The Humanistic Education Foundation yesterday called for awareness of bullying of students by teachers.
Teachers at elementary schools are “taking their stress and emotional pressure out on students” by using abusive language and in some cases have set up “secret police” in classrooms to have students report on each other, the foundation told a news conference in Taipei.
It has launched a petition to bring the issue to the attention of lawmakers and the Ministry of Education, the foundation said.
Photo: CNA
The behavior has created a “White Terror-like” atmosphere in classrooms, it said, urging legislators to amend the Teachers’ Act (教師法) to make it an offense for teachers to use humiliating or otherwise abusive language against students.
Foundation executive director Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) said she has heard reports of teachers calling students “rotten,” “stupid,” or “shameless” for failing to submit written assignments or failing to answer questions within five seconds.
One teacher told students they were “worse than beasts,” another made fun of their appearance, while another threatened to send students to prison and made loud threatening noises during class, she said.
One parent told the news conference that they have seen Facebook posts by their child’s teacher calling their students “arrogant brats.”
The same teacher had arranged for students to report on each other, would often throw textbooks in class, and told students that they would “face the wrath of the heavens,” the parent said.
When they reported the behavior to the school, they were told the teacher was just “being diligent in managing the class,” and that the students who reported on others were just the teacher’s “little helpers,” the parent said.
The ministry has pushed for an end to bullying in schools, but the bullying that most needs addressing is the one by teachers, the foundation said.
As teachers and students have unequal rights, students have no way of fighting back if they are bullied, it added.
Teachers who bully students can continue collecting their salaries and are free from reprimand, said Hsu Chia-hung (許佳弘), who heads a group of Taichung parents concerned with students’ rights, adding that laws must be revised to address the issue.
Actress Ting Ling (丁靈) urged parents to sign the petition.
“You never know when your child will have the misfortune of facing this type of teacher,” she said.
The school environment is patriarchal and closed, and when schools exploit teachers, teachers pass that pressure on to the students, who are much weaker, lawyer Lai Fang-yu (賴芳玉) said.
Teachers’ bullying of students has been rationalized by the education system as discipline, she said.
Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy president Lin Yen-ting (林彥廷) said the issue should be separated from the Teachers’ Act altogether and dealt with through child protection laws.
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