Teachers comment about 'concentration camp' (secondary school)

[JacobsAngel]

A teacher at my child's school, known for their passive aggressive attitude (and boring lessons-relevant) made a comment to the class and said " you're not in a concentration camp" aibu to think this is inappropriate?

Apparently the class were unenthusiastic and unresponsive (and probably bored) to the way the lesson was being delivered so the teacher tried to, well not quite sure what they were trying to get the class to do by saying what they did as all they got back were confused looks and whispers.

My child wasn't the only one to say, after the class had dispersed, they felt it an inappropriate comment.

Ironically the class have been studying the Holocaust in a different subject class so are well aware of what a concentration camp was, hence the startled looks from some of the children and hushed comments.

Should something be said to the school or view it as a faux pas by a teacher who really should engage their brain before they open their mouth?

I must have missed the point where the fact OP's DC have said the lessons are boring is relevant.

The teacher is there to teach, not entertain. There are lessons of 'get on with it hard work'. (Dear me, i get on great with my gcse class bit there are some dry 'sit ajd get on lessons')

Sounds like there's a bunch of students there who blame the teacher for not bending over backwards to entertain them and use that to justify poor attitude to learning.
Teacher gets exasperated and makes maybe not the best comment but hardly the worst and then precious DCs go home and telly mummy about how awful the teacher is.
That way if the students don't acheive their parents willbe ready to call the school and lambast the teacher's teaching rather than tell their darlings to pull their finger out.

Are those comments a bit stupid, though? Or are they not just asking students in a way they will understand to reflect that they are blowing their own minor complaints out of proportion? The phrase 'first world problems' is often also used.

Sorry those comments refers to Susan's point above.

I think it is a tasteless comment. I’m sure none of us would think it was acceptable to say ‘at least you aren’t being murdered, raped or tortured’. Rightly that would be seen as tasteless and pretty appalling.

Pretty sure, with the exception of 'raped' that people would think that was okay to say. E.g. 'god, you'd think I was torturing you from the sounds you're making, I only asked you to write a 500 word essay'. Obviously it's not okay to say raped because of the sexual connotation, but I hear murder and torture referred to on a frequent basis. How many times in your life have you said you are 'going to kill' someone because you are annoyed with them? Is that not hugely disrespectful to anyone who has been unlawfully killed.

Why are you trying to be professionally offended?

Are those comments a bit stupid, though? Or are they not just asking students in a way they will understand to reflect that they are blowing their own minor complaints out of proportion? The phrase 'first world problems' is often also used.

Well, I actually agree with you 100% there about first world problems. But I guess the stupid bit is that it makes no difference to the children in Sudan whether someone in England eats their dinner. But yes, the point about first world problems is exactly the point the teacher was making here. I.e. get a grip, it's not like you're being locked up in horrific inhumane conditions and left to starve. Which I would 100% say to some snot-nosed kid who whined about their human rights being breached because they had their iphone confiscated for a few hours.

I think parents should be held to the same standards as teachers, after all, children spend far more time with them. Perhaps body cams could become standard wear, and appropriate sanctions for inappropriate behaviour and language applied across the land. I don’t mind being held to account by the morally impeccable.

ladyisabella beat me to it
Aushwitz, Dachau etc were actually extermination camps.
Concentration camps were “invented” by The Brits during the Boer war to group possible dissenters together - they weren’t exactly holiday camps but the 2 things are different.
Anyway, OP you are over reacting

Thinking back to my own science lessons, I don't remember them being ' fun'. Neither was maths. They are core subjects that have to be taught. I did very well in both science and maths though.
If we weren't performing well in maths the teacher would scream at us, imply we were thick and rant about how much nicer it must be to teach in a school within a better area. I remember him screaming that at more middle class schools students went on to oxbridge, unlike where I was. The implication being that we were working class scum. He would then pick up the wooden board rubber and hurl it into us. Several times it would smack someone straight across the head.

Please call in and complain, it will give the teachers a laugh on Monday morning

Honestly as someone with Jewish family I find what was said pretty offensive myself.

As have I. OP is over reacting.

I do think that there needs to be two way communication between parents and teachers. Obviously it needs to be done in a professional, respectful way. However, a good teacher will want to know if - in an unguarded moment s/he has said something that has caused offence. They can avoid repeating that particular remark.

It's also the case that their training is quite generic and/or that their specialism in a particular subject, means there will be areas where parents are better informed than they are.

Parents will - quite rightly - get upset if teachers misspell words, make grammatical errors and mark work incorrectly. They'll want to feed this back to the school, while also thinking about what is the best way to raise this issue. I think inappropriate allusions to the Shoah - or indeed to similar atrocities committed in the name of the British Empire - are equally deserving of concern.

In a previous job, I organised Holocaust Memorial Day educational events. That means I am quite well aware of the links between the Shoah and other genocides.

Pretty sure, with the exception of 'raped' that people would think that was okay to say. E.g. 'god, you'd think I was torturing you from the sounds you're making, I only asked you to write a 500 word essay
This week I've told students:
'Oh poor you. Writing in a GCSE lesson. Mean Mrs Pops. It's not going to kill you though'
'yes we are doing an assessment today. Why? Because obviously I enjoy making your lives miserable and torturing your souls for all eternity.'
Both said with a smile.

I've also made silly gestures cutting my own head off when a student has started to do something annoying like tapping a pen or whispering when I said silence. Thankfully nobody seriously thought it was a thread to chop their head off.

I'd be in stitches in the staff room if someone called up to report me.

I think when people in the UK say concentration camps most people will assume they mean the holocaust.

Of course there were others and more generally there are terrible genocides that should be far better known and understood like the Armenian genocide in 1915.

I personally wouldn’t complain about this. Just think it’s crass and tasteless.

Harriet he is teaching science, not history. What about his comment do you think implies that he doesn't know enough about the Holocaust to continue teaching science? He said 'it's not like you are in a concentration camp'. Are you saying that is wrong or misinformed? He meant that they should get a grip and stop whining about nothing. Is that wrong?

I feel for teachers these days.

I think as part of ongoing professional development that teachers need to have an awareness of the impact learning about history acn have and also about students' likely sensitivities.

Many students - whatever their background - are shocked when they first learn about their Shoah as part of studying World War II. This is something I observed in the events that I was involved in facilitating

This seems to explain why this class then reacted to an adult's dismissive reference to 'concentration camps'.

Additionally teachers need to be know that particular students might be from a background which makes such references especially offensive.

To give an analogy if a teacher whose class included black students had to work in a smaller than usual classroom and students complained about the lack of space would it be appropriate to 'joke', 'Okay we're not on a slave ship.'?

HarrietSmith what about the other way round? Pupils should be made aware of teachers' sensitivities too, I've had some pretty horrendous things said to me by students, as have colleagues...

I think as part of ongoing professional development that teachers need to have an awareness of the impact learning about history acn have and also about students' likely sensitivities.

OK, I know I should just ignore and not feed the Harriet, but:

-How would you pay for this?

-Have you considered that it's a bit patronising to imagine that a group of people who all have degrees and tend towards being academic are in need of extra training about history?

-Do you imagine that everyone agrees that mitigating 'student's likely sensitivities' should be a goal of education? Have you considered that teaching kids resilience and tolerance (i.e. the opposite of what you want) might be a valid goal?

-How grey do you want the world to be? Is there a point at which policing of other's language should stop? If not this example, then where?

• Why do you keep going on about the Holocaust? This teacher never mentioned it.

The above says all I need to know about YOU and your child and makes me care not one bit about what this teacher did or didn't say. You are every teachers worst nightmare OP and I have no doubt you encourage your child to follow your path. But whilst you're bitching about the teacher with other parents and children(and the your own words make it crystal clear you do just that) , I'm sure they're chuckling about YOU in the staffroom so please, by all means, tell the school how you feel. I get the impression they'd be well used to it

I couldn't have put it better myself.

The teacher said something to shock the class into paying attention. It worked.

i had a complaint made about me once because a child told me they had fallen over and because they were neither bleeding nor crying or indeed showing any distress whatsoever, i said 'you'll live''

cue parent writing complaining letter to head teacher

Crunch time
I work with preschoolers
I often say. Shall I cut it off?
Shall I resign now?

seriously - why do people (students and parents) get offended so easily rather than engage their brain and think, contextualize etc. Also, OP, you were not in the class, so it s hearsay.

sorry for secondary teachers who have to deal with that crap - at least, at university, when they call us with a "comment" we can remind them that their little darling is an adult and that we won t discuss any student with a parent.

Definitely over involved in your child’s school life.

It’s a non issue. Do parents never tell their children that if they don’t turn the music down they’re going to kill them? Or that their bedroom looks like a WW2 bomb has just detonated and if it’s not sorted you’ll go and find aforementioned bomb to hurl in there?

I think the term get a grip comes to mind.

Agree!
I am sick of people thinking teachers are performing clowns. They are there to learn it is not a disco.