How can their parents not feel shame and disgust, I feel almost more horrified at the ones who stood watching and filming it instead of helping than at the boys who did it.
Bullying makes me sick, it shouldn't happen and yet it does. the comment I made to Karen was in response to another reader saying that the parents are the ones who enable this, and they're often bullied themselves.
I totally get this, I feel bullied by some of my parents. there are some pupils in my top set for whom I dread marking their work. I know that anything less than perfect marks will result in a message from the parents wanting to know why their little darling has not achieved perfection, and practically demanding I change it. I hate that sick nervous feeling, and wish that parents would trust my professional judgement, and accept that sometimes their little darling does not work hard enough.
Anyway, please promise me that if you have children you do not automatically take the word of your child against a teacher, we put our heart and soul in to this job, however sometimes when it's the 60th test we've marked that night after a full day at work we make mistakes. We're human, and for that you need sometimes to cut us some slack.
On a poor positive note I am pleased to report that this blog is graded at being a a high school reading level.
Possibly due to the fact I don't end sentences as often as I should and am far too fond of the coma!
And now for today's fix-it-friday-
I'm going to share some games today. I'm sure everyone on the planet has played Yeti sports, but if not then you can find it here. There is something highly satisfying about getting a polar bear to fling a penguin as far as you can. If you want intellectual stimulation I also love these on-line riddle escaping from a room games that you can find here.
Great post! Thanks for expanding on this topic - to see the perspective of a teacher is interesting. Oh and my sad blow reads at elementary level. *snort*
ReplyDelete(I'm not surprised though)
You shouldn't fret about the marks you give, it's called professional judgement!Some parents like to thinak that their kids are perfect and don't like to be told otherwise. What they should be asking you is what they can do to help their child improve on the mark you gave them and not getting at you. You have to be thick skinned at times to be a teacher.. someteing I never got to grips with even after 30 years.. it did for me in the end... you have seen it all and yet you still want to do it..brave or stupid???????????
ReplyDeleteKatie's mum