Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Wanting to get this teacher fired

690 replies

lividbeyondbelief · 19/02/2011 23:08

My dd attends a language class on saturday mornings in central london. This week due to horrible traffic we were 30 minutes late to collect her. We tried texting her teacher to say we were stuck in traffic but never got a reply. Anyway to make a long story short - she left my dd outside the school, alone with another boy, whilst she went out to go buy lunch. To make matters worse she told her to lie to us and say she was in the room next door if we asked where the teacher was when we collected our dd.

Our daughter was really upset and cried whilst being outside alone with this boy. My dh noticed she had been crying but the teacher just dismissed it, saying to dh she cried because he was late.

Obviously the bond of trust is broken and she wont be going back ever again. My question is what else should we do?

OP posts:
magicmummy1 · 19/02/2011 23:10

How old is your dd?

JaneS · 19/02/2011 23:12

How old is DD?

I am a bit confused about the situation - the teacher went for lunch but she was there when you came to collect your DD?

If you're late picking her up I'm not sure exactly what the teacher can be required to do. It's be nice if she'd waited, but I don't really see why she should have to wait if the fault is yours? I may be misunderstanding here, though.

LoopyLoopsHulaHoops · 19/02/2011 23:14

When you say "language class", is this actually a teacher or tutor? Held in a school? Need to know the age of child too.

BecauseImWorthIt · 19/02/2011 23:16

How far away were you that you ended up 30 minutes late?

Sounds like you expected the teacher to be there for your daughter, but aren't willing to make any compromises for her because you were so late.

Traffic in London is often horrible. Why were you so far away that you were so late?

And your DD wasn't on her own, she had another child with her. And where were his parents?

GetOrfMoiLand · 19/02/2011 23:17

She wasn't left on her own - she was with another boy.

If you were half an hour late perhaps she needed to pop out for lunch - for all you know it was her only break for the day.

I don't think this is a huge issue tbh.

magicmummy1 · 19/02/2011 23:18

Half an hour is quite a long time to wait for late parents to arrive - especially if that's the only break that the teacher might have all day. Her next class might have been due by the time you actually arrived.

Was there nobody else around apart from this one teacher? Confused

How long is the class? Maybe next time you should wait nearby somewhere, so that you can be sure you're on time to collect her. Expecting the teacher to mind her for half an hour seems a bit unreasonable, though I agree that it's unacceptable to leave a small child unsupervised.

JaneS · 19/02/2011 23:18
magicmummy1 · 19/02/2011 23:19

oops x posts!

JaneS · 19/02/2011 23:19
ENormaSnob · 19/02/2011 23:19

I think it's your fault not the teachers.

Should she miss her break because you fail to show up on time Hmm

roomonthebroom · 19/02/2011 23:20

So if the teacher has classes all day she should miss lunch because YOU were late. I don't live anywhere near London but can imagine the traffic on a Saturday is very busy.

freshmint · 19/02/2011 23:20

I thought if you didn't pick up your child after 30 minutes the next call was to social services?

perhaps you should feel grateful she didn't take that step

backwardpossom · 19/02/2011 23:20

Traffic or not, it's still your fault that you weren't there for your DD. Don't you think you're going a bit over the top in wanting the teacher to be fired, FFS?!

YABU

GetOrfMoiLand · 19/02/2011 23:20

Plus texting is a daft way to communicate such a thing - as she was teaching it could well be her mobile was off. If you called her at least you would have realised this. Plus to call when you are going to be late is better manners I think.

Original poster
lividbeyondbelief · 19/02/2011 23:20

My dd is 8 years old. The other boy is 7. We were what should have been 2 minutes away by car, but took 30 minutes due to major traffic. If my health weren't an issue i could have walked it in less than five minutes.

OP posts:
BecauseImWorthIt · 19/02/2011 23:22

Well why didn't you park the car and let your DH walk there then?

You have no consideration for the teacher in all of this and so YABVU.

echt · 19/02/2011 23:22

The teacher will not be paid for lunch, either. YABU.

ENormaSnob · 19/02/2011 23:22

I think you are lucky she didn't call ss.

This is your fault. Not the teachers.

BecauseImWorthIt · 19/02/2011 23:22

And AIBU by stealth is really bad form!

Violethill · 19/02/2011 23:22

How do you know she was just going to buy lunch? How do you know she didn't have to pick up her own child? Or fulfil some other important requirement?

She was providing supervision for your child for the time agreed and paid for. What on earth do you expect her to do if you don't meet your responsibility to turn up?

If you feel your child is young enough to not be left alone, and at an age where she could be upset by being left alone, then make proper arrangements like other people do.

Bottom line is - the tutor fulfilled her requirements ; you as parents didn't meet yours.

GetOrfMoiLand · 19/02/2011 23:23

I think you are overreacting enormously.

It is your fault, not the teacher's.

freshmint · 19/02/2011 23:23

So instead of your dh walking 5 mins and getting there on time, you sat in traffic for half an hour?

Sheesh

Didn't you think that your daughter might be upset that everyone else had been picked up ages ago?

JaneS · 19/02/2011 23:24

I don't understand what else you could expect her to have done? Confused

What's the set up, exactly? Is this a school or her private home where she holds a class, or what? Were there other adults around?

JaneS · 19/02/2011 23:25

I would tba be a little bit Hmm about a teacher who left a 7-year-old out on the street in a busy area of London, even if it was because the parents were late.

Original poster
lividbeyondbelief · 19/02/2011 23:25

No where to park in the middle of a traffic jam. Plus i dont drive so he couldn't leave the car anyway.

Am shocked people think its ok to leave to small kids unsupervised in this day and age in such a big city.

OP posts: