Teacher Gives World's Worst Anti-Bullying Advice: 'Act Less Gay'

In one British County, teachers apparently have some pretty unhelpful responses to bullying. Some allegedly told victims to try “acting less gay.”

According to the London Evening Standard, a report by the Essex County Council has found “anecdotal evidence of students being told to act less gay or to wear their hair differently as teachers felt they were making themselves a target for bullies.” The report also said that teachers didn’t know how to handle bullying, which is obvious: “Teachers received very little training at college around bullying and most would welcome additional support and guidance.”

Clearly they need guidance, if they think victim-blaming is the way to handle the problem. Dealing with bullying is complicated, and some techniques don’t work as well as one would think they should. Teachers definitely need training to handle the complex issues that bullying brings up — but not responding with homophobia should be pretty simple.

Being Bullied? Just Act Less Gay, Advise Teachers [London Evening Standard]

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