What’s a teacher supposed to do?
The pendulum has swung this far. Bored students used to shoot spit wads. Today’s class has gone much further. They provoke a teacher (baiting) until she reaches her breaking point (who doesn’t have a breaking point) and then secretly film the subsequent yelling or crying to post it online and further humiliate her.
A recent survey of 24 nations found that 21% of teachers had suffered some such shaming. One teacher cited experienced a nervous breakdown and was placed on indefinite administrative leave. This is the new fun, a way to while away the school year, to put a flavor into the dry algebra class. Has the “Question Authority” mantra gone too far? If they take out a teacher, a lot of kids congratulate themselves: “Well, she wasn’t apt for teaching anyway.”
Never mind that most of us enter the profession with illusions of serving humanity, changing lives, rescuing souls. We are purveyors of light and understanding. But we are shouted down by the promoters of Middle Ages.
Granted, teachers have long humiliated students. But cyberbaiting turns the tables, it would seem, in a much nastier tenor. (It is supposed that teachers strive for classroom management with an illegitimate technique, but students have no worthy end to justify their actions.)
This article has useful tips to avoid such provocations. What do you think about such student goading?
concernedforeducation 
This is horrible. I feel lucky that it can’t work in kung fu class, because the teachers could literally hurt them.
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Do I wish I taught kung fu?
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Students are fighting back against the top-down control, incessant testing, and lack of creativity that is pervasive in schools today. While it is frustrating for teachers as they struggle to keep their jobs (and attempt to educate through the bureaucratic muck), students have no choice and little freedom to think anymore. It’s time for more educators to shrug and set off in search of genuine learning opportunities. The more alternatives we develop for kids, the better off everyone will be. http://www.anastasisacademy.com/
http://sunsetsudbury.org/why-self-directed-learning-schools-are-better-for-k-12-students/
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thanks for the comments!
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I understand students wanting to rebel against the deplorable educational system that exists in many schools, but they also have to appreciate that their teachers, too, are victims of a bureaucratic idiocy that hampers their own creativity in teaching.
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This is a good point.
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Very true, but when you are being oppressed do you thank your jailer? After all, he’s just doing his job.
Before you blast me, I taught (notice past tense) for more than 20 years. Education is in shambles and the longer quality teachers stay, the more shambles you will see around you.
It’s sad to say this and trust me, I’m working through my prior complicity too, but …..
you’re feeding the beast.
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Not sure how I’m feeding the beast.
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I think a good teacher can find interesting ways to present any subject matter. Engagement is a huge part of their job. Having standards ensures teachers aren’t going off on tangents and neglecting required learning. I have seen many teachers who think they know what is best, and when you have their students the next year, you find out just how poorly the teacher did their job.
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I’m sure that some students are rebelling, but I don’t think those individuals form the core of this group. These are bullies, plain and simple. I believe it starts with parenting or the lack thereof.
Too many parents want to be “friends” with their kids. While it’s good to have a friendly relationship, parents are not their kids’ friends. They are their parents, but if they do their job well, kids and parents will be friends as adults.
Too many parents want to give their kids everything, so they do. Unfortunately, this leads to a feeling of entitlement which can lead to this behavior. Am I saying all kids who have generous parents end up bullying teachers? No, but it is part of the overall problem.
Parents need to work with teachers and administrators rather than arguing with them when their child gets in trouble. They need to model appropriate respect for teachers and their children will follow suit. Will there be times when mom and dad need to deal with an unreasonable teacher or administrator? Definitely. But mom and dad can be adults and behave in a rational, intelligent, adult manner and deal with the problem appropriately.
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I absolutely agree. Parents play a huge role, and the world is expecting teachers to do everything for the kids, and it’s not going to happen.
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Ah, but you are; aren’t you? Read some John Taylor Gatto and John Holt. I think you’ll see yourself more in them than you imagine.
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Do parents teach their children to respect authority figures anymore?
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yes, parents are the missing factor. as the system “professionalizes” teaching, parents are rendered supposedly obsolete. a “professional” can never replace a parent.
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We can’t generalize, but there are a lot of students who are not taught respect. It only takes a couple in a classroom to cause a great deal of disruption and angst for the teacher and the other students. Being able to step back, take a breath and deal with situations as calmly as possible is important. Having a plan for handling disruptions prior to an outbreak is also helpful. Trying to build positive relationships with all parents from the start of the school year can be helpful (parents who have mis-behaved children have generally been hearing about it for years, so sometimes you can find strategies to work on problems in a positive way). Then again, some parents are as crazy as their kids. Finally, having administrators who back up their teachers and demand discipline in the school can make a lot of problems go away. Good Luck, There are no perfect answers, only strategies that may or may not work. My advice is to do your best to maintain control of your emotions in the classroom, set the right tone in the beginning of the year, always enforce rules in a consistent manner, and try, try, try not to take the problems home with you.
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