Letter to the editor
Reader challenges teachers about bullying

Batesville is not a town known for a high violence rate, which is a good thing. But it becomes a problem when violence goes on inside the school, and it appears that the teachers allow it to happen. A teacher’s job is not only to teach students but to also ensure their safety.

When a parent sends their child to school, trusting them under the care of teachers, they expect that their child will not only gain knowledge but also be protected just as they would be at home. A parent does not expect to learn that their child has involuntarily been involved in a fight, but that the fight took place inside the classroom.

My biggest question is, “Where was the teacher?”

The handbook states that while students are changing classes, teachers are required to stand in the doorways of the classrooms. If a fight is happening inside your classroom, how can you not see it? The obvious answer to the question is that you are not where you were required to be.

Another incident that has happened is that two students were involuntarily involved in two different fights on the same day inside the weight room. Once again, “Where was the teacher?”

Administrators try to teach students not to fight but to walk away and tell someone. But how can they tell someone if there isn’t a teacher in sight to tell? As we have seen with bullying in other schools, the victims feel unsafe and take matters into their own hands.

The law requires for a parent to send their child to school, but why should they if they suspect that the safety of their child could be jeopardized just because of the teacher or administrator not fully doing their job.

Should our students have to attend school in fear of being bullied and feeling that the faculty will not do anything? If a child is concerned about being bullied, they are not fully focused on their work. I sincerely pray that our schools do not have to experience a catastrophe before administrators and faculty realizes that they are not fully supervising the students.

/s/ Brittany Love