Over the last few days, we were embroiled in a nasty fight in school. One of DS' teachers is a bully (throwing workbooks on the floor because of missed work/mistakes, punishing volunteers when they recite a piece of poetry wrongly). It's resolved with an apology - well, she knows I know, and she knows I won't hesitate.

The question I have revolves around this - I called around other 1st graders to corroborate my son's story. Surprise! A lot of them either didn't know what was going on or just couldn't remember. Which makes me wonder - now that we're in the school system, will we have a lot more battles simply because my son is more lucid? I can't even term what happened as him being more sensitive. He is, but in this case, he's just more aware that kids should not be cowed and yes, the word is abused.

Maybe this is the reason why a lot of us parents step in and advocate, not just for educational services, but because our kids are more aware and are able to speak up. This gives us the unfair reputation sometimes, of being overly protective. Is this the case for with guys?

Never thought of it that way before but I think you nailed it!
P.S. Punishing volunteers when they recite a piece of poetry wrongly? That's rich. So sorry your son had to deal with this teacher.

Our Gifted Services Officer actually told me to leave it because my son will be accelerated/there'll be some change to his class. But the thought of that teacher continuing as per normal with innocent kids just made my blood boil ...

I think we also have a harder time following through with this type of advice. How do people manage it? I find it impossible to just let these things fall to someone else to deal with (like the next unsuspecting child or poetry volunteer).