Appalling, disheartening, stomach turning, vile. These are feelings that I felt when reading this article by Elizabeth Meyer. We all know it happens, but to know that it is an accepted part of secondary education is mind numbing. (Page 1) "sexual and homophobic harassment are accepted parts of school culture where faculty and staff rarely or never intervene to stop this harassment. Students report that teachers stand by and allow biased and hurtful behaviors to go unchallenged". I can't believe in this day and age that teachers, or adults would allow this to go on. Have we become so jaded or immune to empathy that we can't recognize pain and injustice? Are our views so skewed that we no longer can determine what is right or wrong? I do not allow any bullying, be it physical, verbal, emotional or sexual in my classroom. I have zero tolerance for bullies; they're excuses or reasons. Trying to teach empathy and open mindedness to junior high students is trying enough, add on tolerance and appreciation for differences and it becomes an impossible task.
I have first hand knowledge how this gender harassment can affect a student. My cousins 17yr old daughter hung herself after being bullied and sexually harassed for most of her senior year. It was only later that my cousin found out that the school, including guidance, teachers and administration knew what was going on but didn't feel that it warrented a parent notification. Schools have dropped the ball on this issue. I agree with certain assertions within the piece that state teachers are not thoroughly trained to handle these situations nor is administration up to taking on this task. I feel my schools biggest issue is consistency and administration apathy. The article suggested that some teachers have different views about the issue and tend to discipline differently or sometimes not at all "teachers are less likely to intervene in cases of sexual, homophobic and transphobic harassment than other forms of bullying and harassment in schools" (pg.2) Why is this? Isn't the outcome the same as verbal or physical bullying, feelings of isolation and fear? Even though a school states it has a Zero Tolerance Policy towards this issue, I find they are not always true to their word. Everything seems to be passed off or delegated to someone else and issues and violations fall through the cracks. Teachers do become overwhelmed with what we have to accomplish within the day. We are in charge of our classrooms, outside of our classrooms we need help. All too often administrators are overworked and overwhelmed with scheduling, paperwork, evaluations, ect... to deal with these issues. However, like the article suggests teachers need to feel that they are supported by their principal or vice principal to follow through and come down hard on violators. It must start from the top down. It doesn't matter how hard a teacher tries to institute a zero tolerance policy, if it is not followed through from the top then it's merely an inconsequential detention with no further repercussions. And the victims feelings of isolation, embarrassment, exclusion and fear will continue throughout their school career.
"It doesn't matter how hard a teacher tries to institute a zero tolerance policy, if it is not followed through from the top then it's merely an inconsequential detention with no further repercussions."
ReplyDeleteShannon, your passion for this comes out in the tone of your response. I agree that it is outrageous that this still goes on. Although, today I do think there is much more awareness of the zero tollerence, although the occurence of bullying needs to be reported in order for anything to get done. I think it is impereative for all teachers and staff to understand the urgency and to be able to see the signs of bullying.These signs are not always apparent at first glance. It is definiely a part of our job to keep kids safe at school.