Teacher quit and walked out

[Moonlitarsehole]

Nc'd to not out myself.

Ds informs me on the way home that his teacher walked out on his last class this afternoon.

Apparently she'd asked on numerous occasions for quiet, and threatened to not help with their coursework. Then said "fuck you lot, I quit", collected her bag and walked out.

I was like ds was vague and said he didn't want me to call the school, as they'd all had to make witness statements.

Anyway, dh is home today and asked ds if he'd been talking too (after I tell him what had happened) and really told ds off for being so disrespectful.

Ds is upstairs writing a letter of apology, not sure what the school's take is on it. Not even sure if she'll get it.

So aibu to think the teacher just lost their shit, which happens to us all?

I sometimes think that a cctv in the classroom and the resultant footage shown to the parents who refuse to believe that their dc are complicit in the poor behaviour in class rooms would be a real eye opener. I work as cover supervisor in a rural secondary and though we don't have the physically dangerous situation some have to deal with,I and many of my colleagues have been brought to tears and breakdown by poor behaviour. I go into classes with my expectations for behaviour, but unless everyone has a corporate expectation supported by management teachers are on a hiding to nothing.
I don't know whether the teacher in the op has a way back, I think there would be a disciplinary procedure in her future, there will be parents not as supportive as the op after reparation and she did swear at the class. Understandable but probably not acceptable to slt. (Though I've been close many times)

*Was it a controlled assessment? Teachers aren't supposed to help with those anyway.

OCR Gateway science controlled assessment. Insructions to student reads 'describe a trend or pattern in your results'. Marking criteria states that pupils must explain their results using detailed scientific knowledge to score the maximum 6 marks. By doing what the instrucitons say, the student scores 2.

If the teacher doesn't 'guide', the students get shit makrs. The students don't achieve their 'target' grades, the teacher doesn't achieve their performance criteria etc.

Controlled assessments for teachers are a case of damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Thank fuck they're going.

For all the people saying primary is better, whilst I would agree, I remember one teacher telling the class to 'shut the fuck up' (she was the school music teacher ) and then ran out crying, never saw her again, neither was it my class that it happened to. I also remember in year 6 we had (what is obvious to me now) an NQT and one of the boys made a petition to go round the class to get her fired, and she found it and ran out crying. He left the school though and she came back on Monday.

From high school, I only remember it the once. As I'm sure is common in most schools, we all used to try and clamp the wires with bulldog clips from 'electricity' physics lessons to each others backs. One of the 'naughty boys' somehow managed to get one onto the seat of the teachers trousers, meaning he had a perfect 'tail'. He then went to the board to write something and we all fell about laughing, he asked us what we were laughing at, nobody answered, he turned around again, we laughed etc etc. Eventually he realised, ripped it off and shouted 'idiots' before storming out of the room. He also came back the next day. A couple of weeks later my friend and I happened to go past his classroom at lunch and saw him sat at the teachers desk on his own, eating a little packed sandwich lunch and staring into the distance. We felt awful as he looked like a little lonely man and we later found out he only usually taught A level physics, but as we were the top GCSE class he took us on too.

Disclaimer: I want to naice state schools

Management are also under a huge amount of pressure not just teachers.

I agree but many management "solutions" for re-establishing discipline just involve telling the teacher to sort it out or face competency procedures. The best schools have the slt involved in dealing with pupils that don't respond to normal classroom discipline. The worst you find yourself as the lone classroom trying to impose the discipline policy but the kids know nothing will actually happen if they don't turn up to detention etc so there's no reason for them to behave. I can totally understand why someone would snap under those circumstances.

Jeez I always take lunch on my own because it's quiet!

I hope the kids don't look in and think I am a little lonely woman!

Dreamonastar
Because the teacher swore and walked out!

So because of that we shouldn't make the pupils apologise for their behaviour?

Could this really be the end of her career? For 10 seconds of losing it? Poor woman. I really hope she's ok.

You've handles this so well. Your DS will have learnt a lot.

Honestly, Boney I really sympathise with the teacher, but it doesn't sound like they were doing anything THAT bad!

Sounds more like a cumulative effect. Kids will probably feel rotten. Believe it or not most are quite nice really.

God poor woman.

Lovely to read you're on side OP x

I remember my form tutor doing similar We weren't even a bad class, on the whole, but there was a hard core of horrible, mean bitches (this was a girls school in a 'naice' area) who baited him relentlessly.

He came back the next day. Not one of us said anything to parents/other teachers - 25 of us because he was a great teacher and we didn't want to get him into any trouble, and the other 5, no idea. Id like to think they were ashamed but I doubt it

I think the only different thing about teaching is that if children are vile to you it is seen as totally your fault, as your behaviour management is ineffective. So not only are you sworn and and insulted, you are responsible for it. I am surprised not more of them crack.

Her career won't be ended , she will most likely go of sick with stress and the swearing will be excused due to mental health grounds.

Teachers need a bloody medal these days. I hope she's okay.

Dreamonastar

I agree that Most will feel rotten, I suspect that the teacher will as well, but whether or not this was cumulative or not if the teacher is expected to apologise (as MrsJM suggested) for her behaviour shouldn't we expect that from the pupils as well?

Poor teacher, hope it is not the end of her career if she doesn't want it to be. This happened when I was at school nearly 20 years ago!some of Our class was awful and they had a breakdown. This is why I never went into teaching, kids in secondary can be horrible.

My kids are at an Ofsted outstanding primary school, very affluent area. I have often been shocked at how the children behave.

One day dd came home upset, said the teacher had told them there would be no school trips that year. I prodded further, and found out that the kids had been mucking about all class. At one point the (very young) teacher had disappeared for ten minutes (crying in the toilet, I guess) and when she came back she exploded and threatened them with all sorts. Practically cancelled Christmas.

I explained to dd that grown-ups have this concept of 'Not my finest hour' and that this was it for her teacher. I said not to worry about the school trips, I was sure they would happen, but that she and all her class had to learn the lesson about behaving in class and not pushing the teacher to the point she didn't want to do nice things for them.

I was shocked next morning, at the school gate, to discover that parents had already complained. Now, if this was happening weekly I'd be tempted to have words myself, but as a one-off... well, as I said to some of the mums, which of us hasn't been there? Publicly humiliating her for crumbling under the pressure of 30 little horrors doesn't seem like a productive way to handle it.

I have walked out of a school. It was day 6 of a three week supply job. It didn't affect my career.

I imagine this school will give her a reference in return for her silence on the matter.

Teachers are not able to teach any more they just manage behaviour.

This isn't true! There are usually several instances of poor, disruptive behaviour every day in my classroom(s), but a lot of learning goes on too.

Teaching can be horrendous, but most of the time it's OK and every now and then it's absolutely brilliant. My Year 11s are 30 of the loveliest people I've ever met, and I've learnt loads from them (hope they've learnt lots from me too!). My Year 8s, on the other hand, are predominantly... um... difficult. But even in that class, there are a few smashing kids. It's not all grim.

That poor teacher. Who knows what else was going on in her head? She might have had some worrying news earlier on or even just had a bad headache. We always tell kids to try to leave their baggage at the door when they enter the classroom, but it's easier said than done.

I say things like that in my head all the bloody time. I am dreading the day it comes out of my mouth! I love the teenagers I teach but some classes are very, very challenging and the only way I get through it is to have that inner dialogue that says everything I can't say! Poor woman....she must have just had it.

It is lovely to hear of a parent expressing concern in this way. All too often we would be called unprofessional. We are human. And I think unless you've been in a difficult classroom, it's hard to understand just how awful a bunch of teenagers can make you feel.

Boney - but for chatting, one snarky comment, rowdiness?

It's bloody annoying and believe me I have been on the edge so many times with stupid stuff like that but then when the lesson ends you realise it wasn't that bad.

My concern here is that I bet those kids are mostly (mostly indeed!) feeling like shit already. I am so sympathetic but if my child had been in that class I'm not sure I'd be happy about them having to apologise when they were the ones sworn at and walked out on!

Sometimes, drawing a line is the best thing to do.

I once had some awful year 8s and lost my temper with them. Coincidentally, the following day I wasn't in for two weeks as the baby was admitted to hospital and I was granted compassionate leave. When I came back it was to apologetic kids saying they hadn't meant to drive me away - they really do take a lot on themselves at this age, even though they seem massive and mature, they aren't!

Oh I did something similar in my last day teaching.
I didn't swear. Year ten, had dealt with them trying to go into my bag, lots of low level stuff. I got fed up with them refusing to work, walking out of class and back in...six seven times a lesson. One was shouting at me you have to get me a good mark amongst other things. So I told them I didn't care if they passed or failed and I was going home. Of course lots were shouting no don't go you can't etc. The look on their faces when they realised I meant every word. Never bothered with teaching again.

These things can be down to a combination of factors. A friend of mine did the "Teach First" thing where you train whilst teaching. She was teaching maths and was placed in a really rough school. Most lessons were hell, with a number of the kids messing around, being overtly rude and/or sexually suggestive. She had mountains of coursework to do on top of marking, and had to spend a lot of her "free" time going to lectures. She persevered because of the minority of children who wanted to learn and who clearly appreciated her efforts. As time went on, however, she found herself really struggling not to burst into tears in class, and increasingly stressed. After her first term, she found herself spending the whole of Christmas working her socks off just to catch up, and dreading the new term. She decided it simply wasn't worth it, and gave up teaching forever. It was such a waste.

Oh I then worked in a hospital ( I'm a nurse) I had the most fortunate opportunity to look after one if the worst culprits. I did get to stick a needle in him and waft a swab round his bits. Karma is good.

Dreamonastar

They were asked to do something repeatedly which they didn't do.
They pushed until someone broke, shouldn't they take responsibility for their actions?

I have seen children near breaking in school corridors and pupils going over to them and deliberately saying things (sometimes one thing) to push them over the edge, the child swearing and walking (running) away.

Would you get the person being pushed to breaking point to apologise?

If the teacher had burst in to tears and run out of the room should she still apologise?
Or should the pupils?