Would you tell the school your child isn’t doing detention in this situation?

[beeonmybonnett]

my DD is in Y13 and has got an after school detention due to being late to one of her subject classes two times in the same week. She was only a few minutes late on both occasions - no more than 5 minutes.

In normal circumstances, I would agree with the detention as she should not be being late, I know it happens occasionally as we can get held up at times, but there are no excuses for her being late twice in such a short period of time.

However, the reason I am annoyed at her getting this detention is because the teacher of the subject class she was late to, and is getting the detention as a result of it, is late to class quite often.

For example, DD tells me that the teacher is usually 5-10 minutes late every Monday afternoon when they have that class after lunch. So clearly the teacher has problems getting from the staff room to the classroom in time for the start of the lesson?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for my dd to be spoken to and warned about being late, but I find it absolutely pathetic that this teacher has recommend her head of year give her a detention when the teacher in question is guilty of the same thing - is it not a bit hypocritical?

Not sure why they think this teacher’s lunch break is more important than her a level class but if the student is late then it’s the end of the world.

I’m not sure on how to proceed with this one, but I genuinely feel like ringing the school and telling them to withdraw the detention unless they’re going to discipline the teacher for being late!

I taught at secondary and including A Level. Very occasionally I'd have to deal with an issue as I was also Head of Year. When I arrived to my lesson very occasionally a few minutes late I expected all my students to be either going over their previous notes or have their text books out reading the next piece of work. I would immediately ask them questions on it so I could see who had been proactive. Some were well disciplined and were already making a few notes. Your DD needs a better work ethic.

Your daughter being late disrupts the class, the teacher being late doesn't.

Your daughter was late, so she should do the detention. If you want to make a complaint about the teacher being late, do that, but it has nothing to do with your daughter getting detention.

Your daughter being late disrupts the class, the teacher being late doesn't.

It would be disruptive if the class were teaching themselves in the absence of the teacher, which a good few people here believe they should be doing.

I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that a group of 17-18 year olds are capable of studying while waiting for the teacher to arrive.

It's a concern if they can't.

Agree with others, these are two separate issues.

Your DD does the detention
You speak to the school if you have concerns about the teacher

Advise your DD not to set her standards by the lowest bar she sees others doing, or she'll be struggling. The teacher may have good reason to be late. I'm guessing your DD wasn't late due to the kind of emergencies teachers deal with on a daily basis.

My husband is a teacher (although I’m sincerely hoping not for too much longer). It’s parents such as yourself that are contributing to the mass exodus from the profession quite frankly …I honestly despair reading posts like this.🤦🏼‍♀️

the teacher being late doesn’t

Yeah, Seriously 😂😂

Yep! Your child is late! She takes the punishment. If the teacher is always 10
Minutes late then she must have been really late to be caught!
At u over airy sone lecturers don't let you into class at all if you're late - so your child needs to respect the rules laid down for the students and realise that teachers have multiple responsibilities and perhaps she's late for other reasons, whatever that is it's not your daughters business - she gets herself there on time

My daughter was not late on the same day the teacher was late.

Maybe the teacher is busy on the phone during lunch break, dealing with parents like you, who expect a call back the same day and argue their children are above
the rules!

I've worked in a secondary school for a year, after working in other industries. To say it’s an eye opener - how many entitled parents there are - is a total understatement.

If your daughter is 17 and you are even considering contacting school, I think you aren’t helping your daughter at all.

So the teacher is on the phone at the same every week, yeah I somehow doubt it.

god I should never have posted this thread, so many people lambasting my daughter for being late (yeah which is wrong) but then defending the teacher being late and acting like it’s ok? Teachers aren’t above the rules, they have classes to teach and should be on time - it’s the education of their students that will suffer!

Even entertaining this discussion/defence with your daughter is teaching her that a)she’s on the same level as the teacher (for all she knows there is some very good reason for the teacher to be slightly late to the class and they don’t answer to your daughter b) it’s okay to disrespect peoples time c) enable her to excuse bad behaviour. If that’s even true, teenagers talk a lot of shit sometimes to get out of things she could very well be just saying that.

You will really look terrible if you call the school, do the right thing and tell your daughter to get her butt to class on time no excuses.

It’s not about ‘being on the same level as the teacher’

my dd knows very well shes not on the same level as her teachers, that doesn’t mean they can just show up late though ? I’m actually really perplexed at how some people on here think that a teacher showing up late is fine and dandy and should be normalised - would the people on here be ok if one of their child’s teachers showed up late for lessons and they didn’t get work done?

So only now, ow your DD has a detention, are you picking up on the lateness of the teacher?! That's pretty pathetic and screams of 'I'll telll tales about you because I'm entitled and miffed to be told off'
As for the lesson that couldn't be finished ... how exactly do you know this? She's hardly say 'ooops sorry I've not actually done everything I wanted to cover today'
The teacher is there to teach and the kids to learn - very different roles - your job as a parent is to teach your children respect - not being petty and scoring points

Teachers aren’t above the rules, they have classes to teach and should be on time - it’s the education of their students that will suffer!

It is very possibly that the teacher has more than one role in school and more than one class/group of children they need to work with, in a range of times.

Lunchtime in school often does not mean an hour off for the teacher.

And my experience of schools is that the timings will often mean that one responsibility ends at the exact same time as the next starts. This gives no time for physically getting to the new location, let alone if they need the loo or a quick drinking water/bite ti eat.

Whilst it would be great if no children had their education affected by staffing cuts and timetabling issues, in the real world - especially these days - that's not going to be the case all the time.

You're concerned that your 18y is losing 5-10 minutes of their lesson. Another parent may well be concerned that their child's losing 5-10 minutes if their pastoral/ safeguarding meeting, or their child is being hurt as there is no teacher available to supervise the toilets at the end of lunch as they need to be in class.

Sadly staffing and timetabling can be very very tight these days.

OP after 13 pages of teachers giving you good solid reasons why they may be regularly late, you still aren't addressing it. I am always a bit late to one of my 6th form lessons because I cannot leave my duty post that is 7 mins walk away from my classroom until all the students have left at the end of break. In my school we don't provide cover teachers for 6th form lessons, they are expected to study independently if the teacher is off, so likewise, I expect (and do find) my students to be writing up notes, reading the next page in the textbook etc when I arrive. U6th even more so. Your dd is on the brink of being an adult and ought to be self motivated enough to not "lose" 40 mins a week of study time in the teacher's absence.
We don't give detentions but I would give a student a hard time if they turned up late or without books / files etc with no good reason. The key point is WITHOUT GOOD REASON, which it is highly likely your DD'S teacher has.

Oh and the staff rooms in many schools are ghost towns now..the idea that teachers can sit around chatting is hilarious.

Teachers rarely get breaks, you eat on the run.. before school, lunchtime and after school is full of meetings, phone calls etc. So if the tea her is late it will be due to juggling other responsibilities.
Unfortunately rules have to be for all students or it is unfair.

@beeonmybonnett I think you’d be surprised just how many parents do phone in and expect teachers to phone them back the same day. Often with really entitled things.

But teachers also do clubs, field duty, detentions and whole range of other things. I don’t think anyone at the school I work in has a full lunch.

So the teacher is late
'All the time' except the days your child is late 🤔

... and really 'I want to know why she's late' ... none of your business!!

@beeonmybonnett how does your daughter know what the teacher had planned and that she didn't get through all of the work?

You’re just deflecting. For all you know the teacher has some good reason for being slightly late? Why don’t you call the school and ask them? How will you feel if your daughter has just said that to deflect from her tardiness? Her tactic has worked because here you are talking negatively about a teacher who just simply wants their class to not be disrupted any further

this is an absolute roast HA

There are two lessons each week that I’m always late to, one due to a meeting in a different building, and one because I’m on duty. I plan them accordingly (e.g. task on the board as pupils arrive) and work hard to make sure the content of the lesson is still covered

If you called my boss to complain, she’d very politely explain that she knows, that she’s confident I’m still teaching the course well, and that your daughter’s progress is not at risk from it.

If you tried to link that to your daughter’s detention, she’d be much less polite.