have made my life a living hell for the last 8 or so months. There is constant disrespect, talking back, fighting, destruction of my property, threats against my safety, and intimidating phone calls/messages from parents. My principal does nothing to help; if anything, they make the situation worse. I’m afraid to go to work on some days, I have nightmares about work, and I’ve had severe panic attacks. I thought it was just me for a while, but every teacher in my building is having the same problems. I never considered until someone mentioned it to me that these are symptoms of an abusive relationship. I’m afraid to come back to teaching next year, even though it will be at a different school, because I can’t take another year of this.

  23. Thank you for this article and everyone for their personal stories! I’ve been subjected to this for the first time in my 21 year teaching career! And bullying never crossed my mind because who’s supposedly in the power position – me, as the teacher! But reading this I’ve realized that my students and their parents have had the power and used it all year. I’m leaving the school because my reputation has been ruined and if I can leave the profession, I am! And I know of many teachers who are because of this behavior from students, parents and administration and what’s it done to their physical and mental health. I’ve gone on medication just to get sleep from anxiety. And had it used against me by admin.

  24. I think this article and these comments show how little people know of how bad it is. When I read all of the examples, I think, that is nothing, as sad as it is say that. This is nothing of what is really going on. I am over 20 years in the class and have proven by all standards how good I am. It does not matter. When you have a bad administration not only not doing anything about student and parents bullying, but encouraging it, it’s out of control.

    The bad students and parents have all of the power if you have an abusive administration. With all of the computer access now, it’s a coordinated effort to harass teachers who hold up a standard. A friend of mine started talking about issues of the badly skewed grading practices because he was getting massive complaints from students and parents being “scared, humiliated, and overwhelmed” by being asked to do grade level work because they had been given good grades by a previous teacher despite lack of skill and ability. Students learned the key words to use to “get” the teacher. My friend was repeatedly written up with disciplinary notices by administration for this! When administration did something wrong, they wrote him up. Now, they can’t do that, can they? There must be some fairness. There is none. Teachers are bullied and harassed to a point where they resign or give up. There is little recourse. But, but, but, there’s a union, right? If it’s like our union, you have “rights” to respond to write ups on you and file grievances to have them reviewed. What you don’t know is that they can make up their own process of writing you up and if you grieve it, the people who are writing you up are looking at it, and guess what? They always decide what they did was right in the first place. They can manipulate data, interview children without parent consent, and then say a child has said something, but a teacher never has access to any of that, nor can do that. The teacher is insubordinate if they tell anyone about it or ask anyone. It’s a web of lies used to form a fake paper trail to be used as “evidence” against you.

    My friend gave up in humiliation and resigned. Then I became the major target. Like my friend, I have been bringing up major grading issues and becoming more vocal about it, partially for my own benefit. I get harassed by parents and children who are “scared, humiliated and overwhelmed” in my class because they cannot do basic grade level work because they were assessed inaccurately before. The administration’s job should be to go after teachers not teaching skills and over assessing. They do not. They are all about doing whatever they can to make sure all students pass so they look good and feel good. Pass the buck along and don’t worry about setting the students up for failure. Like my friend, every single year my students have made the largest jumps in independent testing, proving we are doing something right. Does anyone care? No. They just want good grades and no homework.

    So now students know they can lie and cheat and get what they want. Bad or overwhelmed or delusional parents who support this have all of the power in complaints if the administration supports the target. If it’s one of their friends, they will white wash any complaints. If you are a target, like me and my friend, they use it to “get” you. They will call in students and interview them about a teacher and then use that to accuse the teacher of all kinds of nefarious things. This is without any teacher access to what actually was said, to respond, or anything else.

    Right now I am trying to force a confrontation–either listen to me and be honest, or try to dismiss me, which is the only real recourse I have with unbiased people. In that case I can have a hearing in front of an independent commission and ask for it to be public. I have to probably pay $75 k in lawyer fees above what the union will pay for to do this. The good thing is, if I win, the school pays everything. But few teachers will go that far. They give up. I want to go that far. I want it to be know to everyone I am being humiliated, retaliated against, harassed and targeted and treated like a child molester because (I am serious, these are the primary reasons) I had students call home with missing work “for the intention of humiliating them,” and because I tell students and parents I grade differently than other teachers and do no agree with that grading because it’s not the way the high schools and colleges grade, and I want to prepare them for the future.

    The bullying of teachers is this bad and worse. This needs to go public.

    1. Hi – how did your lawsuit go? I hope well. I’m also taking a bullying of me matter to court.

  25. I have been taking anti-anxiety medications for several years and this year the bullying got so bad that I had to start seeing a therapist just to get to the end of the school year.

  26. I am so glad to see this article and be able to read all these messages. I am being cyber-bullied by a student at the moment. She spread allegation anonymously on a public post on social media, rephrasing what I said in class with exaggerating adjectives, saying that I humiliated and threatened her in class. Many people left comments saying that she should call the police and find lawyer to sue me. Many people used bad words to call me and keep sharing it to others in order to “give me a lesson to learn about respect” and a lot of students believed that and said hate me too. A few students wrote comments to stand up for me , trying to tell others the accusation was wrong , they were verbally bullied. My reputation is ruin as teenagers are affected by peers. Colleagues will just think I have done something wrong to make students hate me. Public thinks I have done something very wrong and should not be a teacher. I could not sleep, lose all my appetite and the first time in my life – shaking body with no energy, tears running down non stop on my face. I felt so bad. I discovered there is nothing I can do except to wish the post will be forgotten soon. But with the powerful search engine that we have nowadays, will my nightmare ends one day? I worry that I am starting to have anxiety and soon mental illness. I wish to seek help and wish to find a community of teachers who encountered the same problem to talk to. Are there any website out there that I can find someone to talk to and get over this? I still want to be in this profession because I have been working so hard in it for these years. If I quit, everyone will think I really did something wrong. So I know I should not quit.

    1. Tiffany I would love to listen to your story and be a shoulder to cry on. I’m living in fear of some things that I have seen and experienced. I’ve shared it with my co-workers and feel very supported, but I still have a pit in my stomach some days!

  27. I have been searching for a site that addresses teachers being bullied by students. I have been bullied, threatened, cursed at, lunged at, pushed, and belittled everyday since school began in August. I follow the discipline plan by reporting the incidences that occur daily. The students see the school counselor, but continue their distuptive antics as soon as they return to the classroom. i dread going to work, and feel very unsafe in this hostile environment. The other students are well behaved, and a pleasure to teach. I feel bad for the abuse they experience daily, and feel I have no contol over the ADHD student that basically runs the class. He yells, screams, laughs hysterically, runs around the classroom hitting other students while I am trying to teach. He mimics everything I say, repeatedly tells me how ugly and stupid I am, and how much he hates me, and my funky hair. Admin now says I have poor classroom management, and signed me up for behavioral management classes. I’ve been teaching for 24 years, and have never experienced such disrepectful and abusive behavior from a child.. There should be laws protecting teachers from being bullied and abused. I also am told by administration that all I do is write behavior referrals. I have lost over 20 pounds since school began. I am totally stressed out, can’t concentrate, and my anxiety level is off the charts. There must be avenues teachers can take to end this abuse by children. Please keep me abreast of steps teachers can take to remedy this debilitating and hostile situation we face trying to teach in such a hostile, and unsupportive environment. I feel I am being forced into early retirement, and that means I will have to pay out of my pocket for health insurance, and settle for a lower pension since I am not 65 years.

    1. Hi Jill, have you tried asking for support with this particular class from your head of department? Or could you contact your teaching union? It sounds like you are not getting the support that you deserve. If this doesn’t work I’d try to get into a different school where you have a better support network. Behaviour like this is not down to your behaviour management, it is because the people higher up in the school are not giving you enough support. You shouldn’t have to put up with this student in your class. Also have you tried asking other teachers in the school what this child is like in their classes? You will probably find that some other teachers are having some similar issues, since it sounds like senior management are not good at supporting behaviour in your school.

    2. It sounds to me like that student should have an IEP for behavior! I hope something good happened- the admin sounds awful!!

  28. The students need real consequences for insubordination. Talking to them doesn’t work. The repeat abuser should be denied their rights to an education. We are not babysitters. It is a privilege that every taxpayer pays for. When students are so disrespectful and disruptive that they are interfering with the education of others they don’t belong in school. Getting tired of paying for the education of students who don’t want to be there and parents who want a babysitter. Cameras in the classroom? The public would be appalled.

  29. Students learn this behavior in high school and then bring it to college. By this time they are quite sophisticated in manipulating and intimidating teachers. This happens a lot in the last weeks of the semester, when some are realizing that they are failing. Then they browbeat the teacher into giving them extra points, etc, to avoid failure. If the teacher resists, they report some minor offense of the teacher to the administrators of the school. Sometimes the administrators see through this; sometimes they don’t.

  30. I am a SPED K-3 resource teacher andI am currently being accused of bullying a disabled student by an aide that spent 8 days in my classroom collecting data on a student with inappropriate behaviors. I believe the real allegation is that I did not prevent the other students from bullying this student, not that I actually bullied him myself, but my administrator believes that they are the same thing. First off I did not witness the bullying myself, only the aide did. She told the principal and the principal told the aide to go to HR and tell them that I am bullying a student with a disability. The principal is new to our campus and is on a “witch hunt” (we all know it). What can we as teachers do to protect ourselves from administrators like this? I had already signed my teaching contract when the principal shift was made last spring….I investigated a little about this new principal however obviously I didn’t investigate enough. If I knew then what I know now about her past I would have definitely requested a different school for the next school year. She has a history of getting teachers fired, especially teachers with a stellar career. My job as a SPEd teacher is difficult enough!! We have a severe shortage of SPED teachers in our state AND we are the lowest paying state in the nation. I am also hearing impaired and have called the ADA who is going to provide me with legal assistance. My teachers union is pretty much worthless as they have no power AT ALL. They offered an employment attorney to consult with me about the how my hearing impairment affects my job. After reading all of the experiences of teachers being bullied by parents AND administrators I am just sickened. BTW I WILL BE teaching online classes only next year….no more classrooms for me.

  31. I am from the UK and I’ve taught in various private and state schools over the past 8 years. I’m a female physics teacher, and have had a few incidences of bullying over the years. Nearly every incident that immediately springs to mind has involved a year 9 or year 10 pupil or group of pupils. The worst incident was after I had taken a year out to go travelling, and I decided to do a few long term supply placements in London to try a few different schools before going back to a permanent teaching job. In one of the schools, I had a year 10 girl who arrived in the class a month after the start of term, and she was very outspoken and a bit of a ring-leader amongst the class (and probably a bit of a bully to some of the other pupils / or they were all scared of her) and I regularly had to remove her from the class due to her poor behaviour. She would regularly scream very loudly at the top of her lungs if I sent her out into another teacher’s classroom to work. She had a friend in the class who was initially very quiet until this girl arrived. Because she was her friend she started disliking me and they sort of ganged up against me.

    One day when I was walking around the class encouraging them to get on with the work, and I asked the quiet girl (who was sitting at the back of the class) why she hadn’t started writing. The quiet girl said to me ‘I don’t have a pen’ so I went to the front of the class to get her one. Meanwhile some boys at the front of the class started getting out of their seats and messing around and fighting each other, so instead of taking the pen to the girl, I needed to keep one eye on what was happening at the front of the class, so I moved halfway across the room so I was a couple of metres away from her desk. I then lightly tossed the pen so that it landed onto her desk.

    A few weeks later the head of department told me that he had received a letter from the quiet girl’s older sister (I don’t think she lived with her parents) to say that I had forcefully thrown a pen at her. Then about a week later the girl was interviewed and this time she told senior management that I threw the pen at her face. So not only had she made up a story about something that I didn’t do, but she had also changed her story (which was actually a good thing as it became less believable).

    I think these girls had come up with this plan to try to get rid of me, as they knew that I was a supply teacher. I then had to be questioned by my heads of department, and by the deputy head. During one of my lessons with this class, they took every student out one by one to interview them. I felt completely helpless. The other pupils in the class weren’t able to deny it happened as they just didn’t remember anything as nothing did happen. Most of them refused to comment. I think 3 pupils wrote down in the end that they didn’t see me throw a pen at her – the problem with this was that I was then accused of putting the words into their mouths. But if I had just told them the lesson and asked them to write down what happened (without telling them that I’d been accused of throwing a pen at this girl) they wouldn’t know what to write as nothing happened.

    It was a horrible and intimidating experience where I felt I had no respect or support from my heads of department until they had enough evidence from the students in the class to say that I didn’t do what the girl was accusing me of. I had only been working for the school for a few months at that point, and they didn’t know me that well either so they had to assume the worst initially. After this experience I just wanted to leave teaching altogether, and was imagining what might have happened if they had believed the pupil and then my entire teaching career would be ruined by one horrible lying school pupil. I’ve read some similar but worse stories now, about teachers being falsely accused of things and deciding to leave the profession. I think students are more aware nowadays that if they say something they will be listened to – which is obviously a good thing, as long as they don’t abuse it and make false accusations.

  32. I often feel bullied, openly ridiculed, mocked, talked about as though I’m not even there and manipulated by selfish, entitled teenagers.. And even more tragic screamed at and cursed out by aggressive, angry, foul-mouthed, misinformed , so-called ‘parents’. This is totally unacceptable and heartbreaking. I’ve decided to leave the teching profession. Our society treats teachers with no respect…it breaks my heart.

  33. Been teaching for 20 + years. It’s progressively getting worse. Blatant defiance across the board as well. I’d certainly join a class action lawsuit. It would be great to have a talented investigative reporter to blow this into the sky for society to see and know about.

  34. Are you still doing research on this? DO you know of a comprehensive place to help bullied teachers? I am interested in starting a movement on this and seeing what we can do and make public. Students and parents bully/harass all of the time, but when they are backed up and encouraged by administration as a way to retaliate (it’s a good way to get rid of expensive teachers) it is beyond criminal.

    1. I am interested in your movement and have had smiliar ideas…I have subbed for the past 11 years and it just gets worse. I do not take bullying from anyone, students, teachers, administrators, and they all commend me and want to know what is my secret, etc. If I was a direct contract teacher, I would be fired, since I have no benefits, and drive all over town to work, I have nothing to lose. I tell them at the beginning of every assignment, I am the adult, you are the child and you will not run this class room. If they mess up 1 time, I throw them out. Please contact me or reply…

  35. I taught school for 25 years, and the last 3 or 4 were complete misery. I had never had discipline issues before, but a change in administration rendered me virtually helpless when it came to discipline in my classroom. Once a student realized that there would be no consequence for inappropriate behavior, other students picked it up as well. I was fortunate in that the parents of these students were for the most part very supportive, and therefore I didn’t end up with total chaos. However the thing that pushed me over the edge and out of teaching altogether was the bullying of me by an administrator. It had happened with other teachers, and it was perfectly clear to me and my colleagues when it began happening to me, but there was nothing that could be done to change it. When my job became something I hated, and I dreaded every moment that would require me to be at school, I knew I was done. I’m 4 years into a totally different career now, and my only regret is that I didn’t make my move sooner.

  36. I am surprised that how the “bullied teacher” term actually exists. I thought it, i looked for it and found this website and didn’t know this forum actually had a lot of people sharing the same experience as I have. I share the same experience as all of you. I decided to write on this to make this comment section longer so it can become a stronger case at some point.

    I am also basically being walked all over by two students. They both love each other’s company because they basically team up to accomplish their daily goal of not doing anything because they think my classroom is a prison. The rest of the students are manageable, but these two students have many personal issues and don’t have good parenting, that they take it out all in my classroom. I know I have to improve my classroom management skills, but parent accountability is key to combating this problem also. Unfortunately one parent blames me and the other parent can’t control his own son. I feel as if i have the dysfunctional classroom though there is another class that has the same issue. Administration baffles me with their rhetoric.

  37. I was a bullied teacher. I honorably served 20 years in the military before starting my teaching career. My first 10 years as a teacher went well. But after the presidential policy of “leniency” was implemented by President ‘ O,’ classroom behavior became increasingly difficult.I incountered severe teacher bullying by my students because there were NO ramifications for their actions. When it finally reached the point of severe character attach by some of my students, I quit. Thankfully I found another teaching career in the correctional justice system in my state. They at least protect their employed teachers with proactive disciplinary procedures. The reality of our current situation is teaching convicted offenders in correctional justice (criminals) is actually a better teaching environment than teaching our children in public education. If you REALLY care about the future of this country, then public education reform should be at the TOP of your list.
    Thank you.
    Mr. O
    Certified Math Teacher

    1. Like others have posted, I am happy to find this website – this thread specifically – about bullied teachers; and of course, sad that it exists. I just cannot believe the extensive and pervasive reach of this issue. As a bullied teacher, I have felt so alone and embarrassed to talk about what was happening to me. Like a previous poster said, it sounds like an abusive relationship, where the abused person feels ashamed and that it is their fault.

      Being bullied by students is one thing, but being bullied by admin is ridiculous. It’s like this: imagine if a bullied child went to the principal and asked for help because he/she was being bullied at school, and that principal said, “What are YOU doing wrong to make the other kids be mean to you? You just need to quit being this way or that way. Since it is all your fault, I’m going to be watching you very closely, and give you extra work, to make sure you are making progress. If you can’t make these other kids stop bullying you, then you will be in trouble.” Now replace that bullied child with me, the bullied teacher. I ask for help from the principal (for example, writing an office referral for a student who brought handfuls of sharp broken pencils to class and threw them at people’s faces) and I’m told that the behavior isn’t serious enough) Later, put on an improvement plant, because, well it’s all my fault, right? I could go on forever with all the ways my principal has undermined my ability to teach and manage any difficult students. Always believes the students version of events (or says he believes them – I’m sure he’s not that stupid; but siding with the kids advances his agenda.) Anyhow, I’m pretty much being forced out; teacher #4 this year being brought down by kids’ accusations and actions! My husband’s saying we should file a lawsuit! After finding all these posts here, I think I might! Thank you

  38. I was a bullied teacher. I honorably served 20 years in the military before starting my teaching career. My first 10 years as a teacher went well. But after the presidential policy of “leniency” was implemented by President ‘ O,’ classroom behavior became increasingly difficult. I encountered severe teacher bullying by my students, because there were NO ramifications for their actions. Student bullying became increasingly worse; they knew they could get away with it. Especially when they used social media. When it finally reached the point of severe character attach on myself by some of my students, I quit the job. It wasn’t worth dragging my character down for the sake of my job. Thankfully I found another teaching career in the correctional justice system in my state. They, at least protect their employed teachers with proactive disciplinary procedures.
    The reality of our current situation in the United States is this: Teaching convicted offenders (convicted criminals) in the correctional justice system is actually a BETTER teaching experience than teaching children in public education.
    If you REALLY CARE about the future of this country, then public education reform should be at the TOP of your list.
    Thank you.
    Mr. O
    Certified Math Teacher

  39. This has been happening to me this year – bullying by students. I am now on a medical leave of absence with Major Depression Disorder because no matter what I said or did, Admin ALWAYS believes the studets.

  40. I have been home all day, immobilized with stress by yet another instance of aggressive student behavior and having my peers give the support to a student known for disrespect of education and educators, “because they have issues.” I teach 17 -24 year olds who need to finish high school. Or maybe they’re there to get a letter for public housing. I overheard the site supervisor tell my colleagues I have no emotional intelligence. If I ask for the homework, I make students feel bad.The guidance counselor told me not to take it personally. We have no consequences and the students know it.
    I’ve been home all day because I have
    one more year before I can retire and I
    don’t know how I’ll finish the last thirty days of this school year.
    I knew I couldn’t be the only one …I just started searching and I found your blog after an entire day of searching because I had to realize…I’m being bullied by a student! Once I added students bullying teachers, it popped up and I read every single word and comment.
    Thank you everyone!

    1. I, too, taught in a school where I was told “the students have issues,” so, basically, leave them alone.

  41. Anon in So Ca – and everyone else here – I share that pain and shame. The last several years I’ve been a casualty of the Recession, so my teaching assignments have usually consisted of the students with the worst behavioral issues and daily bullying. Didnt matter if the kids had helicopter parents or the kids came from gangs. I’m currently in that position at a middle school, where my students have gained a reputation for getting decent teachers fired for no reason (middle school students have nearly no real consequences.) Been there with the MDD and anxiety meds. I hate going home daily in tears, and feeling too numb to grade papers.

    For those of you who left teaching for another career, what are you doing now? How quickly did you find another job once you left the classrom?

  42. Happening to me, too. Really awful. Been teaching for 28 years..,I don’t know how long I can go on.

  43. I am definitely supportive of a ‘trauma informed’ approach to work in learning communities, but in my brief experience, as an older woman who has begun a new career as an 9-12 educator, it seems that certain students, who have some serious emotional burdens, are receiving the message that they are free to share their burdens with anyone they choose. I fear for these young people whom are in need of real psychological support, and instead receive a lot of stroking and soothing. Stroking and soothing are necessary, but they do not result in the sort of the growth necessary if the sufferer is going to develop new skills. Instead a toxic cycle of drama infuses our school, and when it dies down in one class it pops up in another. Drama whack-a-mole: what a boring and senseless game. I refuse to be humiliated by a student or administrator; so, we’ll see how long I last.

  44. I just resigned mid year for a similar situation. One valuable tool I learned after being sent to a behavior management behavior development workshop, was to find a co-teacher to use as a time out space. This technique is especially effective for such cases listed above where parent support is non existent and administration chooses to blame your poor classroom management as the root of the problem. I took this tool one step further by teaming up with a teacher that was known for intimidating even the most difficult students. This technique ended up being very effective for a particular student who at 10 years old exhibited almost “scary” manipulative and bullying behavior. Her motivation was having an audience which is why this technique was especially useful. Once you find this teacher, meet with them ahead of to get approval; my goal was not to disrupt her lesson but to merely have a time-out spot where this student would have to finish a worksheet of menial work. The menial worksheet could not be anything challenging simply because that would give the student an excuse not to do it or they would have a reason to pester the co-teacher by whining about how it was too hard or they hadn’t learned it yet. I chose subtraction problems printed from math-aids.com. I wholeheartedly sympathize with those of you out there and was relieved to find this page to know I not alone. Good luck.

  45. I am a relatively new teacher to an all boys Catholic high school. Last year was a difficult transition, having never taught high school before (only adjunct at local colleges). This past year, I was hoping things would get better, but at times I feel as though the classroom is slipping away from me more and more each day. Students will say horrible things to get laughs, and often spend as much time as possible combing the internet to find out my personal history. I have had my home and address airplayed on TV multiple times. I have even seen pictures of myself with past relationships on the TV, somehow recovered by these students.
    When i take the appropriate steps to curtail and shutdown this behavior, there are always multiple students out with their phones to get a video of my reaction. I feel discouraged and embarrassed arriving home every day feeling taken advantage of. I try to put on a brave face. Its hard feeling as though you’ve gone through your life working hard to find a job only to be laughed at and not taken seriously. The administration is helpful to a point, but there is very little accountability for the students’ actions. I feel depressed quite often and I feel for everyone experiencing trials on here. Especially all of you veterans. Its not fair and you deserve better. Remember that there are students you have helped and are still helping! But if you feel the need to leave, do not be ashamed, you’ve done your best.

  46. Thank you so much for posting this. In my last teaching position I was bullied by a group of students and accused of things I didn’t do. When I made the administration aware it was brushed aside with comments like’ Thats what middle schools kids do…” or worse told that i was making a big deal out of nothing. The other adults in the building would not support me, talked behind my back and basically did nothing. I reported the behaviors to the union and once again, nothing happened. Since I was a teacher on probationary status the principal decided he would not renew my contract after my second year in the district. Parent’s made complaints about me and when I pressed for details and asked for a meeting I was told they refuse to talk to you. These may well have been the parents of some of the students harassing me. My gender expression is not exactly on par of what culture expects and when I brought this up to the principal he completely dismissed me. When I said there was a pervasive problem with bullying at the school his response was, , “no school is perfect.” The level of harassment was overwhelming and he stood by and did nothing to stop it. I had nasty unsigned notes on my door, defaces fliers with my name on it for Civil Rights Team meeting dates and times, students mocking me and he did NOTHING!!! Talk about being stressed out? It happens, its real and we need to address it. Any ideas?

  47. This subject is never discussed; however, I have been in public education for 23 years. It is a problem. I believe negative and increasing trends in the current administrative, parent and youth cultures exasperate the gross problems that many teachers face daily. Thank you for bringing this angle to light.

  48. This subject is never discussed; however, I have been in public education for 23 years. It is a problem. I believe negative and increasing trends in the current administrative, parent and youth cultures exasperate the gross problems that many teachers face daily.

  49. I have been the victim of student and parent bullying for well over ten years. When I started teaching Advanced Placement classes, many of the students did not like the rigor of the class. They devised a smear campaign against me, calling me a derogatory name on social media. Over ten years later, and every student in the school along with their parents calls me the derogatory name. I have to spend many weeks each term trying to convince students that I am an excellent teacher. The only students who really like me and talk to me in a friendly way are the students who are new to the school. They almost always tell me how much they like me as a teacher. I am a National Board Certified and renewed teacher with over 27 years of teaching experience. I can’t tell you the amount of pain, anguish, and stress being the victim of constant name calling that I have and do suffer. I feel as if those few disgruntled students ruined my reputation and my life.

    1. I completely understand and sympathize with you. The fact that this is not only the norm in my school but is also now accepted is what is most troublesome. Hang in there.

  50. We’re seeing an increase of students bullying teachers on one of our NISD MS campus in San Antonio, TX. Students are getting away with threatening teachers, verbally assaulting, and in some cases, physically assaulting them and administration is not doing anything about it. Instead, they’re encouraging teachers to try harder at building relationships with the same students that are bullying them. Just this week we had a teacher threatened by a student that her mom will come to the school and beat her up if she didn’t return her cell phone and the mom confirmed over the phone that her daughter was told to threaten teachers if she has too. The administrator refused to remove the student from that teacher’s class and reminded her to build a relationship with her. Seriously???? I’m sorry, I love my job but we don’t get paid enough to put up with that. What is this world coming too?

  51. Sadly, this happens daily to myself and my colleagues. My mental and emotional health are in jeopardy, and I’ve been teaching for 22 years. This year is the worst. From abusive words to assault, this is not an enjoyable profession any longer.

  52. When I was eighteen, my grandfather ended his own life while he was living with us. Those images around his death made me aware that mental illness was very real in my family.
    For as long as I can remember, living with anxiety and intermittent depression has been a way of life for me. When I was a kid, therapy was stigmatized. Instead, I was told I was too sensitive.
    As an adult, I was helped by therapists through some difficult times; but a crisis at work sparked a depression like I never knew before, and forced me to take medication.
    I was a well-liked teacher, and attuned to kids in my classes who struggled with the same mental demons I knew. Whenever I would seek ways to help students who showed signs of mental illness, I was stonewalled by the administrators.
    Out of frustration, I wrote newspaper commentaries about my experiences at the school that drew attention to the importance of mental illness awareness, especially for elementary-age children, (when intervention is most crucial and still not too late.) Naively, I believed this could change things.
    Instead I was ostracized, disciplined, and bullied for tarnishing the school’s reputation, and I was advised by our union’s legal counsel not to talk to anyone about my interactions with the administration.
    For several years I endured mistreatment intended to drive me away, but I needed to stay on a little longer to keep my pension intact. For survival, my job as a classroom teacher had become a never-ending performance being someone who wasn’t me.
    In the meantime, my personality changed drastically, while there was no way to explain to others why this was happening. I became withdrawn, quiet, and afraid. No one ever asked me what was wrong; instead, others made up their own explanations. Once the rumors about me took hold, I was shunned by most of the school staff.
    After several years of enduring this crisis, I learned what it means to lose your mind. My therapist prescribed medication for deep depression, because for the first time in my life I didn’t want to be alive anymore.
    I confided this to a close friend at work, and I believe saying those words aloud was pivotal in my recovery. I thank that trusted friend for helping me through the worst days of my life.
    On my last day at the school, a teacher, (who later became the principal), cruelly made a point of telling me, “You are not liked here.” It was devastating to be told that to my face, on the final day of my career, and while in the depths of depression.
    After retiring, I was diagnosed with PTSD. Soon after, it became clear to me that almost anyone or anything related to my old place of work were now triggers that bring back dark feelings from that time. I avoid those triggers as much as possible.
    It has taken seven years, therapy, ending medication, yoga, and a good dog for me to know happiness again.

  53. YES TO ALL OF THIS. The level of disrespect that I’ve seen since working in the classroom has been ridiculous. One of my teacher friends told me, “I feel like I am in an abusive relationship with these children.”

  54. Jane, congratulations on a successful escape. Many of us perish. The accumulation of abuse from admin, kids, parents, and sometimes our colleagues wreaks havoc on body, mind, and spirit. Some of the posts mention our lack of recourse and punishment for seeking recourse. We lose because the systems in which we work are stupid, powerful, wealthy, and relentless– nothing short of an invisible government within public education. Teachers on the “defective” end of this pernicious social engineering project typically are those who don’t comply with the edu-garbage scripts that substitute for gifted teaching and are teachers who try to instill in students some sense of accountability and the joy of creative, challenging work that accompanies it.

    A lot of work needs to be done and voiced on this topic because not only the teachers and pseudo-educated students are at risk.

  55. Hello, I have been a substitute teacher for several years. But I encountered one student who bullied me repeatedly. When I would sub for his class and another teacher or admin would walk in he would say, “Just fire this guy” or “He fing sucks at this”. And he would attempt to physically harm me while teaching or even walking in the halls. But one day I got tired of it. And had him sit down, at the end of the school day. I asked him, “What the hell did I do to you? If you want to go this way I will make sure and have you expelled and it will not effect me at all.” After this it made him cry, but did not change his resolve. Now since he graduated when he sees me in public he tries to intimidate me, and he threatened to break into my home. I told him I will have him arrested. I wish he would learn to grow up and be an adult if he does it to someone who has a criminal record or is just a criminal it may go bad. And I wish it would not but I see not trying to help him anymore.

  56. My significant other is a teacher in an alternative high school. There is no counselor and no social worker. There is also an impotent school principal who is all talk and no action. I am a retired school social worker and have worked in enough schools to know that it is up to the administration to set the standard for student behavior. That is everyone from the Superintendent to the Principal. One weak link gives the unruly students the strength they need to destroy an educational setting, including the emotional lives of their teachers. My significant other comes home with horror stories every day from what her students do to her, with a principal that doesn’t stand up to the kids. Discipline was taken out of schools with the increase of political correctness in all areas of society until we got to the point where the most deficient individual has become the bar at which we measure normalcy. There should be a mandated requirement in our schools. Parents/guardians should be required to volunteer their presence in our schools on a rotating basis to help discipline, report and prevent student misbehavior–everything from not listening to talking back to physical assault. If that isn’t palatable to people, then establish early Army boot camps for students who refuse to cooperate, which will lead to actual placement into the Army when they come of age.

  57. I experienced this kind of bullying. Never forget it. It caused me to leave public school teaching forever. I now teach at a Catholic High School, which is only better because they allow detentions. Yet, I can still feel there is a possibility of student bullying. I experienced bullying by high-performing students. They are tribal and engage in a kind of mutiny-type approach to “get you fired” because they often have vague complaints in the way you are teaching a novel or they think you should have penned hundreds more personalized comments on their papers. One class was upset because I dared grade their papers on turnitin.com. Technology wasn’t personal enough for them. These strange and aggressive tendencies often result in a vicious, unfounded, and relentless desire to fire you. Administrators seem content to give them what they want.

  58. I am sick over an allegation the other day by a student that I forcefully grabbed him. I DID NOT DO THIS. I did, however, take his assignment from his hand as he walked out of the classroom, because he refused to hand it in. Then he went ballistic on me, angry and accusing me of hurting him. This was after a period of extremely disrespectful behavior towards me by this student throughout the class. I am now placed on administrative leave and awaiting an investigation. I am seeking legal counsel to protect myself. This class has about three boys who are always very disruptive and disrespectful towards me and the lesson I am trying to teach. That day was the worst I ever experienced with them. This could ruin my career, livelihood, and reputation. I am traumatized by this.

  59. I have my Bachelors in middle school English. I passed my VCLA and Praxis 2 as well. I do not have student teaching and because I am in a state that is credential crazy, I do not have a license. I fell into subbing a year before graduating college 20 years ago. I work for a large urban district and have been labeled an outstanding substitute. I have been doing long term teaching in three subject areas since 2005. In the last three years, I have run into some Principals who have done things to me that I found highly unfair. Most of the time, I am bullied by students, called bad names, and all of the other things that have been a severe problem for other subs on this website. The most recent long term job of two months just ended two weeks aqo. Three teachers and an unknown number of long term subs quit one after another in this classroom since September, 2019. It is now February, 2020. When I came to this job, teaching middle school English, the classes were chaotic. Chronic talking, getting out of seat, raised voices, foul language, leaving classroom without permission, etc. I looked at the grades and all classes were mostly E’s. The classroom was strewn with papers to grade everywhere. There was no sense of organization. I took this classroom and turned it around in two months. However, the Co-teacher in this classroom was verbally abusing me from the start and then would beg me all the time not to quit. She was bullying me in the workplace. I had never had a situation like this before or since in 20 years with this district. I had to deal with students bullying me, a parent bullying me over her child’s grade, a principal blackballing me from her school because I complained of the students ganging up on me and yelling at me calling me names, and much more. Never, though, had I endured something like this. I talked to my fellow English teachers and asked if this was something normal I am just supposed to put up with. They assured me it was wrong and were irate that I was being treated this way. I then went to my Dept Chair a month later who showed she did not feel comfortable taking this to another level. By the time I spoke with the AP, by the end of the week, suspiciously I was told in an email my job had been modified and was ending. HR told me the school had found a new perm licensed teacher to hire. During the time I was there, this co-teacher (a SPED teacher) was trying to control the classroom in every manner (was supposed to be my job and she work with her students), was lashing out at me if I did or said something she did not like, yelling at me in front of students once a day, belittling me in front of students, scorning me in front of students, chastising me and undermining my authority in front of students. I have always gotten along well with everyone I work with in various schools and grade levels. I know my job well and how to teach and manage classrooms. Before the job ended, my blood pressure was boiling over and was hitting stroke level and I felt like a pressure cooker. The students were throwing objects at me hitting my face and body because I was super strict and would not allow them to run the classroom. I told this co teacher four different times to stop yelling at me especially in front of the students., She would apologize and then do it again and again. The last week there, I talked with the AP and told him this was being done to me and I wanted it to stop so I could focus on doing my job effectively and not be distracted by her antics. He said he talked with her and then two times more that week, she was yelling at me standing right next to her. She used the excuse every time that she wanted to make sure that I could hear her. I admitted I was 55 percent deaf. I told her early on I could hear her fine and she was no longer allowed to be yelling at me in front of students. She embarrassed me, humiliated me, and degraded me in front of the students. I told her that I had been a victim of childhood abuse and had suffered PTSD, as a result, yet knowing this, she was bullying me and verbally abusing me. This was causing my anger level to rise and my depression to come back. I had finally come to peace with my past and was feeling normal for the first time in my whole life before taking this job. This evil spirited co-teacher knew exactly what she was doing and still continued. She was on a power trip kick or something and wanted to be boss of the classroom. She has been a SPED teacher 27 years but acted as if she was my boss and I was her employee to supervise any way she saw fit. She did not even treat other co-teachers or teachers or her student teacher in this manner she did me. I believe its because they were full time employees and I was not so she felt she could do as she pleased. I have a good reputation among the district but because of some bizarre situations that have been occurring, I am feeling that I am losing one school after another that I can sub at because I dont feel comfortable going to those schools and feeling hostility from certain people there or multiple employees. My last two weeks have been filled with nightmares in my sleep at night of being in class and her screaming at me. I wrote her an email three days ago and sent a copy to the Principal of the school and made sure he knew what she had done to me while I was there because I know he had no clue. Nothing at all will be done to her but I am left in severe emotional pain so hurt over how all this turned out and has caused me to feel like I cant trust anyone again anymore. When you have been abused as a child and going into your adult years by your parent and siblings, it causes you to lose faith in humanity. I was so close to being healed until this job.

  60. My niece called this morning to let me know she was on her way to her son’s school. Apparently, he had decided to join in on a group bullying session. The music teacher was distraught and reported the incident. I am truly saddened by the incident.

    Do we now need cameras in the classroom? Maybe, if it will protect both teachers and students.

  61. I’m dealing with this and there’s no help for it. I’m miserable and thinking about leaving the teaching field.

  62. Teaching is now an abusive relationship.
    Thanks to admin’s failure to discipline and suspend.

    25 teachers in my old school had been hit, pushed, verbally abused, sexually harassed.
    I was hit.
    What the the district do? move the kid. Did not expel them.
    What did the county do? NOTHING!!!

    Teachers need to stand up to teacher violence.
    You union will not support you.

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