Motivation Monday ~ Teachers "Bullying" Students ~ MUST BE FIRED !

Nov. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- “Bullying.”  What is it exactly?  Across America we see stories about children that are being “bullied” by other students and we want it to end.  We have developed a program in conjunction with a technology company to address and potentially eliminate “bullying.”

However, recently, there were two stories of teachers that have not only “bullied” students, but belittled and verbally abused them that I think should motivate all of us as parents and concerned citizens.

The Jerry Sandusky, Penn State scandal exposed a sexual predator that took advantage of his position of power and held that over young boys that he could prey upon. It has been compared to Priests in the Catholic Church scandal.  Sexual abuse of children and minors are criminal acts that when uncovered place people in jail.  It is a crime!  These acts will stay with these children the rest of their lives and scar them.  What punishment is suitable for someone that scars a child for their entire life?

What we now know and I use frequently in my programs around the country, is that the saying our parents taught us, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is not true.  While we try to downplay the impact of words on our children, the reality is that “words” may be the most powerful tool humans have against each other.

In these instances, teachers that are hired to take care of children were literally caught verbally abusing and mocking “special needs” students.

The first case was exposed on NBC’s Today program and Huffington Post where a 14 year old student, Cheyenne, was continually abused by two of her teachers.  One teacher she had for several years.  Cheyenne had complained to her parents about the abuse and they didn’t believe her. After several incidents, they went to the school and the Principal and Superintendent immediately defended the teachers.  Finally, 14 year old Cheyenne was clever enough to audiotape the two teachers continually abusing her and belittling her and disparaging her and her parents and home life, calling her “fat,” “stupid” and “lazy” amongst other things.  The audiotape was brought to the School Board and Superintendent after Cheyenne began trying to hurt herself so that she didn’t have to go to school. The response?  They forced one teacher to “resign,” which enables her to still collect a pension and she can still get a job working with children elsewhere.  The second teacher was placed on “paid leave.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/14-year-old-spec...

The second story takes place in Sewell, New Jersey where Steven Roth, an educator for special education students was placed on “paid administrative leave” after one of his students videotaped him belittling, mocking and tormenting a 15 year old student in a classroom in front of other students. This could not have been a one time event as the student was clever enough to videotape the incident of the teacher in action.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/video_nj_teacher...

What is horrible about both of these stories is that the teachers are caught “red handed” on audio and video tape and yet the school boards and Superintendents place these abusive teachers on “administrative” or “paid leave” rather than being FIRED on the spot!

This is no difference than those that “pass the buck” or “turned away” from the sex abuse cases at Penn State or The Catholic Church.  When provided with physical evidence of audio and video footage of abuse, how do these people remain “loyal” to the teachers and not terminate them on the spot, never mind not filing criminal charges?  These teachers are people in a position of power that are using that power and their words to abuse and scar the very children they are responsible for taking care of.  These are only two examples of abuse by teachers that must be used as examples of why we must reevaluate our education system.  

As we continue to decline competitively compared to other countries around the world, it is critical that we begin to evaluate the performance of our teachers.  If we want to raise the bar for our students and increase performance then it’s time to “get tough” about how our system protects bad teachers.  The School Boards and Superintendents must remember that they work for the community and the tax payers, not the teachers and the Teachers Unions. There are far too many talented people that are unemployed that school systems, school boards and Superintendents cover for or protect teachers like this.  By protecting them and placing them on “paid leave” you give all teachers a bad name.  In glaring instances such as these where there is actual audio and video footage of the abuse the right thing to do is to terminate the teachers immediately.  Depending upon the level and extent of abuse School Boards and Superintendents should also discuss criminal charges and the loss of pensions.  Will that be enough of a penalty to prevent bad teachers from abusing children in our classrooms?

Also, with the advances in technology, we should consider videotaping classrooms.  Parents can watch the videotapes to see if their child is listening or behaving in class and determine if teachers are performing properly.  If teachers and students realize that they are being “watched” at all times…how will that change behavior and keep people on their best behavior at all times?  In the end America, it’s up to you.

About the Author
Kevin L. McCrudden is President of Motivate America, Inc. and Founder of National Motivation & Inspiration Day, which is January 2nd of every year and was passed by The United States Congress after the tragic events of 9-11-2001. Creator of “I Am America Apparel” www.IamAmerica.us  and is also author of “U ~ Who Are U?” where he introduces the most significant addition to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in 60 years.  http://www.amazon.com/~-Who-Are-ebook/dp/B004GNFUR0/ref=s...