My Brother's Abusive Teacher

After Bonnie showed us that great cartoon where the teacher is standing next to her student, both of which are standing on their toes and reaching to the sky, she said something akin to, "That's what every teacher wants." For whatever reason, I immediately thought of one teacher who really didn't seem to want that. When my brother was in sixth grade, he had a math teacher named Mr. Grunther (sp?), and this man would read aloud, to the entire class, the scores that everyone received. One time, when he got to my brother's name, he read his score and actually said, "Man, if he can make it to seventh grade, my dog can!" and then, as my brother's face reddened and tears stung his eyes, he laughed along with the rest of the class.

I certainly don't mean to disagree with our professor because I definitely believe that as a general statement, every teacher DOES want their students to "reach for the sky". But what about those that do not? How do they retain their positions? How does a teacher like this man, who outright mentally and emotionally abused an eleven-year-old boy, keep his job? I've often wondered in the years since then, if he has a child he chooses each year to pick on. Or does he just pick on the one that the other students are already picking on so he can look "cool" too? Why did he ever become a teacher and why was he never fired?

I don't mean to rant, but this really bothers me. It's bad enough when kids are bullying other kids into feeling worthless, depressed, and even suicidal. But I know for a fact that there are a handful of teachers doing it too, teachers who should be the ones that the students trust, the ones to help them. No wonder my brother didn't feel like he could talk to anyone about what was really happening to him at school everyday. Child-abusers, like Mr. Grunther, should never be allowed to teach, and in cases like this, should face criminal charges. I know that their numbers are few, but what can we do about teachers like this?