Board of the News: When Teachers Get Bullied

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/bullying-parents-nsw-principals-among-most-threatened-in-australia-20160107-gm0weu.html

While the article in question refers more to NSW principals (then again, it is a NSW-based newspaper), the overall message still seems to be clear: it is apparently OK to abuse teachers and principals over the pettiest crap. I know what you're thinking "Oh no, my child goes to a private school, the teachers don't get abused there!" or "Oh no, those students are out of control!" The article makes a few points clear:

1. It is actually the parents who are engaging in this sort of behaviour, not the students. (Student behaviour is for another article)
2. The reports are coming as part of a study that has been ongoing since 2011 and there is a graph that shows the trends occurring, both at specific years and also as an overall pattern, with conflicts and quarrels (i.e. verbal fights that might get out of hand) being among the most common issue reported. For 2015, there was an increase in all areas apart from conflicts and quarrels (which dropped a bit) and sexual harassment claims, (which stayed roughly the same).
3. There is actually no difference between private and public schools in the survey-over 4000 principals were interviewed and the data found there was very little difference between them.
4. While the article acknowledges that schools in large rural towns tend to be among the worst, this is likely more to do with the "everyone knows everyone" mentality rather than any view that country folks are more "primitive" than city folk. (that and limited resources, but that's for another time) 

This isn't anything new either: a former principal of the Coober Pedy Area School was run out of town in the early 2010's by parents (and eventually the school) after complaints that her methods were "too strict." Those methods? Enforcing the uniform and truancy policies that the school had previously set and updating new ones. Some reports suggest that she should've been a little flexible with those policies (i.e. if a parent was able to prove that there were factors outside of their control that stopped their kid from getting to school on time, then leniency would be needed), but did not receive any support to do so, which arguably made things worse. To further add insult to injury, after the principal was ousted, the truancy rate went up, suspensions almost doubled and student engagement in learning dropped. It eventually came out that there was a Facebook campaign to run her out of town, the principal sued five of the bullies for defamation and settled with four of them out of court (with the fifth being ordered to pay $40,000 to her by the court). 

While there seems to be this view of "parents know best," the fact does remain that the parents do not always see what goes on in schools during the day and that because they are paying for their child to attend a school (even in public schools, there are usually fees attached for materials, excursions and so on), there is this view that they are therefore allowed to whinge if they don't get their way. 

The issue however, is not nearly as simple as the article makes it out to be. There are quite a number of factors that come into play when it comes to both sides and the issues that are raised, including:

• Dealing with children being bullied (and the bullies themselves) on both the parent and school side. 
• Lack of funding for children with disabilities (both mainstreamed and segregated children*)
• Lack of funding and training for children who are diagnosed as gifted and talented (this is referring to those children who have been tested by a psychologist.)
• Government policy on a number of areas (this affects the areas above)
• Lack of training in particular areas (teaching degrees can only cover so much and teacher training doesn't always cover those areas that need looking at)
• Parent attitudes, work ethics and how much support they give their children outside of school.
• Parent attitudes towards their children's behaviour. (i.e. do they also punish their child if their child got into a fight or do they let it slide) 
• Outside beliefs and attitudes that can influence all of the above (i.e. this view that teachers are overpaid and don't work outside the school holidays, or that bad teachers are protected by the system. Both are huge myths)
• Conflict management from the school on issues that are genuine. (i.e the bullying issue, but also things like teachers outright abusing a child with witnesses in the room)
• Outside beliefs and attitudes towards particular students in the classroom (yes, this actually happens-the common ones that are raised are pregnant girls and students from refugee backgrounds) 
• And finally, parents understanding (or lack thereof) of government policies or even the law. (One example cited in the article was of a parent who physically abused a principal when the parent couldn't get a refund for an excursion his child didn't attend due to said child being ill. From the other side, the "my child is ill" excuse does not work for excursions/camps if you are not prepared to back them up with a medical certificate from the GP). 

*-when I say segregated, I am referring to children who are placed in a "special" class, unit or school with other children like them. These classes may or may not be part of a mainstream school.

Let me make one thing clear: it is NEVER OK to abuse school staff. Ever. Aside from the obvious legal issues that surround this (and yes, it is illegal), you do not always know the full story and may not know for reasons that relate to the law or protection of the students involved. Schools do have a right to protect their students from harm and that harm can come from parents just as much as it can come from strangers or other students. If a school is a little "manufactured" on the response to a situation, there is usually a valid reason for it-it is not always a sign of a coverup. As much as you may think otherwise, students who are "in the wrong" do have the same rights as any other child and this rule also extends to teachers. 

If you do have a legitimate complaint or you are sure that there is an issue that needs to be nipped in the bud, consider these points:

1. Do your research on the matter. If the issue relates to a child's behaviour (bullying, being punished or similar), get reports on what has been going on from teachers. Don't just go straight to the classroom teacher or homegroup teacher-get accounts from specialist teachers and any other staff who have regular contact with your child as well. Ask for these in writing. Even if it takes a while, it will at least alert the school that something's up (both parents and schools have been guilty of not noticing things until the other party points it out). 
2. If the school cannot give you an outcome to a certain situation, ask them why they can't. If they give the "legal reasons" disclaimer, follow up on that legal reason by finding the legislation. Do this yourself-the school can't always quote that law offhand, especially if administration staff are speaking on behalf of the student or there are a variety of laws that come into play here. AustLii is an excellent source for this. Other reasons usually relate to student's privacy-this is to protect them from retaliation or by them suddenly becoming the victim (this is in line with whistleblowing law) or alternately avoiding the parent blowing the incident out of proportion (the recent "Roosh V" scandal is a good example of this)
3. If the school makes it clear that certain policies apply outside of school, they apply outside of school. These rules typically are more to do with a student in school uniform committing certain misdemeanours or felonies and is no different to someone in the workplace getting fired because they were snorting cocaine in their work uniform. That said, there is a line between petty offenses (i.e. student not wearing their hat when outside the school grounds and the policy says they need to) and legitimate reasons for punishment (i.e. smoking). If the reason is skewing towards the latter (this can also include students in uniform outright abusing members of the public), then consider yourself lucky that the police weren't involved and your child is escaping with a suspension (or expulsion). 
4. Take the empathic and model-behaviour approach: if your child gets wind of the fact that you are outright abusing staff (and they do end up hearing about it sooner or later), then it's likely they'll get the idea it's OK to do the same down the line. On the empathic end, step into the shoes of the principal or teacher for a moment and consider the information you do have on the issue-is it worth an assault charge? 
5. Sometimes schools and such do make mistakes-they are only human. If this does happen, consider the likely reasons why it occurred (not always human error and sometimes it's outside their control) and what solutions could be taken to rectify these that don't necessarily create further problems or are out of what constitutes "reasonable." There could also be a number of ways the issue could have occurred (Example: your child is allergic to nuts and has a reaction after coming home from their nut-free classroom/school one day. This could be due to the child coming in contact with something that you wouldn't expect would trigger the nut allergy (i.e. a cereal box), a child bringing in something from home that nobody realised had nuts in it (i.e. a museli bar with almonds in it), a child bringing in something you wouldn't expect to have nuts in it (i.e. chocolate), a child bringing in something that had "traces of nuts" (most schools are OK with this since expecting parents to bring in stuff that's guaranteed to be 100% nut-free can fall outside the realm of "reasonable") or a not-quite school aged child bringing in something with a nut product (I have seen this happen far too many times to count) even though they're only there for a few minutes. It could also be teacher negligence.) and indicating that you want to work together to prevent it from reoccurring will go over much smoother than outright blaming them and doing nothing yourself. 
6. Write down the points you do want to raise with the principal or teacher. This includes any incidents you are aware that have occurred, the dates (and if possible the times) when the incident occurred, any witnesses (if there are any) and "reasonable" solutions to the situation (Hint: if the issue relates to bullying, sometimes moving the victim away from the bully is a better solution than it seems). Also ask your child what outcome they would like-far, far too often parents will take the "I know what's best" mentality when it just creates more issues and distress for that same child and the outcome that you want isn't necessarily what they want. (within reason- if a high school child says that they want to drop a subject they're getting bullied in and it's not a subject that relates to their future career/study plans, then that's not necessarily a bad thing, even if that subject is the difference between an ATAR of 70 and an ATAR of 90.) 
7. Schedule a time to speak to the teacher/principal. Take the written points with you. This will also allow you time to cool down beforehand. On that note, come in with the mentality that yes, the school will listen and yes, the school will be willing to work with you. If the issue further relates to the management of a child with disabilities, come in with research on the best practices for a child with the same disability (teaching degrees do not always cover special needs adequately). The more you indicate that you want to work with the school on an outcome, the more likely you are to get a satisfactory response. Coming in with a knee-jerk "I'll show them" response is not going to work. 
8. If you find that the school is not going anywhere with the issue, be prepared to come back again and again on the issue. DON'T start campaigns or petitions or even raise awareness of the issue anywhere outside of your own family, unless you are aware that there are other parents with the exact same issue (and even then, keep it to them only). Keep documentation of the visits. 
9. And if the schools hands are tied for whatever reason, be prepared to take it above their head to the Education Department (public schools), Independent Schools Associations (all private schools) or the national governing body for a particular group of schools (i.e Catholic Ed Australia, Steiner Ed Australia, Montessori Australia). If your child's school is religious, complaining to the church will get you nowhere and depending on the church, may make things worse for everyone. 
10. When you do submit the complaint to the national level, DON'T go to the media or make threats of such (to the school or department), DON'T inform the school you have done so (they will find out soon enough), DON'T inform other parents you have done so and finally, DON'T make threats to the school or government departments-you will get charged for it and it will affect your outcome. 

If all of these fail, then yes, by all means, pull your kid out of that school. But don't rub it in the school's face when you do yank your child out-they are a student like anyone else and while they will miss said student, they also acknowledge that kids leaving is a part of the school system. In other words, they won't suddenly be falling all over themselves and bending backwards to cater to your child at the expense of every other child or teacher.

And if you do yank your child out, DO YOUR RESEARCH ON WHAT TO DO.

A common policy of private schools is that they require a term's notice for your kid to be yanked out otherwise you will be charged full fees for the term after you leave. There are a number of reasons for this, the biggest one being around the tracking of students from school to school-there are a number of legal reasons why students need to be tracked between schools and not all of them relate to funding. Schools need to send paperwork off to the new school and in some states, there is also an identifying number that goes with that student regardless of whether they are private or public. If a student suddenly falls off the radar, it may also be a sign that the child is being abused or in more recent years, the child is being trafficked. By law, students between the ages of 6 and 15 (17 in some states) also need to be at school, so a student who disappears off the radar may also be committing an offence. If you do have a genuine reason for yanking your child out of that school that relates to the student's welfare (i.e. child suddenly becomes gravely ill and it's not viable for them to remain at the school), you can appeal and the school can waive this policy, but it is at their discretion. If you have treated the school like they are responsible for everything your child does at home, then you are far less likely to get a good decision than if you are more supportive of the school's actions.