Teacher Calls Girl a "Loser"

[Jason Tandro]

Read the article here.

To me this is beyond appalling. I don't care if this is this teachers method of "connecting" with his students, you don't call students losers. Kids get enough bullying crap from their peers, much less from teachers. If the teacher had used a word like Fail or something which is indicative of merit, then fine. But to use the word "loser" is just plain childish.

This is coming from a guy who wants to be a teacher.

[EverPhoenix]

its a wonder he has lasted that long there. for one, it is blatantly insulting, and can adversely affect the confidence and self-esteem of the children. any excuse that he is trying to be 'on the same level as the kids' is just bullshit. those words are generally used in two situations i can think of - among friends, where it known to be a jest, and when you truly mean to insult someone (even if it is a rather basic insult). since i doubt the teacher is in any way a friend to the students, they would of course interpret it as an insult.

and as for the throwing of the pencil case, that is just uncalled for. if it was me in that situation, i would go complain. which, i guess, happened.

in summary: that guy is a loser.

[Freedan]

I read about this not too long ago.

He's trying to "relate to the students"? I don't buy that. He's singling out one student and picking on her.

As a teacher, he should realize that at 11 or 12 years old, that's when bullying starts to get more serious, and is probably when kids are most sensitive to it. He can't honestly be stupid enough to think that calling a student a loser on their test (and penalizing them for it) is a good idea.

It's unprofessional, it's immature, and it's completely subjective. It would be one thing to penalize a student 20% for, say... not following the directions and doing the work wrong. But "-20% 'for being a loser'".... what the hell does that mean?

And this guy has been a teacher for years? How? I'll admit that teachers are sometimes unfairly limited in what they can do or say (my gf is working as a teacher, I've heard plenty of stories), but it is not ok to personally insult your students.

Fire the asshole, already.

[tay120n64]

I totally respect what he's trying to do, but there is a reason that teachers are on one level and students are on another.

Using terms like "Loser" is inappropriate for a profession that is supposed to display guidance and respect.

[psychokind]

you can say loser in the right context. like "you wanna be a loser later?". but I'd say leave bullying to the other pupils, we can do it much better

[Miss Prime Blue]

How the hell is calling one of your student a "loser" part of educating and inspiring them?

Verbal (and emotional) abuse charges should be filed against this fail of a "teacher".

[Flamez]

Im currently in my second year in education and to me this is appalling. No teacher should ever belittle a student due to grades (it is my personal opinion that a teacher should belittle a student who tries to belittle others students). By calling a student a loser who else is the student supposed to turn to for support and help to achive better grades? This reminds me of the teacher who called one of his students a 'nigger' about a year ago; his excuse, he was trying to relate.

It just aint right man, it aint right!