When the bully is the teacher

DEAR AMY: I'm 17. As you probably know, teen bullying is a big issue. I've got a new one: I'm being bullied by a teacher in my school -- and she's not even my teacher. A couple of weeks ago, she called me fat; she has called other students names as well. I've always had issues with being bullied, so I put up a picture of myself on my locker and a sign saying "Don't ever judge me." She confronted me this morning in a very unfriendly way. How do I deal with this?Angry

DEAR ANGRY: Bullying is wrong in every way and you should be angry about it.

It is completely unacceptable for a teacher to engage in bullying, and this teacher should be called on her behavior. I hope your parents are supportive. They (and you) should call a meeting immediately with the administration of your school to insist that this name-calling end. If your parents aren't helpful, seek out a sympathetic teacher or counselor. The teacher needs to apologize for her behavior and change her ways. Otherwise she should not be teaching.

To me, it sounds like you have the makings of a confident leader. You might be able to use your experiences to engage other students in bullying prevention by standing together against bullying, by anyone, at any time.

Your statement, "Don't ever judge me" would make a great rallying cry.

DEAR AMY: "Fed Up" was frustrated when people contacted him/her through Facebook and then never followed up. I opted out of Facebook when the site went into my email account and sent out "friend requests" without my knowledge. Maybe this is why your reader didn't hear back -- the "friend" probably didn't even know the request had been sent out.

Faithful ReaderDEAR READER: This is a definite possibility.