Parent trap!
Is it just me or does everyone think the modern parent is sometimes a kid's worst enemy?
A friend of mine was a teacher in the western suburbs of Sydney for around 15 years. While others did their time and got out as fast as they could, Luke stuck at it.
Part P.E. teacher, part social worker, he believed in the kids and loved his job.
A couple of years ago, at the final bell one Friday as kids and teachers began streaming out of classrooms looking for a short cut home, a group of Year 10 girls passed Luke on the stairs.
Laughing and joking, one of them made a grab for the pens in Luke’s top pocket.
He was a relatively young, good looking teacher, he liked to joke with the kids and he felt he had a good rapport with them.
So he swatted her hand and kept moving. Suddenly there were ten girls who wanted the pens – amidst cheering and giggling, Luke was swamped.
Never one to back down from a challenge, as the pens were grabbed and lifted victoriously, he hit back – seized the pen snatchers wrist and backed her up against a wall.
To more cheers and lots more boos he plucked the pens from her hand.
Long story short, later that evening the police visited his home to discuss allegations of assault.
The 15-year-old had told her dad that Luke had ‘crushed’ her wrist and humiliated her.
Her Dad demanded an apology, Luke’s dismissal and financial compensation for the effect the injury would have on his daughter’s study.
The rumour mill began to grind and it eventually made the papers, with headlines like “student assault” complete with testimony from the standard disgruntled parents.
Luke was stood down pending an investigation.
In the end, the charges didn’t make it to court, however the family received an official apology and Luke was offered a job at a different school. He didn’t take it.
This week the Victorian Principals Association issued a plea to parents to “butt out” of their children’s education.
The Teachers Federation claims hundreds of Queensland teachers are under investigation because of parent complaints they yell too much.
As a parent, there is nothing I hate more than being stopped in the car park and whinged to about what is going on at school.
Across the board kids are offered a fantastic education these days and I have a lot of faith in the schools my kids attend.
If I didn’t, I wouldn’t bitch and moan for a second. I would simply re-enrol them somewhere else (where I suspect I would find the same mix of good, bad, relaxed, crabby, funny, kind and yelly teachers).
No doubt my kids like some teachers more than others but I don’t give it much thought.
If “being grumpy” is how a Year 10 science teacher gets through her day - locked in a classroom with 30 adolescents - that’s her bad luck.
The way I see it, going to school is my children’s job, just like their dad and I have a job.
It’s regularly boring and sometimes you get into trouble for doing the wrong thing.
Sometimes you get into trouble because someone else did something wrong and you copped the blame. Suck it up, Tiger.
It’s not always fair or fun, but it is life and the quicker you learn to play by the rules, the happier you’ll be.
Parents who allow their kids to turn every perceived slight or injustice into a federal case are fools. Far from protecting their children from harm, they are setting them up for a lifetime of petty battles.
You can’t manage every minute of your child’s day. And you certainly can’t trust them to tell the whole truth about what happens in the classroom.
When parents get involved, they can easily get it wrong and suddenly allegations and finger pointing take on a life of their own.
My friend Luke lost a lot more than his job when a parent got it wrong, but so did the Department of Education. They lost Luke and, I suspect, a lot more like him along the way.
A friend of mine was a teacher in the western suburbs of Sydney for around 15 years. While others did their time and got out as fast as they could, Luke stuck at it.
Part P.E. teacher, part social worker, he believed in the kids and loved his job.
A couple of years ago, at the final bell one Friday as kids and teachers began streaming out of classrooms looking for a short cut home, a group of Year 10 girls passed Luke on the stairs.
Laughing and joking, one of them made a grab for the pens in Luke’s top pocket.
He was a relatively young, good looking teacher, he liked to joke with the kids and he felt he had a good rapport with them.
So he swatted her hand and kept moving. Suddenly there were ten girls who wanted the pens – amidst cheering and giggling, Luke was swamped.
Never one to back down from a challenge, as the pens were grabbed and lifted victoriously, he hit back – seized the pen snatchers wrist and backed her up against a wall.
To more cheers and lots more boos he plucked the pens from her hand.
Long story short, later that evening the police visited his home to discuss allegations of assault.
The 15-year-old had told her dad that Luke had ‘crushed’ her wrist and humiliated her.
Her Dad demanded an apology, Luke’s dismissal and financial compensation for the effect the injury would have on his daughter’s study.
The rumour mill began to grind and it eventually made the papers, with headlines like “student assault” complete with testimony from the standard disgruntled parents.
Luke was stood down pending an investigation.
In the end, the charges didn’t make it to court, however the family received an official apology and Luke was offered a job at a different school. He didn’t take it.
This week the Victorian Principals Association issued a plea to parents to “butt out” of their children’s education.
The Teachers Federation claims hundreds of Queensland teachers are under investigation because of parent complaints they yell too much.
As a parent, there is nothing I hate more than being stopped in the car park and whinged to about what is going on at school.
Across the board kids are offered a fantastic education these days and I have a lot of faith in the schools my kids attend.
If I didn’t, I wouldn’t bitch and moan for a second. I would simply re-enrol them somewhere else (where I suspect I would find the same mix of good, bad, relaxed, crabby, funny, kind and yelly teachers).
No doubt my kids like some teachers more than others but I don’t give it much thought.
If “being grumpy” is how a Year 10 science teacher gets through her day - locked in a classroom with 30 adolescents - that’s her bad luck.
The way I see it, going to school is my children’s job, just like their dad and I have a job.
It’s regularly boring and sometimes you get into trouble for doing the wrong thing.
Sometimes you get into trouble because someone else did something wrong and you copped the blame. Suck it up, Tiger.
It’s not always fair or fun, but it is life and the quicker you learn to play by the rules, the happier you’ll be.
Parents who allow their kids to turn every perceived slight or injustice into a federal case are fools. Far from protecting their children from harm, they are setting them up for a lifetime of petty battles.
You can’t manage every minute of your child’s day. And you certainly can’t trust them to tell the whole truth about what happens in the classroom.
When parents get involved, they can easily get it wrong and suddenly allegations and finger pointing take on a life of their own.
My friend Luke lost a lot more than his job when a parent got it wrong, but so did the Department of Education. They lost Luke and, I suspect, a lot more like him along the way.
posted by Caroline Hutchinson at 10:14 AM
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