This has to be a sign of the apocalypse, right?

[Duke]

School children in the UK can now tell teachers to go f**k themselves!

I actually laughed out loud when I read this! My boys' teachers will have my permission to pimp-slap my kids if they try this BS!

[BrickCop]

Ahhh yes political correctness run f*@%ing amok.

[toby101]

F&^%* this. Now this is totally screwed up. Next year the teachers will say the students don't respect us at all. And we wonder why the next generation is already showing signs of disrespect. Its because of something like this.

Also when I was in High School if this was allowed we would drop 5 F bombs just so we can say we did it. OMG. This makes me mad.

[Woodles]

Ok, swearing in school outside of class is one thing, but swearing at any person in authority is just plain wrong and disrespectful. I wonder what would happen if teachers were allowed to wash their students' mouths out with soap every time they swore? I've had my fair share of the various soaps (lemon scented Sunlight dish detergent actually does taste like lemons. However, the Sunlight laundry bar soap tastes like crap.) and it cured me from swearing around my parents.

[zap]

Well, my boy was SUSPENDED from THIRD GRADE for his teacher overhearing him mentioning that she was being a "Ahole" ...that is the quote.

Now, I don't particularly have an issue with them suspending him for that....but suspension seems to the be the only punishment these people are capable of figuring out. What happened to reports and 2-page public apoligies?

He was ALSO suspended by the same teacher for forming his finger and thumb into a 'gun'. After all...there is zero tolerance for weapons ...right?


While I agree that PC has run wildly out of reason......and this is going to cause us problems, as we are starting to see now.

.......I am not sure I want this mental midget soaping my kid because SHE felt it was ok. I am his parent. I will deal with punishment beyond academic related excercises thank you.

[mosetti]

That isn't political correctness, that is just bizarre. When I went to school in the UK (granted that was back in 1990-1992) you had to call the teachers Sir or Miss. "Please Miss, I have a question." or "Please Sir, may I use the toilet?"

[nacorbier]

Schools get to go by whatever their legally authorized and heavily scrutinized by general counsels disciplinary manual state they can.

Usually, I bet, its just easier to remove the disruption than deal with it. Ie: Suspension from school.

I've never heard of, in the Houston Suburbs and the Pinellas Schools system writing an essay on why your bad. You were given a referral and a detention, which was sitting perfectly quiet and still for 1-4 hours. If that didn't work, you get to go home for the day.

[zap]

I think you are right. But I am also quite disturbed by the low amount of resourcefullness and intellegence of the people who run the schools.

Give you an example.

Once my step daughter had issues with a certain guidence counselor. Without going into details, the counselor was acting innapropriately in my opinion. So I go to a meeting with this woman. She kept going in circles without directly addressing my questions. I finally got tired of that and interrupted her ....telling her to just answer my question.

Her response? "May I finish talking please?"

I thought for a quick second and realized this was a good opportunity for a test....so said "NO. Answer my questions"

She got up...walked over and opened the door and told me it was time for me to leave her office.

Of course I went right to the principal and told him she was not to EVER have any contact with ANY of my kids because she was not capable of administering the most remote leadership or problem solving skills. As far as I am concerned this woman has no business being a counselor at a school.

So...not only is it easier to "remove the problem" (which just causes other problems elsewhere) but I am not convinced these people have the ability to deal with kids today. I think my kid is more intellegent that I was at his age. Imagine KNOWING you can think circles around your school officials? If you don't want to go do school today...all you have to do is point your finger and thumb into the air and go "BANG" ...and you get to go home!!

Just another case of the lack of common sense.

[nacorbier]

That's standard, and may be even part of their "violence descalation" program. She asked you to leave. If you hadn't, she might of summoned the SRO to have you arrested for trespass after warning, as you refused to leave when ordered to.

They're so afraid of 1) Parents attacking them over their student's behavior, 2) students pulling out the AK and going tactical all over the school, 3) escalating a situation themselves...

I remember in HS, I had to take remedial biology since I was a transfer student and Florida didn't accept Texas' Bio credit.

The teacher had a problem with the student, and the student who was a gang banger wanna be (This was 91) sucker punched him for "dissin me". The teacher grabbed the kid and threw him across the room, then backed up and told the student to stay away from him. The SRO arrived, arrested the student for battery on a teacher, and the teacher for child abuse. I have no idea what the teacher was SUPPOSED to do when suddenly attacked.

[zap]

That's standard, and may be even part of their "violence descalation" program. She asked you to leave. If you hadn't, she might of summoned the SRO to have you arrested for trespass after warning, as you refused to leave when ordered to.

They're so afraid of 1) Parents attacking them over their student's behavior, 2) students pulling out the AK and going tactical all over the school, 3) escalating a situation themselves...

I remember in HS, I had to take remedial biology since I was a transfer student and Florida didn't accept Texas' Bio credit.

The teacher had a problem with the student, and the student who was a gang banger wanna be (This was 91) sucker punched him for "dissin me". The teacher grabbed the kid and threw him across the room, then backed up and told the student to stay away from him. The SRO arrived, arrested the student for battery on a teacher, and the teacher for child abuse. I have no idea what the teacher was SUPPOSED to do when suddenly attacked.

*nod*

When I was in school...in the 70s ....I have seen teachers pick up students by the collar and throw them against lockers. Then suspend them for throwing a spit ball.

I have seen kids paddled with a board til you could READ the carving in the paddle on the raised whelts on the kids butt.

I have seen kids attacked and beaten....and it was explained away as the victim-kids fault...no action taken.

Now, I do not condone any of this behavior from students nor school officials. But, if a kid is big enough to take a man sized swing at me. God help him. He's gonna need it. School officials need to be able to excersise reasonable self defense in such situations.

When you hang the teacher for defending him/herself...you just foster the fear that the kids are running the school. On the other hand, stupidity like the counselor and teachers I mentioned previously, CAUSE the students and parents to not respect their authority. It certainly did me when I was in school....and now as a parent.

[nacorbier]

Students, especially high schoolers, will do whatever you let them get away with. Couple that with the fear of going to jail due to child abuse, etc...

I was in a class called "Study Hall," since it was an elective and it was basically "sit there in a classroom and do nothing." I used it as my free period to read. Only got to take it one semester, since I needed an elective when I transferred in, quick fast.

The teacher taught "Emotionally Distrubed" children, which was the catch all term for "Kids who act up." They gave her training in self defense, etc, which she sucked at, and she had an Air Taser under her desk. I thought it was hilarious, because she flat told me: If a student attacks me, all I can do is run away.

Being 15, I politely told her that I'd just happen to "find" that weapon and use it on the BG kid. She told me not to bother, the thing dosen't work that well on emotionally distrubed kids.

I don't want to know how she came to that conculsion.

[zap]

Students, especially high schoolers, will do whatever you let them get away with. Couple that with the fear of going to jail due to child abuse, etc...

I was in a class called "Study Hall," since it was an elective and it was basically "sit there in a classroom and do nothing." I used it as my free period to read. Only got to take it one semester, since I needed an elective when I transferred in, quick fast.

The teacher taught "Emotionally Distrubed" children, which was the catch all term for "Kids who act up." They gave her training in self defense, etc, which she sucked at, and she had an Air Taser under her desk. I thought it was hilarious, because she flat told me: If a student attacks me, all I can do is run away.

Being 15, I politely told her that I'd just happen to "find" that weapon and use it on the BG kid. She told me not to bother, the thing dosen't work that well on emotionally distrubed kids.

I don't want to know how she came to that conculsion.

Really. You are right. When teachers loose control to students and their parents for fear of going to jail....there is nothing they can do.

Again, from the other side....it is often the teachers who CAUSE that loss of respect for their 'authority' which starts that ugly ball rolling.

I don't think this can be fixed by legislation or policy...unless you can legislate the mandatory use of situational common sense and make the user of such common sense immune from civil liability.

[Cockney Corner.]

This probably explains why all the kids I seem to deal with are as stupid as pigs' dribble - they're too busy expressing their individuality in school rather than, crazy notion I know, actually learning anything (my apologies to my UK colleagues who have kids of school age).

[Styx]

I went to Catholic school 1-12. Our teachers had complete control over us....and if they didnt, a call to parents took care of that. Detention was a luxury at my school and you were lucky if thats all you got. We were NOT beaten, mind you...the nuns once I got to junior high did not touch us. In elementary school, a tap with a ruler on the knuckles did the trick.

We wrote essays, did community service and then wrote papers about that and discussed what we learned from our experience with the sentencing nun. it was a lot what I imagine being a prisoner is like. I said that once after an incident and sentencing and made the nun laugh.

Parents were always informed of our punishment and proper punishment at home was given most of the time. These days, many parents are too busy to work along with a teacher to discipline children.

We are creating an army of disrespectful morons......that will result in destruction of our species.

Sorry to be so dramatic...its been one of those days....

[letshearit4blue]

Ok, swearing in school outside of class is one thing, but swearing at any person in authority is just plain wrong and disrespectful. I wonder what would happen if teachers were allowed to wash their students' mouths out with soap every time they swore? I've had my fair share of the various soaps (lemon scented Sunlight dish detergent actually does taste like lemons. However, the Sunlight laundry bar soap tastes like crap.) and it cured me from swearing around my parents.

Oh my god that article is the funniest thing I have read in a long time

There was a bit of a scandle in the City School District here when (I believe it was in the past year or two?) a teacher DID wash a kid's mouth out with soap and water.

At my school, there is a good number of teachers that curse out their students, but its very unusual for a student to curse AT a teacher. Of course it happens behind their backs all the time and they know it.