The new school bullies aren’t children – they’re parents

This case will be a key legal test for how the parent-school relationship is conducted in the age of social media. Illustration by Sam BennettWhen something inside you breaks, the most basic matters can be overlooked. Take, for example, the case of Queensland construction worker Matt Barreno*. One Sunday evening in May last year, the 48-year-old flew out of his house in such a fury, he barely registered his outfit: grey flannelette pyjamas and some worn sandals he calls slippers.

In the past two-and-a-half years, with little money for lawyers, the Barrenos have represented themselves against Brodere and lost a series of legal skirmishes, making them liable for some of her legal costs. When Brodere saw that the Barrenos' house was on the market, she applied for an order to freeze their assets and secure any payment the court might award her, temporarily stopping the sale from going through.

Chill indeed. That's the message coming loud and clear from the nation's educators, as they face a crisis level of bullying, threats and abuse from parents. One in three principals have been threatened with violence by a parent, according to a nationwide snapshot of principal health and wellbeing undertaken annually by the Australian Catholic University .

Meanwhile, state education departments, already struggling to attract new principals and battling high teacher attrition, are scrambling to address poor parent behaviour. Victoria has recently set up the Australia-first Independent Office for School Dispute Resolution to resolve toxic disputes between parents and schools.

: little corrugated caps shade each window, big downpipes corral the rains. The footpath carries a rusty taint from the hinterland's fertile red dirt. In a nearby Kia wagon, a waiting mother, sunglasses pushed through blonde hair, bends her neck to her phone. Perhaps she waits for an anxious student. Or an ambitious one.

But the Brodere suit – a case aiming, at one point, for $1.76 million in damages – is a record breaker in Australia and the ongoing legal costs have already tipped school crossing guard Rita Scott into applying for voluntary bankruptcy, she says, and she may lose her house.

"Email is really problematic with parents, because it doesn't matter what you say, they can cut and paste it and send it on and do terrible things," she says. He's chair of the Independent Office for School Dispute Resolution; a mediator, a circuit breaker, a maker of peace. The office, only two years old and part of a wider strategy designed to help reduce teacher stress and workloads, was established to counter perceptions that the Victorian Education Department had a conflict of interest when it came to investigating itself.

GoodWeekendMag A prin describes it to me as parents have so many plates spinning, often precariously. If one starts to wobble too much it can knock the rest down. When the school plate starts to wobble, even if ever so slightly, parents can’t risk it throwing the spin of the other plates.

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The new school bullies aren’t children – they’re parentsParents are behaving in ways once thought unimaginable. The bullying of staff by parents is becoming increasingly common and can have devastating consequences. GoodWeekendMag GoodWeekendMag Entitlism. My new word. auspol GoodWeekendMag While I was in retail I had many lovely customers but they were overshadowed by the bullies who demanded everything and when they didn’t get their way screamed abuse threatened harm and all in front of their children thereby raising the next lot of bullies GoodWeekendMag Idiot parents blaming schools and teachers for the despicable behaviour of themselves and their kids. More should be taken away in handcuffs and charged. These people deserve to lose everything for what they’ve done
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