A New York teacher is fighting for her job back after one of her assignments meant to address bullying in her classroom resulted in more bullying.

In June 2014, New York City teacher Madeline Luciano designed an assignment for students to explain why they were bullying a peer in Luciano's class after the girl found her missing backpack ransacked, her student portfolio torn up, according to an article on the hyperlocal website DNAinfo.com

"Luciano told investigators that she asked the class what happened, and many students responded that they didn't like the girl, calling her 'annoying' and 'stupid...' The teacher said she then told students "to write a letter, as an assignment, indicating why they felt this way," according to the article.

According to Luciano's account, a student then jumped up and began writing the hateful statements on the classroom chalkboard, although the students claim Luciano asked "asked for a volunteer to write down the responses on the board as students shouted them out."

The exercise prompted the bullied girl to cry, and it was then that Luciano stopped the assignment and "said she then told the class that 'they needed to work as a team and that they needed to treat each other with love,' the report says," according to the article.

Luciano was fired by the school's principal, Connie Mejia, in October after an investigation into the matter. She is currently seeking her job back.

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

4/16/2015