BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Self Development Teacher Calls 6th Grade Student "Loser"

There's an interesting story on CNN about a 6th grade teacher who - he says jokingly - wrote on a student's paper that he was deducting 20% from her score because she was a "loser". So this was written by him on her actual test.

Teacher Calls Student a Loser

What do you think? Was he being cute? Or was he being harmful? Or both?

I heard about this and I feel that it wasn't meant to be insulting and that it might be blown out of proportion. The teacher is a jester, just like the ones we all had in school. What is sad today is that kids are being taught by how we judge others, to grow up and be judges themselves. I think that's a shame. I had a teacher in elem school, she taught phys ed. & science. She nicknamed me "bones"...I was very skinny!....and in phys ed class if I didn't apply myself enough she'd change that to "lazy bones". I have wonderful memories of her, and her sense of humor.

It's sad to me that kids and parents as well are not allowing people to just be people. Most of us, I think 99%, are really good & decent and mean well. There's a danger of making so many strict rules in teaching and everywhere else, that we can't relax and enjoy our everyday life.

Stay healthy,
Nancy Welker
BellaOnline Yoga Editor

Unfortunately, no matter how 'jokey' a word (or phrase) is meant to be when first written, there's always the possibility that it will be taken in a different context at some point...

Kids put up a brave face in the midst of their peers but inwardly, they are highly sensitive about their developing self-worth.

Some teachers try too hard to "relate" to the kids and joking like this is inappropriate. Resilient kids can take the teasing, but you'd be surprised to know that some of the "tough" kids really have low self-esteem. Stuff like this can scar them for life.

Even if the media blew it out of proportion, the principal would be wise to clamp down on that type of "relating." Name calling is not funny.

i think that even if it was meant to be a joke, the kid may just "show" her classmates that it's ok with her but in reality it isn't. i remember having a teacher tell me that i'm a boy just because i wore slightly loose clothes and always wore pants and rubber shoes when i was in elementary. she even said that to a boy when she knew that this boy had a crush on me. i just smiled and laughed at the joke and pretended not to be embarrassed. but the truth is that it hurt me a little when she said that. i did not hold a grudge against her, i'm just saying that i got hurt that time with what she said.

Hi Wafer, yes, people (adults and kids) do not realise how much 'what they say' can affect others, even if they think it's in jest. Even if something is said in the nicest way, someone somewhere will take offence. After all, look at the playground chant - "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" - yet everybody knows that words truly hurt. (JOY)

Joy, I heard a twist on that playground chant:

"Sticks and stones can break bones, but words can break hearts."

So so true, don't you think?

I see nothing funny or cute by the comment. While some child may think it's a joke another child may not. And who is not to say that the child treating it as a joke was not secretly mortified? I believe that teachers should be held to a higher standard since they do spend so many hours in the day with our kids and do have a lot of influence.

Yes! Also, you can never prejudge how another person may take what you say, even if you meant no harm whatsoever. (JOY)

Dianne, many thanks for your comment. The sad thing is that these are the children who remember the incident forever. Look at just how many adults have low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence due to experiences in their childhood. (JOY)