Teacher bullying

[jak343434]

So this year in school my friend who is a half decent speed cuber has gotten puzzles taken away from him. First time was during the first month of school, the teacher took away his ghost hand II 3x3. He was playing with it during class. The teacher promised my friend that he would get it back if his mom picked it up after school. When my friends mom what to pick it up the teacher said he had to wait till the end of the year.
In the rule book for my school, page 18 paragraph 3 line 3, it says
"Any confencated items should be sent down to the main ofice for a parent/guardian to pick up such item between the hours of 3 to 7 PM on Mondays through Thursdays."
So that means this teacher is in violation of rules.
The second time happened to day at 10:30 AM. My friend had his backpack open and you could kinda see the cubes if you were standing over the backpack. The teacher saw them somehow and she reached into his backpack to snatch the cubes out.(Breaking the rules again, violation of personal property) She took his QJ 4x4 and Guhung 3x3.:fp
I have told me friend to report it but his to much of a chicken. What should be done? He is geting bullied by a teacher. Should I report this to the principle? What?

 

[bluedasher]

I think you should report the teacher. I would be PO'd if that was me.

 

[cookieyo145]

yes!!!!!! threaten to sue and act snobbish. act like you always get what you want and then it should be more convincing. say those cubes were 100+ dollars. i have a teacher like this one so i'm going take a rubber band and whup him

 

[Andreaillest]

Talk to the principal. And next time, don't play with your cubes in class. Especially with a strict teacher. School is for education, not cubing.

 

[avgdi]

You should definitely report it to the principal. I can kind of understand why she took the first one, if it was being used during class. But like the rules say, you should have gotten it back that day. Her taking one out of his bag was completely uncalled for. Just go talk to the principal. It should be rather easy to get it back, just explain what happened. Your friend shouldn't be scared. That's what the principal is there for.

Also, a word of advice. Don't cube in that teachers class. haha I know it sucks but if she is that ridiculous just hold off until you aren't around her.

 

[StachuK1992]

While I agree with the fact that the teacher is not handling the situation properly, really *don't* cube in class unless you're not doing anything. Don't cube if they say "it's alright" when other students are busy; that's quite disruptive and rude.
He is not in the position to decide these things, and thus should be punished, or at least made correct.

Take it to the principal if you think you're mature enough to handle saying "I want my cube back!" to him/her without feeling embarrassed.

statue

 

[y3k9]

Go with your friend to the teacher and show him or her the quote in the rulebook, and say your friend's parents'll pick it up soon. There is no way he or she can not give it to him then.

 

[CubesOfTheWorld]

I got a cube taken away once because I had it in my desk and I wasn't even touching it or looking at it. Some other fat kid who can't even do the cross was playing with his. The teacher got mad at him and took away his storebought, my friend's rubik's 5x5, and my v-cube 5. We at least got them back at the end of the day.

 

[IamWEB]

How old are you? If the teacher just walks and up and takes your stuff, you take it back. XD
At this point, tell the teacher she violated the rules by still holding on to it and when they (obviously) fails you could take it yourself.

Consider alerting the principal first.

 

[PatrickJameson]

First, you should not play with your cubes during class. It is extremely annoying to those who are actually trying to do work and extremely disrespectful to your teacher.

Second, talk to the teacher maturely. Don't be a snot about it by going right to the principal. Explain why you know you were in the wrong and promise not to cube again during class(see above if you don't think you should follow that). If the teacher REALLY REALLY does not want to cooperate then you can consider going higher, but I really really doubt the teacher would not be fair about it if you have a mature conversation about the issue.

 

[Mikon]

Why don't you propose something like that to the teacher: "I sign a 'document' of responsability to not play with the Rubik's during class and you give me back my stuff".
Worked a lot of times for me and, even better, the teachers always liked this idea.

 

[y3k9]

I don't agree with PatrickJameson, the rule clearly states that she can't hold it, so therefore you can be the biggest snob about it. I'd shoot for getting her in trouble if I can manage it, if you have to report her.

 

[ZamHalen]

My Spanish teacher confiscated my Paris themed 2x2x2 and never gave it back.lol

 

[Whyusosrs?]

First, you should not play with your cubes during class. It is extremely annoying to those who are actually trying to do work and extremely disrespectful to your teacher.

Second, talk to the teacher maturely. Don't be a snot about it by going right to the principal. Explain why you know you were in the wrong and promise not to cube again during class(see above if you don't think you should follow that). If the teacher REALLY REALLY does not want to cooperate then you can consider going higher, but I really really doubt the teacher would not be fair about it if you have a mature conversation about the issue.

QFT A reasonable person on this forum.

I don't agree with PatrickJameson, the rule clearly states that she can't hold it, so therefore you can be the biggest snob about it. I'd shoot for getting her in trouble if I can manage it, if you have to report her.

Why? So she can be replaced by yet another less competent teacher fresh out of college? She will have less experience and, yea, you might have more fun in class, but there's thing called college where they look at your high school grades. And if you can't get into a good college, you probably can't get a good major and education (unless it's something very generic). Then you're stuck in a dead end job working in a cubicle. You have a receding hairline and a 38 inch waist. Women just stair and laugh and men mock your lack of ability. You will be a failure in life. That is all.
[/rant]

 

[freshcuber]

Kids come to me about these type of problems alllllll the time. It's usally solved by being mature. I'm a sophomore in high school and I'm class president and all that jazz. For some reason kids respect me for it more than they should but either way being snobbish about it gets you nowhere. Teachers are usually willing to compromise with mature students.

Last year I dropped my phone in study hall and the teacher took it. She talked to me after class and we just negotiated about it and decided that instead of her turning it in to the assistant principle I'd just get it from her at the end of the day and not do it again.

That won't work for this teacher, especially since she's had the cubes for a long time. Take it straight to the administration. If you have a problem with another student you go to a teacher so the logical thing to do is go to the person in charge of the teacher ie: administration.

Youll definitely have to eat their lectures and just deal with a little flak but all in all I'd say you're teacher has been worse than you have been. If it were me and I had my parents come down and get told off by some teacher I'd be absolutely livid. Bring in your parents after school again, ask the teacher for the cubes, if she still refuses then you leave your parents there to tell off the teacher while you go to get the principal. Show them both the rulebook and explain EVERYTHING directly to the principle with your back to the teacher. At that point with all the hassle the cubes have caused they'll just want to be done with it. But you have to be mature and calm the whole time.


If that doesn't work I (personally) would b**ch out the teacher.





Edit: Don't cube in class anymore. My grades last quarter were pretty bad for me cause I always had my cube on my desk and I wasn't paying attention. I eliminated distractions (my cubes) and am now doing better. It's disrespectful and gets pretty annoying to other people after a while.

 

[JL58]

Seriously, what I would do is show some maturing behavior. Going first to the principal or taking your cube back in defiance or (even worse) threatening with a school regulation will only be understood as a sign of defiance and won't do any good for the rest of your school year.

I would go to the teacher, acknowledge that cubing in class was a mistake on many levels (showing no interest to the class, distracting other students, demonstrating disrespect to the teacher, etc.) In fact the more acknowledgement I would show, the better it is. It is not a matter of apologizing, but only showing that I realize now how out of place it was. And that it will not happen again.

I would drill on this (still not talking about getting the cube back) until the teacher acknowledges in return that it is understood. Then I would just say that I would appreciate having a discussion on how to get the cube back - "not now, but in a few days"

A couple of days later I would go back to the teacher asking for the conditions getting the cube back. "It's important to me. It's an expensive toy which I can't replace just like this. The punishment has already outweighed the offense."

It requires a lot of courage and maturity to do this, but this is what would be the most constructive. I would be surprised if this wouldn't work.

As a last resort if this does not work I'd go to the principal. Because now I have a story:
1. I did something stupid - my bad
2. I went to the teacher acknowledging my misplaced behavior
3. I ask for the conditions for getting my expensive and cherished cube back
4. I understand that the teacher is not following the school rules
5. What should I do?

I would think my chance of getting my cube back is higher this way.

 

[freshcuber]

Yea that's definitely the way to go. It's nice to have a voice of reason every now and then.

 

[TK 421]

call the Spetznaz, they specialize in taking stuffs back from people the HARD way

this is if you do not agree with me on my first post

or for the last resort, get the army of the undead nazi

 

[cmhardw]

I've experienced situations like these both as a student, and as a teacher.

Student viewpoint: Yes it's annoying, but you made the decision to cube in class, and that decision carries certain risks. Back in the 'Ol days when I was in high school I had fixed up a cube I liked to the point that it was super-mega-crazy awesome. My teacher had a rule that if you did something off task in class, she would confiscate whatever it was that was distracting you. I was cubing before class had started, but since we had no bell I did not notice as she walked in, walked right up to me, and snatched the cube out of my hands mid-solve. Her rule was that confiscated things stayed locked up in her office until the end of the semester. Needless to say, I had no other speedcube at the time, because I had only ever put my work into my best speedcube, and that cube was now in her office! I asked her on a later day if I could speak with her in her office, and she agreed. I, inwardly panicky and freaking out, explained to her as calmly as I could at the time that I had spent HOURS and HOURS prepping that cube into my super-mega-awesome-best-cuber-evaaaarrrrrrrr and that I was now without a speedcube. I promised that if she gave it back to me, that I would NEVER even bring it to class again, EVER. She agreed and gave me back my cube, and I never brought it to class again, EVER. Not my senior year high school, not in college, not ever. The risk of having your cube confiscated makes it not worth it to me for a moment or two of zoning out/enjoyment from time to time.

Teacher viewpoint: I think part of the reason that your teacher took your cube in the first place was that she felt it was a distraction either a) to you, or if you're doing well in her class then b) to other students. I don't necessarily mean that she might think that the cubing disturbs the other students, but moreso that it suggests to them that it is ok to do something else and not pay attention to the teacher. You are allowed to do it, so why should I listen to the teacher either? I'd rather text on my phone anyway, etc. Making an example out of you sends the class a message that you can't do that in her class.

Now, having said that, it does seem a little strange that she took a cube out of your backpack. Now, I haven't heard her side of the story so I don't want to jump to any conclusions here, but I imagine she was probably just frustrated at having told you not to cube in class, and now she sees you with cubes. She had no way of knowing that you were not cubing with them (were you?), so she probably erred on the safe side by assuming you probably were.

Basically I can tell you this. Your teacher doesn't want to make this into a problem situation with you. I can guarantee that she wants the problem to go away, and have things smooth out back to normal. One way you can do this is to meet with her privately in her office and discuss this with her. This way she would have the option to give you back the cube, but not appear to be relaxing on her rules in the classroom. Don't ask her this in the classroom at the end of class, ask her if you can speak to her in her office at some later date/time. This will make it much more likely that you get your cube back. I'm saying this since it has worked for me when I was in high school, and also from the viewpoint of the teacher and knowing sort of why she did what she did.

The moral of the story is that it is, and always will be, dangerous to take your cube into class. There will always be a chance that it gets confiscated. Get used to this, it will only get worse in college. Not only would most of my college professors have confiscated my cube if I brought it to class and started cubing during the lecture, but some of my professors, I know, would have probably kicked me out of the room for it.

 

[rock1313]

I would punch her in the face lol

nah I would just go to a higher authority like the principle, but if he does nothing then go to a higher authority over the principle