Unfortunately, bullying by teachers is not uncommon. ‘Want to know the 15 signs your teacher is bullying you? These are the proven and time-tested signs that I’ve personally experienced.
It’s one thing when other students bully you. However, it’s another when the people harassing you are teachers. Being bullied by a teacher can be devastating because the bullying teacher holds a lot of power over you. So, how do you know if a teacher is bullying you and what can you do about it?
In this post, you will learn the surefire signs of bullying by teachers and the steps you can take to protect yourself.
Once you learn these tell-tale indicators, not only will you know what to do in your particular situation, but you’ll gather the courage to do what you must do to protect yourself and your future.
This post is all about bullying by teachers, the signs to look for, and what you can do to defend yourself and secure your future.
Bullying by teachers
Sadly, teachers who bully students are more common than we think. Although most schoolteachers are altruistic souls who love kids and want to help them, there are also plenty of bad apples in the teaching profession.
Many teachers and school staff often stick targets of mobbing and bullying with labels. They brand them with labels, such as, “trouble,” “difficult,” or “problem child.”
Consequently, this sets a dangerous precedent because it sets the targeted child up to be discriminated against by their school. Moreover, it encourages other classmates to bully the targeted kid worse.
Therefore, when adults become prejudiced against a child, it creates a very hostile and dangerous environment.
Why? Because victims aren’t afforded the same due process that their classmates enjoy. As a result, the school staff only empower the bullies. Even worse, they end up supporting the bullies, even encouraging them to bully that child.
And because the child’s brain is still developing, they may not know how to handle such abuse.
What happens when targets act out due to prolonged bullying and resulting stress?
Let’s face it, no one can withstand the intense pressure of bullying and mobbing for long. A person can only be pushed so far. If you kick a dog long enough, you’ll get bit eventually.
When a target is bullied and mobbed by their classmates, they are forced to submit to horrendous and downright grotesque abuse. Then, when teachers join in, it compounds an already horrific situation,.
However, this kind of bullying is unfathomable to most adults. The message targets receive from others is just to “shut up and take it.”
In fact, when you’re a target of school bullying and mobbing, your world becomes quite Kafkaesque. Moreover, even you have a hard time believing what you’re experiencing. So, is it any wonder that no one else can believe it either?
The questions, “What the hell?” and “Is this really happening?” come to mind. You feel as if you’ve stepped into the twilight zone.
This is because being mobbed is the feeling of being crushed by nonsensical, bizarre, and blind abuse.
Just imagine what this does to a child or teenager.
Bullying by teachers: the targeted child is powerless to understand or control what is happening.
The target suffers mistreatment, isolation, exclusion, and yes- even brutal physical beatings.
Therefore, the bullied child will be too afraid to plead for help because he knows that the school staff will ignore his cries. And what’s more frightening is that his bullies will take retribution on him for daring to open his mouth.
Eventually the target snaps and acts inappropriately due to long-lasting and extreme stress because the bullying and abuse she suffers has only fallen on deaf ears.
The bullies assaults against the target will continue to be overlooked. However, the target’s reactions to it won’t be ignored. Therefore, the target becomes re-victimized by the very adults, school, and system which are supposed to protect her.
Here’s an example:
A girl is bullied by everyone in her class. The teacher either doesn’t see it or thinks the girl deserves it.
Also, maybe, the teacher thinks that bullying is only a right of passage that builds character. During one occasion, the bully sitting behind the targeted girl pulls her hair.
As a result, the target gets fed up with the bullies’ attacks. Unable to tolerate any more abuse, she turns around and punches the bully who pulled her hair.
Now the teacher, very conveniently, doesn’t see the other girl pull the target’s hair. However, she does see the target turn around and punch the bully in the nose. Therefore, the teacher punishes the target without even considering what the other classmate did to prompt her to punch her.
Consequently, the message the teacher sends is crystal clear. The victim has no recourse, and the bully has carte blanche to continue bullying her in the future.
And so, it goes. The same scenario repeats itself a few times. And, the next thing you know, it is the victim the school staff paints with a bad brush. Afterwards, everyone becomes labels her a riffraff.
The principal then, from time to time, catches the victim in the hall between classes. He tells her, aloud, in front of the other students, that she’d better watch her step because he has his eye on her.
As fate would have it, the other kids, especially the bullies, overhear the principal and see it as the green light they’ve been looking for. Therefore, they become even more emboldened to continue their abuse because they know the school authorities will only blame her and give them a pass.
Bullying by teachers: The bullying gets worse because, after all, if the victim complains, who’s going to listen to them? They’re the “problem child.”
Therefore, the school staff continue to harangue the target, making her situation much worse than what it needs to be. And their justification for their treatment of the victim is to protect the other students who fit into what is “normal” and obey the rules.
Conveniently, they continue use this excuse to defend their emotional abuse of the victim. Thus, they get to single her out for humiliation in front of God and everyone anytime they feel like it.
Understand that, when this occurs, the school is willingly participating in destroying another human being.
Therefore, if you’re one of these targeted students, it’s imperative that you hold on to your sense of self. Hold on to your pride, confidence, and self-belief with everything you have.
It’s also crucial that all you parents and grandparents teach these children how. You must teach your bullied kids to believe in themselves even when it seems that no one else believes in them. You must teach them to know their worth even when it seems that others don’t.
Moreover, you must teach your kids to love and respect themselves even as others hate and disrespect them. Why? Because it is during the most difficult times that they’re need these virtues the most.
With that said, here are the signs of bullying by teachers:
1. The teacher harshly punishes you for things everyone else in the class gets away with.
If ever you notice that your teacher yells at or punishes you for things other classmates get away with, it’s a sure sign they’re singling you out.
Realize that anytime teachers bully students, they seem to actively look for the tiniest of infractions to use against these students.
Therefore, watch for the next time another student does the thing the teacher reprimanded you for. And once you see it, call it out to the teacher by asking, “Didn’t he just do the same thing you got onto me for? And he gets a pass.”
That’s right. We must have the courage to call these things out because it’s the only way to change it.
Another thing you can do is to document it all in detail. Sometimes, you must do your own investigation and gather your own evidence. This means keeping your own records of every bullying incident.
Therefore, write it down in a daily journal and be sure to use the 5W method. When you use the 5W method, you write down the What, Who, When, Where, and Why. And if possible, How.
In other words, you must record What happened and Who was involved and the names of any witnesses. Also, record When the incident occurred by writing down the exact date and time of incident.
Additionally, you must record Where it happened and Why it happened. For instance, did it happen in third period class. And was it because you previously reported the teacher for bullying you earlier that week?
Documentation is of the utmost importance when a person in power bullies you.
2. Bullying by teachers: The teacher allows bullies in class to bully you.
Anytime the teacher watches others bullying you and fails to address it, it’s called dereliction of duty. Or, you can call it neglect.
Whatever you call it, the teacher is clearly not doing their job and you should make note of it. Therefore, again, document this incident using the 5W method.
3. The teacher tries to humiliate you in class.
Again, here’s where documentation is useful. If nothing else, understand this.
Anytime a teacher or anyone in authority bullies you, it’s no time to be lazy. You must be proactive and how you do it is to keep a written record.
4. The teacher tells you that you’ll never amount to anything.
Therefore, document that! And most importantly, don’t you believe it for a second. See this remark for what it is and what it’s designed to do.
This teacher is trying to tear down your confidence and make you feel bad about yourself. Moreover, the bully teacher is trying to plant seeds in your mind in hopes that you’ll believe it and live up to it.
But, don’t you dare! Hang on to your confidence and know that this teacher is lying to you!
5. Bullying by teachers: Deliberately ignoring you or chewing you out when you have a question or need help with an assignment.
Again, document this. Also realize that the reason this teacher doesn’t want to answer your question is because she wants you to fail.
Therefore, find a friend or another adult who can answer your question. Or find a tutor to help you.
6. Calling or Labeling you “a student of low intelligence.”
Maybe the teacher tells you that you’re d*mb or that you’re st*pid. Maybe he calls you those names behind your back. Whatever the case, this teacher does this to make you feel bad about yourself.
Therefore, don’t internalize this. Instead, see the evil intentions behind it and document it.
7. Yelling and screaming at you.
This is the bullying teacher’s way to intimidate you, silence you, or humiliate you in front of the class. Again, you must document this.
Another thing that bears mentioning is that, depending on the laws of your jurisdiction, you can wear a hidden camera and record these things. Just make sure you live in a state or jurisdiction that doesn’t require a two-party consent to record.
8. Bullying by teachers: Putting your parents or siblings down and making negative remarks about your home life.
This is also abuse. Therefore, document it in detail or record it if the laws in your area allow.
9. Publicly announcing a bad grade you may have made.
This is designed to humiliate you in front of an audience and cause you embarrassment. Again, document and, if you can, record!
10. Labeling you “a failure.”
Again, when a teacher tells you that you’re a failure, he wants to convince you of it to increase your chances of living up to it. Therefore, know that just because someone says something, it doesn’t make it true.
Always remember that, and document their bullying.
11. Defaming you to other teachers and students.
The purpose of defamation is to turn others against you. Moreover, it’s a way to block you from making friends and being successful with potential partners.
Also, people use it to block you from opportunities, be they business, educational, career, or employment.
And lastly, people defame you to cut you off from any kind of help or support. Therefore, document everything- every instance of bullying, harassment, and defamation, no matter how slight.
By writing it down, you record it. In that, you establish a pattern of abuse and, therefore, evidence that is admissible in court!
12. Bullying by Teachers: encouraging the other classmates to bully you.
Bully teachers do this to inflict psychological pain and to turn others against you. You must understand that there are some pretty sadistic teachers out there. In other words, these teachers secretly enjoy making their target students suffer.
Moreover, they do it to isolate you and to convince you that you’re completely alone.
Therefore, document it and save it as evidence for a future lawsuit!
13. Putting you down for your beliefs, values, and convictions.
Nowadays, most people don’t like to agree to disagree like they did in the old days. Today, people seem to tolerate differences less and less.
Moreover, those differences include beliefs, values, convictions, and opinion.
Therefore, understand that you have a right to your own opinions and you’re NOT WRONG if your beliefs and values differ from anyone else’s.
I will repeat this a thousand times if I have to: document the bullying either on paper or by recording. Just know the laws in your area before using a recording device.
14. Bullying By Teachers: Giving you lower grades than what you deserve.
Bullying teachers do this to set you up for failure and to make you look bad.
This should be illegal. However, it’s not unheard of for bully teachers to give students they don’t like lower grades than the other classmates. And this happens regardless of whether the bad grade is warranted.
If you suspect that a teacher has committed this dishonest act against you, have another teacher you know and trust look over the assignment in which the bad grade was given.
If you and the good teacher find evidence that you’ve been given an undeserved bad grade, take pictures of the poorly graded paper and the checked correct answers. Then, document it.
15. Making excessively negative and brutal remarks on your papers, conduct reports, or report cards.
Again, this sets you up for failure and marks you as a bad student. Therefore, if you find these things on your progress and conduct reports, papers, and report cards, take pictures of it all with your phone. Then, document!
This post was all about the signs of bullying by teachers so that you can take the appropriate steps to protect yourself and your future.
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