| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Carol Perkins: School Bullies, Part II In the second, and author says last word, on the subject of bullying in public schools today, she takes administrators to task for not taking responsiblity for their part in maintaining discipline. She says that the problem is not just about young teachers launching their careers. It affects veteran educators as well: "Even we veteran teachers have not escaped undaunted." My last year was the worst year of my career. Next previous Carol Perkins column: School Bullies, Part I By Carol Perkins I must not be finished. I thought I had said enough, but then you, the readers, reminded me of more issues. This will be my last. I think I will start Bully Buster Parties like Tea Parties. Wonder if anyone would show up? A semi-retired teacher/friend called me about my previous articles because she knew how much it occurs and how often. You don't spend a lifetime in public schools and come away immune. She pointed out another aspect of the problem. Bullies often drive young teachers out of the profession Bullies often bully young teachers and drive them out of the profession. This is particularly true with middle and high school teachers. A young teacher is often at the mercy of a bully each period of the day. She tries to present her lesson, but they talk over her. She tells them to be quiet, so they mock her, ignore her, and turn up the volume. Some make lewd remarks and improper suggestions. They twist her words into something dirty. Most of all, they take away her confidence. She cries; they win. They brag about making Miss So and So cry. They are still talking about it at their thirty year reunion. Before you blame the teacher, think twice. She is not a military trained, combat person. She was taught how to teach; not how to referee. All the books on college shelves do not prepare her for these encounters. All the discipline giants with multiple books in print do not address such behavior with realistic solutions. Administrations label bullied teachers as persons who can't control classrooms Why doesn't she seek help? Here is how the system works. A non-tenure teacher walks on egg shells. She needs the job. I would bet she has large college debts. If she is constantly seeking help from administrators, she soon becomes labeled as a teacher who can't control her students. Most principals don't like to have to insert themselves into issues between teachers in students. At least, that is what I have discovered. The more a teacher asks for help, the more she is thought to be weak. A principal wouldn't want to walk into her classroom because that would undermine her attempts and make her look incompetent, but what he could do is offer her support by telling her to send bad students to him and he will handle them. That doesn't mean a speech and then allowing them to swagger back in the middle of class. Help her find solutions. Few young teachers develop 'the eye' Very few young teachers have developed the "eye" as I call it. That means with one glance a student knows his place. That doesn't necessarily work today because the really obnoxious, out-of- control students in high school have usually smoked or snorted or popped something the morning before they arrived. No, I'm not kidding. When a teacher confronts a student jacked up on something, she is asking for a fight. Some kids, however, are just naturally mean; they need no substances. A young girl told her mom (who called me) that she felt sorry for a certain first year teacher because of how the kids treated her. Given time, if she stays, she will find her voice and her discipline and her inner strength, but right now she is drowning in a pool of sharks without a way to fin for herself. She is nervous, frightened, and overwhelmed in a classroom of at least twenty-five students each period. Will she stay or leave the profession? Even we veteran teachers have not escaped undaunted. My last year was the worst year of my career. I had very few students who wanted to learn and many who longed to fight each other. That kind of nonsense. I discovered that teaching was secondary to keeping my sanity. If I had been a first year teacher, I would have looked for a new career. That is exactly what has happened to many new teachers. They don't want to spend their lives discipling students who don't want to learn, while throwing those who do want to learn under the bus. I had reached my limit with what I wanted to endure, even as tough an old bird as I was. Discipline today and 10 years ago far different Discipline today and discipline ten years ago don't resemble each other. In closing, bullies aren't just in schools. Every day one of you go to work, knowing you are going to face someone who picks on you, exerts unnecessary demands, or belittles you. You put up with this because you need the job. Isn't it a shame people have to live in misery at the hands of someone who browbeats them each day? Maybe charter schools will be the answer for students. Maybe someone will do something before another school year begins without a vital young teacher who needs support, not criticism. I miss teaching, but frankly, I wouldn't want to fight the battle. This old bird can't get out of the nest. That is my final word, for what it is worth. This story was posted on 2010-08-15 17:57:09
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Carol Perkins:
Carol Perkins article on School Bullies draws interest Carol Perkins: School Bullies I Carol Perkins: Parasailing Carol Perkins: London Carol Perkins: Hoosier hospitality in outlet mall Carol Perkins: The Hitching Post Carol Perkins: Who is watching your children? Carol Perkins: Feeling Like Myself Carol Perkins: Churches Carol Perkins: Missing Mother View even more articles in topic Carol Perkins |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
