To the Bullied Teacher: We Are One With You Because We Can Be You

After the incident between Mrs. Limjuco and her pupil’s guardians, a lot of teachers sent us messages raising their concerns about how they experience(d) bullying by the parents of their children.

We are Mrs. Limjuco! Comment down your experience here to inform everyone that bullied teachers exist! Let our stories and voices be heard!

FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES OR GIVE UP THE TEACHING PROFESSION?

You are a teacher, and the question above was asked to you. What will you do?

It can be challenging to choose from. Imagine the pain and fear Mrs. Limjuco felt right after hearing this threatening question preceded by the insensitive remarks of Mr. Raffy Tulfo. She was indeed helpless at that time, and she wasn’t even given a chance to defend herself.

IS IT JUST?

Definitely not. The teacher admitted what she did, and she even asked the child’s guardians for apologies. She explained her side, but these what seemed to be overprotective guardians didn’t understand that Mrs. Limjuco had reasons for doing that.

No, Mrs. Limjuco’s not the first teacher who experiences this shame and embarrassment. There have been many teachers who lost their profession because of unacceptable reasons of parents and because of misbehaving students whose actions are always defended even when wrong!

I immediately unsubscribed to Raffy Tulfo in Action’s channel right after watching the video of that episode.

Why? Because it is unfair that teachers are put to embarrassment just because they made a mistake after enduring a high level of stress, frustrations, and yes, sometimes, anger out of their students’ actions. Teachers have so many burdens to carry every day, and our patience reaches its limits too. Do the parents know how difficult it is to deal with and be patient with more than thirty to sixty students every day? If a mom and dad together can lose their patience to their only child, what more can a teacher! One will probably lose his/her wit having to deal with repeated misbehaviors and disobedience of his/her child or children.

THERE ARE MANY MRS. LIMJUCOS, FYI!

THE AUTHOR’s EXPERIENCE (METRO MANILA)

First, I and some of my colleagues in the teaching profession were once bullied by some students and their parents. I remember two years ago when a student (let’s name him Brinch) who hated me for unknown reason posted a lot of derogatory remarks about me. He used tweeter to tell everyone that I was a witch and that I am incompetent. Because of his action, I immediately consulted with my principal, and she had the student, and his parents called to the principal’s office. Much to my dismay, the parents even-sided their child, questioning my ability as a teacher. They even told me that their child would not post such thing had I not become so incompetent in the class! What the nerve!

So weeks after the incident, one of the co-teachers told me about him hearing from Brinch that his parents are trying to consider suing me because I embarrassed their child in front of the whole school by asking our principal to invite them in the school to talk about the matter. Of course, even though I know that I did nothing wrong, I still felt nervous because when you are accused of child abuse, there is no way you can get out of jail immediately, and trials are mostly delayed. With the kind of system we have in this country, I don’t think it’s fair for the accused (most especially to those who are innocent) to wait for a long time to have their trial.

Anyway, Brinch’s parents did not sue me, but still, the trauma it caused me is great that I even questioned my competence and my worth as a teacher, but I moved on! Thank to my very strong support system.

TEACHER MARIE (LEYTE)

Teacher Marie was having a lesson in the class when she saw Iris, her eight-year-old student, threw her lunchbox to her classmate’s face. A cry broke out inside the quiet classroom, and the teacher didn’t know how she would react. Irish had been behaving terribly since the class started. Because of her frustration, teacher Marie shouted to Iris and told her to get out of the room immediately. She rushed Bryan to the school clinic because his face was bleeding, and right after that, she came back to Iris and sent her to the guidance counselor.

The teacher contacted the parents of the children who were involved in the incident then the next day, they stormed into the teacher’s class along with the barangay officials. It happened that both mothers of the children were friends, and they decided to file a case against the teacher. They wanted to file child abuse and administrative cases due to negligence against the teacher.

Oh yes! It was so wrong to shout to the student, especially to the young ones, but can you imagine accusing the teacher of negligence? I believe teachers cannot look at all the children in their class at the same time and watch over them like they are infants. How cruel of these two mothers!

But well, it ended to settlement, and the two mothers asked the teacher to pay them 10,000 each for the “damages” she “caused.”

And oh! Since the said incident, teacher Marie’s neighbors began calling her criminal and convict!

IT’S ALARMING.

Do these teachers deserve such a thing? No. Imagine all the million good things they did that went unnoticed, and now, by just making a single mistake, their lives seemed to have crashed. If not, it took them longer to move on. It’s so sad because some parents use the so-called rights of their children to extort money from the teachers. Most cases filed in the barangays and police stations end up to settlement with the parents asking a considerable amount of money repeatedly.

I guess it’s about time to approve the Student Discipline and Teacher Protection Act.

Outside the classroom, the teachers can be bullied too. This can be done through cyberbullying by the use of social media or by even sending insulting texts and instant messages to other students via cellphone or computer. It can be done by intentionally disrespecting the teacher in the school hallways, or at a school event, or by spreading false and malicious rumors about the teacher among the other students in the school.

Students may also harm the teachers physically. They can hit, punch, kick, and push them. They can also harass, verbally abuse, threaten and intimidate them, which is equally damaging as physical harm. When these things are done, mental abuse can take place, leaving the teacher feeling down and emotionally hurt. This may result in severe anxiety and stress for the teachers.

CALLING ALL THE PARENTS OUT THERE!

Disciplining your children is not the teacher’s duty. It is yours! If only you could cooperate with the teacher, then we can empower them and teach them the necessary values needed to succeed in life! It is not just the teacher’s duty to build the nation, but it is yours too! Everything starts at home, so if you begin showing violence, indiscipline, and hatred at home, then expect your children to show the same thing outside too.

We must work together for the common good! Remember that you are a stakeholder of education too!