Alex's Answer

Is it ok for a teacher to bully students

Your Question

is it ok for my physics teacher to kind of bully us . me and my classmates are 13/14 and he repeatedly tells us that we are going to fail our exams, he also makes vey inappropriate jokes such as telling a girl that the only things she can do are “walk, talk, and shop”. some other things he as said include telling the whole class that we are “on the spectrum” after we started talking about the EM spectrum, i understand where the joke came from but i still dont find it appropriate and to me seems like really childish behaviour for a 50+ year old man, he also makes jokes about a boy in our class who is more on the slim side “going to the gym and doing weights every day” as well as making comments about girls appearances who at the time were 13 years old. he in incredibaly patronizing to the whole class and clearly favours male students and makes really mysogynistic jokes while claiming them to be funny. to the girls in our class, he says that if we spent more time stuying and less time on our apperances, we would do better on the test (we all got the equvilant of an ‘A’ so were really upset when he said this). we have tried to bring it up with him in a respectful way but he became really standoffish and claimes our behavour was incredibly rude and immature. after that he contacted our head of year and when we met up with him, he said that he had recieved similar complaints from multiple students and even a few parents of pupils, yet continues to do nothing about it 

Answer

Hi there, 

Thank you for reaching out to Ask Alex. We are always here to support you.  

We are sorry to hear that you are having such an unpleasant experience in the class. It is not acceptable for anyone to make comments which demean or belittle others. You have the right to feel safe and supported in school.  

Do you think you and your fellow students can speak to a trusted adult such as a parent, another teacher or school counsellor about the situation? They should be able to support you and guide you on how to report the situation to the year head or principal. Every school has a policy against bullying and inappropriate behaviour. 

Remember, you have the right to speak up for yourself and to ask for help when you need it.  You deserve to feel safe and supported in school, and there are people out there who want to help you through this. 

If you wish to chat or seek further advice, you can always contact us at Childline by freephone 1800 66 66 66 or Live Chat  at www.childline.ie. We are confidential, non-judgmental, open 24/7, and always here for you for any reason, any time. 

Take care of yourself, and remember you do not have to go through this on your own. You can give us a call or have chat at any time,

Alex 

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