Actually, I hadn’t pissed off, I had decided that I didn’t want to participate any longer as the tone of this thread had become extremely unpleasant, and that had never been my intention. Perhaps it’s just the bearpit nature of the AIBU arena, in that many posters see it as an opportunity to pronounce judgement from the safety of their online anonymity. Not so very different to trolling, is it?
To be clear, this was not meant as a ‘teacher bashing’ exercise. As I had said in a previous post, I respect and admire the noble profession of teaching. From my limited experience of assisting in class, it requires an enormous amount of skill, dedication and endurance to be a teacher. I couldn’t do it. In my life, there have been teachers who have inspired and championed me. They have held my hand and encouraged me and I will never forget them. But along with those memories, I still recall the one that humiliated and abused me. Let’s not pretend that teaching is somehow not susceptible to bad practice.
I still retain a respect for authority that was instilled in me as a child, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t question authority when I feel it merits questioning. They may be overworked and undervalued at times (aren’t we all?) but teachers, just like anyone else, are not beyond gentle reproach.
Of course this was nothing in comparison to current world events. Nobody died. World War III did not break out. Thanks to those of you who felt it necessary to comment thus. If we used that line of argument every time we felt like questioning something, we would just give up, the status quo would be maintained, and nothing would ever change. Not very democratic I’d say.
The only question there ever was in my mind is this: is it acceptable to deny a thirsty child a drink of water (from his water bottle) when others around him are drinking? Yes, drinking was allowed on the bus. Yes, the bottle was in his bag, which was under the teacher’s seat directly behind him and not inaccessible. Yes, I completely believe his story as I questioned him at length. Yes, he is completely and utterly forgetful when it comes to personal belongings, but not when it comes to retelling events, which requires a very different kind of intelligence (how can you not get that BoGrainger and that other one). Yes, he had spent the day on the beach and was very thirsty. Yes, he is an 8 year old boy, not an adult, not even nearly.
Thank you to all of you who have read this thread and taken the time to comment.