If your child reports inappropriate teacher conduct, it is important to get involved, immediately. How you handle the situation depends very much on the type of inappropriate teacher conduct involved. For example if a teacher yells at a student you will follow a much different path than if the child reports inappropriate teacher conduct to you that involves sexual or physical abuse.

For the situation where a child reports inappropriate teacher conduct like yelling, or where students simply say things like the “teacher made fun of me in class,” you might first try to address such conduct with the teacher. Often children have a skewed perception of events that occur. A statement like “She gave me a detention for nothing,” has to be taken with a grain of salt. Statements like “He’s just mean to me,” may mean so many things.

Because it is difficult for a child to function well in a class where he feels he is disliked or unfairly targeted by a teacher, going to the teacher and hearing his/her side of an incident is a useful first step in resolving the issue. In this process, try to remain calm. Adding your anger or frustration to the problem is likely to get you less help, since you will be viewed as unreasonable.

Often one hears a very different story and perception from the teacher than one hears from the child. Deciding which or if both perceptions are partially correct can help you decide what further actions may need to be taken. If you sincerely believe your child and the teacher seems to evade or admits to inappropriate teacher conduct, it’s time to involve the school administrators.

However, if this is the second or third incidence of inappropriate teacher conduct that you have tried to resolve in the past, and you believe your child is telling the truth, going to the teacher first may not be your best bet. Instead, you may want to report continued inappropriate teacher conduct to the school’s principal. You may also want to make a request, where it seems a situation will not be resolved to have a child transferred to another class. Sometimes the best teachers and the best students are not a good personality fit. When this is the case, your child, the teacher and the class might all be served by requesting a transfer, if possible.

If a child reports inappropriate teacher conduct that involves touching, sexual conduct, sexual innuendo, or physical violence, going to the teacher is not the best choice. In this case, you should not even want to report to the school’s administration first. In fact, for safety’s sake, you may not want to send the child back to school until the matter has been fully investigated. If you truly suspect inappropriate teacher conduct that breaks laws, your first stop should be the police department.

You can, if you feel you will be supported, also inform the administration, but there is risk here. The administration might not believe you, and might tip off a teacher, or ask a few questions that would alert a teacher. This can give the teacher the option of fleeing before investigation begins. These incidents are rare, as compared to the vast number of teachers. However, they do occur, even with the best screening. Informing the police first is your best bet, since they can commence investigation immediately and gather evidence from your child, and possibly other children while memories are still fresh.