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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think this headteacher was wrong

127 replies

ellielong · 26/10/2018 10:54

story

Surely whatever the parent posted in her Facebook was her own private business?

OP posts:

davisday · 26/10/2018 11:07

If it was her own private business school would not have seen it....

Oakmaiden · 26/10/2018 11:15

Presumably the mother also took it to the press... hmmm...

I think it was bad enough that a complaint to the school was worthwhile. If children are supposed to take a pride in their work then teachers should too, and the errors are enough that a single proof reading would have caught them. However, why pout it on facebook in the first place, if not to try to shame the teacher who handed it out? Let alone go to the press...

RoseRuby26 · 26/10/2018 11:21

Facebook is not private. It you post something about the school it nearly always gets back to them if you have a lot of school parents on FB. It's certainly NOT the platform to complain about a teacher / school. Go directly to the school. I know how upset I've been about parents posting on FB about me but call them in and they deny there's a problem 90% of the time.

olympicsrock · 26/10/2018 11:24

Rude of the mother to put it on Facebook.

newrubylane · 26/10/2018 11:26

Well he was wrong that it was defamatory - it's not defamation if it's demonstrably true!

Sethis · 26/10/2018 11:27

On the one hand: Social media is probably the single worst invention ever, in terms of the amount of abuse and criticism teachers receive from parents and children.

On the other hand, as a teacher myself, I don't understand the circumstances in which any teacher could possibly give this as homework. At the very least if it's an internet download, you proofread it. If it's original material you should be able to create something better than this. Even a sports teacher could do better than this.

PipLongStockings · 26/10/2018 11:32

I think it depends on what she said when putting on Facebook or.

Any parents with this homework that can give us some advise?
Wtf is the school setting shite homework what complete morons that haven't got a clue

AnnieAnoniMouse · 26/10/2018 11:42

On the other hand, as a teacher myself [...] Even a sports teacher could do better than this

Ouch.

Are you this openly full of contempt for the sports teachers at your school?

OP - she was unreasonable.
If you have issues with the school, don’t plaster them all over Facebook, have the decency to address them with the school. As YOU would wish yourself, surely.

Rebecca36 · 26/10/2018 11:43

Facebook is not private so no-one can complain about comments on their posts.

It was stupid of the woman to post her daughter's homework on F/B - even if it was crap homework. I wonder what her daughter felt about it, frankly.

It might have been better to draw the teacher's attention to the errors in the homework rather than go public. She won't have been the only parent to notice.

Thank goodness there was no facebook when I or my kids were at school! What a dreadful invention and what kind of head teacher has a public F/B account.

littleducks · 26/10/2018 11:43

I suppose it depends on the comment made alongside but tbh that picture needs little comment.

Alongside the errors it has a real cultural superiority tone to it too

davisday · 26/10/2018 11:47

The correct response would have been to contact the school regarding errors in the homework.

Putting it on Facebook is not really an intelligent response.

sussexman · 26/10/2018 11:52

I would have started by contacting the school directly, not by posting in a public forum. Why do people do this as a first step? He says, posting on a public forum.

BlackrockMum · 26/10/2018 11:53

yes I think the head teacher was very very wrong , not only because he threatened taking an action for defamation, I don't see how this post had the effect of damaging the good reputation of someone; it was neither slander or libel, the parent wasn't saying take your children out of the school this is the sort of poor work named X person does... head teacher had chance to comment on how poor the work set was, what action he had done and apologise, instead he went all huffy and threatening

SassitudeandSparkle · 26/10/2018 11:55

FB isn't the place to raise this kind of issue though, is it? Why didn't she just speak to the teacher? Even if it was on a parents-of-the-school type group no need for the photo.

wentmadinthecountry · 26/10/2018 11:55

Thinking what my year 3s/4s would make of this homework. Maybe I'll set it next week and see...

CuriousaboutSamphire · 26/10/2018 11:57

As an ex sports teacher...* I most certainly would have done better than that.

HT is wrong. There is no defamation, any assertion made by the parent is demonstrably true! That is a shockingly bad cross word!

such a stupid thing to say Sethis* I bet you are an absolute joy in the staffroom!

SilverDragonfly1 · 26/10/2018 12:01

The school shall continue to support learning at home??

Time for some top down grammar lessons.

ciderhouserules · 26/10/2018 12:04

Even a sports teacher could do better than this - most schools don't even have 'sports teachers' these days. Our local one did, but he moved on (to private), and they couldn't afford to replace him (And even when he was 'just' a Sports teacher, he taught other stuff too) The 'sports teacher' is one of the other teachers. Who now has 'Sports' to teach, as well.

multivac · 26/10/2018 12:04

"the post was defamatory towards the school and that it breached data protection guidelines."

Utter rubbish, on both counts. I am so fed up with ignorant people bleating 'GDPR' every time they want to stop someone doing something.

multivac · 26/10/2018 12:06

And I've shared loads of shocking examples of homework tasks my kids have been given on social media over the years. As well as excellent ones. Sometimes in amusement, sometimes in despair.

Brokendown18 · 26/10/2018 12:08

It's a bad piece of homework alright. But is it a one off? Any chance the (human being) who set it might have done it at midnight after an exceptionally long day? Or an evening of caring for a sick child, or supporting a parent with dementia? Possibly they had just been out on the piss the day before and wrote it with a tremendous hangover. Point being we don't know, and the employee in question has now, as well as having this on Facebook, had it publicised in the press and on mumsnet.
There is a strange gleefulness with which people greet mistakes from teachers.

Piggywaspushed · 26/10/2018 12:11

I am a governor and also on a local community Facebook page. It drives me to distraction how many gripes about the lovely local school have been rabble rousing of late (like MN always around holiday times!). Said parents always seem surprised when the head/ deputy phones them up the next day and asks to discuss matters!

One charming individual recently even complained about the school when they phoned her up and that set people off opining about'spies' on the local FB group, as if teachers and governors aren't allowed to be members of communities!

Problems should always be taken directly to schools.

What is interesting is posters always say on Facebook that the school is ignoring them or 'doing nothing' and usually it transpires that school first knew of the issues from a reported facebook post.

Oh well, it's one way of getting attention to your case, I guess...

Piggywaspushed · 26/10/2018 12:14

although... I would say in this case it is a) a storm in a teacup (interesting that the mum went to the press though!) and b) shit homework!

BitOutOfPractice · 26/10/2018 12:17

It's not defamation if it's true (which it is - the homework is shocking!)

Thisreallyisafarce · 26/10/2018 12:19

I think it's really OTT to post ignore on Facebook.

As to whether it is defamatory, I am not sure you can defame a person? Anyway, I think it's probably in the school's social media policy that parents shouldn't slag off the school online. Whether we agree with that or not, I suspect she signed it.

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