Poor parenting, inconsistent teachers?

[mw14]

Speaking to a friend yesterday, I began to think I've turned into an old git, but on consideration I'm convinced I'm right. My friend has a daughter who is 13. For the first two indoor PE lessons of the term, she claims she forgot her trainers, and as a result, her teacher allowed her to sit out the lesson. The school were displeased though, and emailed my friend to alert her and ask for her support in ensuring she had her full kit. The girl got a talking to from her mother, but then, yesterday, her mother received a phone call from the school.

Apparently, she'd yet again claimed to have forgotten or lost her trainers, clearly expecting to once again sit on the sidelines. However, this time the teacher did the right thing, and ordered her to get changed into her PE kit and to do the lesson in bare feet. For some reason, this upset her, and she's since had the audacity to complain to her mother about it being "unfair" and "horrible". And her mother agreed!

I don't want to sound like a miserable old sod, but it's almost unbelievable on several levels. Firstly, that the school accepted "I have no trainers" as an excuse, allowing the class to think that PE is optional. Secondly, that my friend, like so many parents, has not got a proper grip of her daughter (i.e. she should have backed the school up, and made clear that bringing kit is her responsibility and that failure to do so has consequences), and thirdly that both mother and daughter saw doing PE in bare feet as such a bad thing!

[madonnasmuffintop]

isn't there already a thread on this?

[campion]

The mother needs to get a grip ( particularly on her daughter) and stop backing the silly girl up. I'd have made her do it in bare feet first time but maybe school was dealing with more pressing matters - like teaching the rest of the class.

Three ' I forgot's and I'd be reaching for the detention slip.

[PortAndLemon]

The school cut her a bit of slack at the start of a new school year getting used to a new timetable. Once they considered that she ought to have got the hang of it by now and was just taking the piss they dealt with it more firmly. I don't see why that's so unbelievably terrible.

I probably agree with you on the other stuff, though, although I can't say I'd have been bothered enough to start a thread about it.

[mw14]

madonna, yes, this is AIBU, but things can get heated in there!