Name-calling and putdowns have been a part of schools for as long as I remember. Fatso, pig, and four-eyes were popular slams when I was in school. When I began my teaching career in 1965 I heard stupid, dork, and dog-breath. Since then, only the names and people have changed. The ritual has not. In spite of the efforts of many concerned educators, putdowns continue to flourish.

Now, from North Carolina comes a new dimension of putdowns being used in a classroom. The word Loser is being used as the name-calling of choice with sixth-graders in Enka Middle School in Candler, N.C.

“The teacher ought to stop it,” you might be thinking. Good point. Only one problem with that plan. It’s the teacher who is doing it.

Rex Roland, a sixth grade teacher, sometimes writes the word Loser on his students’ papers. Mr. Roland says it was his way of relating to students.

Some parents defended the teacher claiming his teaching methods are progressive and that he often gives nicknames to students and uses the word Loser in jest. “He gets on their level with their words and tries to relate to them,” one parent remarked.

Other parents aren’t happy when the word Loser appears on their child’s paper. “Minus 20% for being a loser,” he wrote in the margin of one student’s paper.

I do not know Mr. Roland or the culture he is attempting to create in his classroom. I have never been to Buncombe County, N.C. where this drama is currently playing out. But I have been around enough children and been associated with enough schools to know calling children a Loser for any reason is not a good idea.

“He was doing it in jest,” you might argue. Not good enough. Slinging mud is never funny. It sets a bad example for children who are then encouraged to use dog-breath, nerd, geek, and other words in jest. Putdowns are not funny, ever.

“He was trying to get on their level and relate,” you might think. There are many ways to relate to students, build connectedness, and bond that do not make fun of students. Professional educators who take their roles seriously do not engage in any form of thinly veiled name-calling.

“It was a joke,” you could be thinking. A joke is not a joke if it is not a joke. Sarcasm, poking fun at others, and mocking have no place in a classroom. Most professional educators are working hard to create an environment that is emotionally healthy and a safe place for students to make mistakes without being laughed at or ridiculed.

Mr. Roland, a 12-year veteran of teaching in the middle school, is not a loser. He is a professional educator who made a mistake. My guess is that he is probably a pretty good teacher who knows that mistakes are opportunities for growth. Mistakes are simply data that can be used to learn, grow, and move on to higher levels. Let’s hope he can help his students learn that same lesson using himself as a positive role model.

Chick Moorman