AIBU to ask you how to deal with idiot teachers?

[DaysDragonBy]

Fuming right now. Had all sorts of shit from the school, but this takes the biscuit. DS has broken his wrist. It is in a cast and in a sling. He is under instructions from the doctor not to hold anything in his affected hand for three weeks. He is not to take the sling off at school.

His teacher knows this. His TA knows this. He has SN - ADHD and ASD.

He had art today. The art teacher told him to hold something in his hand. He said he couldn't. She took his fucking sling off and made him hold it in his hand with the broken wrist whilst he did something to it with the other hand.

I am absolutely furious, he said he told her he wasn't allowed to and she told him he has to anyway. Half way through the class his TA came in and took it off him thank god. But why the fuck do teachers think they know better than the injured child? I've told him, if anyone ever says that to him again whilst he has his cast on, he is to refuse, be as rude and he wants and tell them to call me.

In the interests of honesty, there is a bit of conflict with the school over this teacher at the moment.
It is the same teacher who has a tendency to waffle when giving instructions and complains when DS can't follow. When I requested that she made a bullet point summary at the end of her instructions I was told it is not fair to expect teachers to change their teaching style because one child in the class has SN.

@DaysDragonBy it came across that way "idiot teachers" ie teachers are idiots....

Not nice
Not right
Not going to help your situation

Well this teacher does sound like an idiot. Do you not think so?

I am waiting for a thread about how teachers deal with idiot parents

Bloody hell the number of times I see threads where people are told not to be that parent and there are forums and articles full of the various ways patents are seen to be a pain in the arses of teachers.

I can well believe the ok, another parent of a child with sn who has had numerous occasions where medical advice has been ignored or the opposite directly done either through lack of communication or that particular teacher/TA deciding they know best.

As for the proffered alternative - change schools.....there have been times I would have lived to, but .....which school? Let me know where it is and we're there! Or homeschool....er, no thanks it would not be in ds's best interests and we shouldn't have to home school, people should do their jobs properly!

I think you need to separate your understandable anger at the idiot teacher from the bigger picture here.

There is obviously a lack of communication between teachers at the school, and as a result your child could potentially be harmed. I would be very clear about pointing out the consequences of beating weight with a broken wrist and putting your child’s health and well-being at risk.

This is a safeguarding issue, which is a very big deal in schools, and the teachers knows that she will be in trouble.

Send a letter to the head but keep it civil. They will need to take this seriously.

bearing weight, beating would probably be even worse...

Hmm. Although I agree that I would never remove a child's sling, or ask them to use an injured part of their body in a way they were telling me wasn't possible for them, she has a point about not being told. Technically, unless she has been provided with correct medical information that the child cannot use his hand at all, I can't see how she can be held accountable for asking him to do so.

If you take it further, why would it be a problem for the class teacher?

This art teacher is terrified that you're (quite rightly) going to drop her right in it.

Please take it as far as you can.

The fact this teacher phoned you from her personal mobile is worrying and never recommended except in exceptional circumstances.

You need answers to several questions.
Whyy was the information you provided the school with not passed to all concerned?
Why did a teacher feel the need to insist you ds held something in a hand that had a plaster?
Why did they move a sling which is to support and position the arm?
And key, where is your son's voice here? How dare any teacher feel that they don't need to listen to your child!

I teach and like any group of people some are great, some are ok and some are awful. Most do try their best but unfortunately not all and they have no place in the classroom. Please contact the head and discuss this in a calm way where you can put your points accross clearly. Explain about todays incident and that this teacher said without a ta your son does nothing, not good enough that is why we differentiate and ensure we at least try to engage everyone.
Best of luck and i hope your son is ok

I also hope most people don't think all teachers are idiots or bad as most of us try our best and genuinely care for your children.

OP has said her child told her he couldn't use the arm or take the sling off, and she overrode him.

Don't see why she couldn't listen to him?

Now then, you know teachers are the chosen ones who can do no wrong. I've had 3 children who have gone through the education system and I can count on one hand the amount of decent teachers they've had

I'm in a primary school.

You would be insane not to take this further, in writing.

She is actively trying to cover her butt and throwing many, many reasons why you should leave it ... sounds like she's already had complaints, is on warnings... please don't leave it.

Some people shouldn't be teaching.

Nice to see yet another school threads with the usual ridiculous claims that teachers are apparnetly some holy higher being who must never be questioned.

OP
It sounds like the teacher has screwed up in this situation.

We do get students who've got a small break who'll claim they can't possibly do anything at all but then go to DT and tell their DT teachers they're allowed to use some of the tools becaus it's not their hand so the teacher may not be lying on that front. I've heard my fair share of inconsistent injury tales.

However, the default position on anything in a plaster cast should be don't use it at all. Even if a child tells me they can write (because they cba to go to learning support for a netbook) is told no unless home write me a note.

There seem to be a number of issues with the teacher in this situation. Personally, to move forward I would decide what the pressing ones are and have some idea in your head about the sort of outcome or resolution you'd like to see.
You'll need to lose the furious idiot teacger approach to resolve this though.
Contact the head of department and speak to them first then follow up the phone call with an email. Contrary to MN wisdom, going straight to the head in a secondary school tends not to get you the head's ear. Their admin staff will forward it straight to head of department anyway.
And if the teacher is a total idiot, the likelihood is that department leadership will know they are a bloody idiot. Whilst leadership have to walk a delicate line with how much we say to parents (for obvious reasons), we do know who the idiots and the poor staff are.

How dare any teacher feel that they don't need to listen to your child!

Hmm. I override children every day at school. Not usually on something like this, but it is a perfectly normal part of teaching to tell a child they need to do something they don't want to do. The teacher may be an idiot, but I don't think 'how dare she not listen to a 7 year old' is the best way to go here.

And to be honest, nor do I believe a doctor would have said do not take your sling off for 3 weeks.

I don't believe I wrote that and I'm not going back to check now. We were advised that he doesn't take his sling off at school. Which is all that concerns the teachers. At home I can monitor him that he doesn't pick anything up. Due to his ASD the doctors and I decided it was easier for him to enforce a clear boundary and be simpler on the teachers. Sling always at school, he can take it off at home.

OP, get yourself over to the SN board.

The teacher thinking they don't have to change their teaching style for a child with SN is both morally and legally incorrect. Differentiation (adaptations designed to ensure that EVERY child in the room is able to make progress, because they're all different, even those without SN) is a core professional competency. Which this teacher appears to be failing at.

Differentiation (adaptations designed to ensure that EVERY child in the room is able to make progress, because they're all different, even those without SN) is a core professional competency. Which this teacher appears to be failing at.

Along with about 200,000 other teaching professionals. It really is more tricky than it sounds. If any teacher in the U.K. is differentiating for EVERY child who needs something different in order to make good progress (unless dealing with a top set of NT children, making it unnecessary), I will eat my hat.

I would think overriding a child stating medical advice would be extremely foolhardy bordering on a safeguarding concern no matter what the age, surely?

Nice to see yet another school threads with the usual ridiculous claims that teachers are apparnetly some holy higher being who must never be questioned

I get so fed up with this on MN. Same with any post critical of the NHS or police. Regardless of how utterly cunty the individuals involved obviously are, the MN echo chamber all pile on to make pious little comments about how glorious teachers / police bla bla are. Just fuck off with that and use some fucking judgement.

Op that teacher sounds like an absolute knob and if I were you I'd document all of your concerns in a letter to the Head. Include the fact the teacher kept insisting that you shouldn't do so. At the very least you have a written record then should anything happen with this specific teacher in the future. She also sounds as if she's completely inadequate to be teaching an SN child which is worrying.

Thing is though @Thisreallyisafarce burbling away and not being concise and then not providing a precis of your waffle would surely affect a number of pupils? Isn't it good practice to be clear and concise?

BishopBrennansArse

It could be. It depends what it is. If a child told me their doctor told them they couldn't draw straight lines on a Monday I would ignore them.

In 99% of cases I would check with a HOY or parent.

But the teacher has a point if nobody has told her the child is excused from any activities requiring the use of that hand. Why on earth wasn't she told?

MeanQueenHalloween*
Agreed.
It can however be a nightmare when you have 6 children with competing (and sometimes mutually exclusive) requirements. At times it can be a case of balancing act, but then no classroom is 100% ideal of every child at any time but the overall approach should be 'how do I help support each child'.

BishopBrennansArse

Yes, but - with respect to 7 year olds - it isn't their role to tell me when I am not being concise. I am aware of the need to keep instructions as brief and clear as possible (best for everyone) but some children will still say they are confused when the instruction has been simplified as far as is possible. That doesn't mean I am waffling.

@Dljlr you see you and @DaysDragonBy have very similar, aggressive, angry posting styles

*I get so fed up with this on MN. Same with any post critical of the NHS or police. Regardless of how utterly cunty the individuals involved obviously are, the MN echo chamber all pile on to make pious little comments about how glorious teachers / police bla bla are. Just fuck off with that and use some fucking judgement.

Op that teacher sounds like an absolute knob and if I were you I'd document all of your concerns in a letter to the Head. Include the fact the teacher kept insisting that you shouldn't do so. At the very least you have a written record then should anything happen with this specific teacher in the future. She also sounds as if she's completely inadequate to be teaching an SN child which is worrying.*

Can you see the same aggressive similarities? No doubt you would share the same views really!