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Fifteen-year-old Stephen Davis was in math class at Streamwood High School in Illinois last week when a fellow student drew a picture on an electronic whiteboard depicting Davis — which the student labeled as the misspelled “Stepen”— as a big-eared, buck-toothed cartoon monster. Soon, the class’s substitute teacher joined in, and Davis whipped out his camera. The video, which his sister uploaded to Facebook, shows the teacher drawing antennae on the cartoon character, and labeling it “Stephen’s ugly ass.”
Davis told CBS Chicago that he’s used to getting picked on because he’s overweight. “I get bullied a lot during the school day, I’m big. I shake it off. Basically, it’s background noise to me now, it’s happened since first grade,” he said. “But this is the first time a teacher has actually done it.”
Like most things in life, bullying perpetuated (or even perpetrated) by teachers is nothing new. It can be caught on film now - that's the only difference.
The community where I grew up was home to families from multiple economic strata. Class divisions were pronounced, with parents who were better off instilling in their children early on who they should be nice to but never bring home to play. (And those parents of course weren't the worst, who'd be fine with the kids' inflicting snobbery on those peers who didn't have all the latest clothes or go on ski trips or whatever.) In addition to that there were your usual social outcasts like the under- and overweight girls and boys, such as the victimized student in Illinois.
My fourth-grade teacher would likely have been labeled a pathological sadist for what he'd pull on the "less fortunate" among us. "I could've sworn you wore the same thing yesterday, 'Susie.' Does your mother know how to use a washing machine?" "'Todd,' how many times did you strike out in your game on Saturday?" He was trying for laughs, but most of the time we kids - even at that age - were appalled enough that we'd just sit there and feel bad for his target.
I didn't make it through the year unscathed, far from it. A classmate who lived on my block was a great deal larger then me; his parents could've both been football players (LOL.) He was one of those slick bullies who would knock you around when no one was looking, then be all smiles and how-are-you-today-Mrs-Neighbor-Lady to the grown-ups on the street, who would say to themselves and each other, "'Julius' is such a nice boy!" To this day it sticks in my memory what our teacher - well aware of the situation - pulled on me one morning. (Everything else started running together a long time ago.) We were studying vocabulary and spelling; he was using each word in a sentence to illustrate its meaning. The next word on the list happened to be the word "different." How did he use it in a sentence?
"'Julius' looked different - after goyguy beat him up!" I blushed deep red and shrank down in my seat as the class went into hysterics.
Who would've believed a fourth-grader reporting that malicious behavior to their parents? What fourth-grader would've had the confidence to tell someone? That SOB stayed in the school system right through to retirement. One of my younger siblings had him for fourth grade and I worried on a daily basis about what she might be getting subjected to. But who would believe a seventh grader...? That one teacher was responsible for affecting the psyches of hundreds of people, emboldening the cruel and embittering the powerless. He's dead now. I've paid a call to your friend and mine Google and learned where he's buried, in a different city. Spitting on his grave ranks high on my bucket list.
Huge props to the kid in Illinois for saying, "This ends today."
Wow that teacher should get fired.
When I was in 6th grade, many many years ago, I had a science teacher go ballistic on me because I wasn't taking notes 'his way" he stomped around screaming at me, the whole class was shocked and I was too and I cried. I told my parents about it and the next day they had a meeting with the principal and the teacher was put on an extended leave to chill out and get some help for anger management.
Kids have a hard enough time navigating through school due to peer pressures and teachers should be a positive force not enemies. I'm glad this kid spoke out.
Besides firing this "teacher", the State of Illinois should revoke his teaching license. He isn't fit to be in a classroom.
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It can be caught on film now - that's the only difference.
To this day it sticks in my memory what our teacher - well aware of the situation - pulled on me one morning. (Everything else started running together a long time ago.) We were studying vocabulary and spelling; he was using each word in a sentence to illustrate its meaning. The next word on the list happened to be the word "different." How did he use it in a sentence?
