To want action taken against the teacher?

[Shewhojuggles]

My DD is in y6 and yesterday her teacher threw a book at her in front of the whole class and told her that her work isn't good enough. She came home upset.

The teacher has apologised to her and the Head Teacher has too and said it won't happen again. AIBU to want further action taken? She's demeaned DD in front of her peers and broken the trust that a child (and me) should have in the teacher and her duty of care. I'm absolutely livid

We're all speculating unless the OP comes back and clarifies.

Yep and it's also worth asking the context of the head's apology- did the dd go to the head or did the teacher go and hold her hands up and say she thought she'd upset a pupil and was sorry so the head also found the pupil to apologise or did the mum ring in or go to the school to prompt the apology - all possible.

Why start a thread, then disappear? I don't get it.

Back in days of yore, I got the belt for messing about in class, I went home and complained bitterly about the indignity of it, only to be given another rollicking and kept in for a week . It was the first and last time that I told my mother about any punishments I received for bad behaviour . I think the OP may find that, rather than her daughter being embarrassed by the incident, she will be some sort of class hero for winding the teacher up and also getting her 'into trouble' . The OP and her daughter have now made the teachers job even harder.

Whilst not condoning the teachers actions, there's 'throw' and 'THROW' . Was the work 'rubbish' and if so - why! 30 students, some with questionable behaviour, 30 sets of parents expecting great things at exam time with often little or no support from home.

I am not, and wouldn't be a teacher for all the tea in China!

If the teacher were disciplined and the parent were given details of it, how could the teacher ever hold the attention of that class or ever teach those pupils again?
Still as a pp says, we don't have full facts from the OP who has not returned.

The school could introduce or re-affirm a no-throwing stance, without making it explicitly about that teacher or that incident.

As a parent, I don't expect any type of throwing by staff in 2014, outside of PE lessons. Certainly not in connection with poor academic work.

It's hardly controversial, is it?

That sounds perfectly reasonable Arsenic

OP what exactly happened?

OP stop dripfeeding and explain what happened with the book.

Where is the OP?!

I think the OP only made her initial post and then disappeared.
Without knowing a bit more, there's not a lot we can say about it all really. Sounds like she only heard about the book throwing and the apologies from the child, not directly herself. Perhaps it all turned out to not be quite as it first appeared, or a non-issue after all.
Rather frustrating when people want to reply, offer advice etc, after someone has asked for opinions.

Unless this is part of a wider problem, the HT would be unlikely to take any drastic action. The HT and teacher have acknowledged it crossed the line and apologised. What more do you want, your pound of flesh!!

Please remember teachers deal with all the normal stuff parents do in terms of children's tantrums and behaviours, try to teach children well and have to prove it in paperwork that is beyond ridiculous. I'm not trying to excuse the behaviour but can't someone make a mistake, own up , sincerely apologise and move on.

Those calling for disciplinary measures seem OTT.

I think a lot of this depends on context- was the book thrown at the pupil directly or on the desk? I think the former is an issue, the later not a big problem. As OP has not come to say which it was, then it's hard to know if she is being unreasonable or not.

My English teacher in high school threw a workbook down on the desk in front of me with the words "simply not good enough, I expect better from you. Do it again". I remember it well- it was the best thing he ever did. It made me realise I was coasting, and I made sure to hand only my best work to this teacher. Not because I was scared of him (I wasn't) or terrified he'd embarrass me in front of the class, but because I knew he believed in me- believed I could produce really good work and I didn't want to let him down.

The only difference I can is perhaps the OPs daughter is younger. But some parents here would have wanted to have disciplinary action taken against one of the best teachers I ever had for doing something which actually helped me achieve far more than a nice "don't you think you should try harder". I find that sad, and I while I don't think children should be hit by their teachers, simply throwing down a workbook in front of them isn't really the same thing and wanting a teacher sacked or heavily disciplined for that is a bit precious in my view.

Also, I wouldn't let this obscure the fact that there may be a problem with the standard of the OPs daughter's work. That also needs addressed.

The teacher shouldn't have done it but appropriate apologies have been received. I imagine the teacher is far more upset than your daughter so why make a bigger deal about this than necessary?
I think demanding a written apology would be totally OTT.

What more do you want, your pound of flesh!!

IF the book was thrown at the child then it's not a 'pound of flesh' to want proper action taken!

Proper action was taken; an apology and a promise that it won't happen again. Teachers are human too and sometimes they lose their cool or make mistakes, like we all do sometimes at work. If she was doing it repeatedly then yes, action should be taken. But to do so after one incident which was admitted and apologised for by both the teacher and the Head is just being vindictive, in my view.

I disagree.

Technically, if the book hit the child, she has assaulted her. And it doesn't matter if it happened in "the good old days". That doesn't make it right.

In my son's school this week, a 64 yr old TA lost her rag when a 15 yr old boy swore at her and struck/ tapped him on the shoulder. The teacher was instantly remoresful and offerred her resignation. the police were involved, the boy has ended up on the front page of the local paper and local facebook sites have been rife discussing the situation. I feel terribly sorry for all involved and the school and can't help feeling it has been blown out of all proportions and could have been easily resolved with an apology from both sides. However the mum clearly isn't going to let it go and it has got out of hand.

Technically maybe. But in practise it was probably a moment's hasty action, or even a misjudged aim. Unless the teacher has form for this type of thing I would graciously accept the apology rather than getting bogged down in the technicalities of the situation.

Still waiting for clarification of the what was thrown and where it landed, but...

'Was her work poor?'

I couldn't give a shit, this is totally irrelevant. Some work wont be good. Doesn't mean losing it and chucking stuff around the classroom is ok. Unhelpful, unprofessional.

If there is a problem with her work that is a totally different issue for further discussion.

Is your dd ok to continue after the apology? If not I'd be taking it further.

I totally accept that teaching is hard. I couldn't do it. Maybe she shouldn't be.

Meh.

It's horses for courses, I guess.

I wouldn't be graciously accepting anything if an adult threw something AT my child, with the aim of hitting her.

However, if it was an accident and/or the book was thrown at the desk then an apology would be fine.

There are a couple of issues here about responding to issues like this.

Firstly, there is the issue of parents accepting that schools have procedures for dealing with situations like these. They are laid down and will be applied. Are parents willing to accept that the schools will deal with staff appropriately? Parents need to accept that they will not be told the details of any disciplinary action.....it would be entirely inappropriate, considering that in most cases, the staff member continues to work with the pupils and parents. Any disciplinary procedures are personal and private.

Secondly, what about a proportionate response? In this case we don't really know what happened, because the OP never returned after the first post (which in itself suggests to me that the incident might have been exaggerated or turned out to be less serious than she initially thought....was never clear if the parent had been involved at all, or was responding simply to what the DD had said)
Whilst teachers do need to behave appropriately and to face follow-up if they don't , I feel there are some parents on here who hugely over-react to anything which happens to their child (often without the full facts being established first) and then demand massive and dis-proportionate repercussions. Their first reaction to their child describing what has happened (often incompletely) is to be furious with the school and want all kinds of major action taken.
Surely the first response should ways be to gather information first......find out exactly what happened. This involves talking to the school, and being rational rather than angry is likely to result in more information being gained. The school is not the enemy, but some parents like to see them as such. They are always looking for something to complain about,to insist on their rights or point out a violation of rights, or to see their child being victimised and never in the wrong.

We don't know exactly what happened here....whether a book was thrown onto the desk and hit the pupil, or if it was thrown at the pupil. We don't know if this teacher has done this kind of thing before or never in a 25 year old career. WE DONT KNOW. Therefore we cannot say what should happen.
If we were parents in this situation, we would need to contact the school and gather more information. And in the vast majority of cases we should accept the schools action plan, without knowing the full details of it. And then we should try to move on. This child needs to complete Year 6. She doesn't need to be caught up in a big argument with the school, which drags on and is brought up frequently at home. She needs to know that her parents and the school have spoken about it and it is being dealt with. End of.

When parents react so quickly on a thread like this, which has such limited information about what happened, I always wonder what they must be like in real life. Do they react so hastily and just jump in demanding a sacking then too? Or do they ask the crucial questions first? It am in no way advocating teachers throwing stuff at kids or getting away with it if they do....but I am advocating that parents find out what has happened first and in the majority of cases believe the school when they say they will deal with it.

Chocolate That's a good post. I've always felt that being rational (and yes, assertive) is way better than being angry.