Teachers who have watched 'Adolescence'- what are your thoughts?

Portrayal of teachers, school admin very poor. There seemed to be a stereotypical menopausal vibe about the female staff - & the men disinterested. All staff inept & clueless.

School itself was modern & clean. The school “problems” were predictable and of there was of course the expected “cafeteria bullying ” of the Sen kid in class hi-jinx and no teacher in room- apparently no teaching at all, just watching videos.

It was all a bit predictable and I don’t think a true reflection. The series did not “ring true” for me / the family, the issues … all felt forced and superficial.

I am a child exploitation social worker. This was such a realistic portrayal of schools, young people and the parents that I come into contact with on a regular basis. It should be mandatory for the parents of all children to watch. We need to start talking to young people about their experiences and about the misogyny that is rife today. Resources are already available to use in order to challenge the Andrew Tate narrative. I bloody hate that man!

I was referencing a personal example if you read my post

More discipline
Very strict

You don’t open the door for a teacher and you’re in detention ( at my kids anyway ) for example.

You think girls are entitled?

I have boys
i would always respect a schools decision ( mine never got into trouble though 😇)

My cousin has girls
Very entitled, get in trouble a lot but apparently my cousin thinks it’s never their fault

Id like to think it’s got nothing to do with ‘those that parent boys’ and more to do with just some parents

and why is that?

And there was an act of violence by a female pupil on a male pupil.
To me the school episode highlighted the chaos found in some teenage minds, the lack of control, the outbursts etc and the fact that adults really don't have a clue what's going on, with the rise of social media. V sad.

As another poster said, when you meet some of the fathers, you see why…

I have indeed @AstroZomb1e
In fact, I’m fire fighting it quite a lot recently. I actively show things / celebrate where girls have been successful for example in football, to try and break those barriers down.
My favourite was a boy who continuously took the mick out of girls playing football. When I came back with the Lionesses and how far they’d got in the World Cup, that shut him up. Another pupil commented that he had been ‘roasted’ and he looked embarrassed 🤷‍♀️
Violence is also commonplace.

I had to sign a 'contract' when my daughter went to Secondary school to say I agreed with their behaviour policy and the way sanctions were implemented. I think this should be introduced everywhere. You also need an SLT that is firm and unwavering on their implementation of behavioural issues. Parents need to be told where to go - and to take their kids with them - if they don't conform to school policy. Teachers deserve respect and shouldn't have to negotiate to get it.

I work in a secondary school and it is nothing like the school on there thank goodness. There are some difficult kids and some being influenced by the likes of Andrew Tate unfortunately, but behaviour is taken very seriously and there is a lot of support.

DS's primary school had a real boy problem around yr 5/6 though, the thing most of them had in common was that their parents had divorced in the last few years and I think this has more of an impact on boys than perhaps parents realise.

They also all had unrestricted use of SM and the internet - the issue that is really at the heart of most of our current problems IMO - and parents just think there's nothing they can do because they won't make the difficult decisions for their kids best interests. Popularity and making sure their kid isn't missing out on anything is where most parents priorities lie. And they themselves spend all their time checking their phones just as much as their kids do.

Personally, as a parent of teens, I don't really know how you cannot be aware of the dangers of this stuff, I mean we aren't living in 2016 anymore. Which makes me think many don't actively take an interest or permit it or even worse agree with it.

Don’t mean to pick on your post but I read it and I’m really interested. What sort of things does your 9yo do and say that don’t sit right with you?

I agree with Bringmeahigherlove's comment that the protrayal was insulting to most secondary teachers . The teachers I've worked with manage their classes with care and good humour . The ones portrayed seemed like nervous wrecks ! I also thought it was insulting to the majority of teenagers who are much more interested and caring than shown . The overuse of video also seemed a criticism of current teaching which is so closely monitored these days that would never be allowed . Having said all that I think its a wonderful series and the lead actors are superb they must surely all get the highest awards.

I don't think it entirely resonates with the school my youngest goes to and the school my eldest did go to but we live in a City and specifically the part of the City that is known to be socially tolerant and inclusive. My son is at sixth form college now and doesn't know anyone that has leanings towards the manosphere ideology, in fact it is he opposite way of thinking. He does know someone from sixth form college class who went to a school on the outskirts that is mockingly referred to as the 'dumping ground' and lots of boys were impacted by this ideology, the only benefit of which was that they all joined the chess club.

That's where i found it to be flawed for possibly dramatic purposes. I would have thought a boy witnessing a loving relationship between his parents, would be less vulnerable to this stuff, but i dont know the stats

Jeez, that’s utterly terrifying. Andrew Tate in primary schools is horrendous.

God I pray for change. We have to be the catalysts but I fear too many people don’t agree.

I’m not a teacher but I’m a parent of two boys. Eldest is almost 17.

Dh and I couldn’t relate to it at all. I’ve asked ds1 to watch it as I’m interested to know what he thinks. He’s been through a rough local secondary.

Did ds miss the worst of what’s going on with teens at the moment?

I clerk exclusion panels. I have quite a skewed view of what secondaries are like I think. The parents generally seem beaten and desperate for help.

I have had a year 1 child tell me I can't tell him what to do because I'm a woman. As soon as the dad came in to discuss, it was quite obvious where he got the attitude from. Another in year 2 refused to clean as that was the 'girls job.' During Parliament Week some of our year 5 boys said women shouldn't be allowed to vote as they aren't smart enough to think about it properly, same boys called Andrew Tate a 'hero' and a 'truth speaker.'

There was misogynistic name calling at our primary school

This is it. I thought it was very well done. It was harrowing. As a teacher and a parent of a boy myself, it honestly made me just want to give up. I know that’s not the right approach and there is probably loads I can do, but the problem is just so huge and widespread I literally do not know how to contain. DS isn’t yet an adolescent and all I can think is how much worse things will be by the time he is. There is only so much minimising screen time and checking phones we can do. Once they’re out of the house, it’s a free for all.

Like most parents, I have always tried so hard to raise DS as an empathetic, considerate and “normal” boy, but even at only 9 years old there are things he says and does that just don’t sit well with me. I try to address them in the most age appropriate ways as possible and can only hope that I’ve done enough. As for the children I have taught over the last decade or so, I can definitely see an increase in misogyny.

There is no getting away from the fact that the Internet providers are not regulated enough , also see what Gareth Southgate has to say on BBC news website today, I think we are sleepwalking

I have worked in a much more challenging school than the ones my kids are in, and I would say that there is space for kids like your son - he sounds like the type of the kid who might join a lunchtime society. Use the library at lunch and breaks, do the more arty stuff or the more tech stuff.
In my experience the rowdier, physical kids tend to head to the playground to play enmasse football games etc and don’t bother then younger ,quieter ones…