the bully

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The Bully exists everywhere, regardless of race, colour, age, culture, gender or sexual orientation. Some are subtle, some don't bother to hide it. I doubt there are many among us who have a) never been bullied, and b) never been The Bully. Oftentimes, The Bully will put other people in awkward and uncomfortable positions. By other people, I mean me - purely for the benefit of this post. By The Bully, I mean a male lecturer at my workplace. The victim is a female student whom is one of a few in the class that I support. You know him, and you also know her. He's the chap who knows his subject and doesn't understand why other people don't. He gets frustrated with those who don't, but instead of trying a different tactic he just repeats the same thing. He forgets that these students arrive with a plethora of different strategies for working things out, and that if they didn't get it after three hours of maths a week for the last twelve years, they're not going to suddenly get it in one hour a week, which they see as a pointless hour. I agree with them. And yes, it's maths. She is the girl who doesn't want to be there. Yes, she is bolshy but, to be fair, she doesn't give as much as she gets back. Yesterday he took it to a new low. She spoke, he mimicked her. She moved, he told her off. She spoke to me, he told her to shush. When he knew she was struggling, he didn't offer to help. He goaded her in the same way I used to goad my siblings as a child, in an effort to get them into trouble. Despite my protestations and a chat we had earlier, she left. I have never worked with him before, but a friend who has tells me that there is always one student who he has a need to control and pick on. I wonder if he is the same at home, with one of his children a constant victim who will never be as good as the others. I just don't understand why some adults take their position of power to the extreme, find the vulnerabilities and attack when they should be protecting. All I can do is put the feelers out, email her personal tutor, continue to advocate on her behalf and hope for the best. I can't do much else from my lowly position. *sigh*