Should a male teacher have done this?

[mycatisannoying]

During a residential school trip, enter a girls' shared dorm to wake them up?
To my mind it's a safeguarding issue, and there was also a female teacher on the trip who could have done it.
I wanted to seek others' opinions before raising it.
Thanks.

Not sure what is unclear about the OPs statement that a male teacher went into the girls dorm to wake them?Its extremely clear to me. As are her motives, to ask if she is reasonable to think it inappropriate.
How is that irresponsible? Its anonymous.
If it didn't happen, as some are suggesting, and no teacher out there has done this then no one's going to recognise themselves in a made up scenario.

If it did happen and is perfectly acceptable, as others are suggesting, then there must be countless male teachers who it might apply to, all safe in the knowledge they're in the right and some people on MN are 'hysterical'.
Clearly some people become very uncomfortable and defensive at any suggestion men may have behaved inappropriately. That's something they need to deal with. We absolutely cannot return to a time when women were unable to raise, discuss and question male behaviour. Its a huge step backwards to a time when all manner of abuse and impropriety was swept under the carpet and tolerated in silence.

Similarly, why do we have to assume that men are all potential predators? Even when they've been checked?

Would people kick off if your child needed to be transported urgently by ambulance to hospital and both paramedics were male?

OP still hasn't told us exactly what happened. So many assumptions.

Did he knock? Did he stand in the doorway and say it was time to get up? Did he flick the light on and leave?

I think he did something harmless but that doesn't suit OP's agenda.

Can people stop having personal spats? MN have asked politely once.

Has the OP said how he woke them up? Was it stand in the doorway, switch on the lights and call out "time to get up now", Or did he sit on their beds and pat the duvet? I don't think you can make a judgement on this without more context.

I'm not assuming he's a predator. That doesn't stop me believing his behaviour inappropriate. Behaviour doesn't have to be sexually motivated in order to fall short of good practise, invade privacy and make women and girls uncomfortable. It could be motivated by thoughtlessness or stupidly. It doesn't make it any more acceptable. Men don't fall into two camps, predators and saints. It's perfectly possible to not be a sexual predator but display other aspects of behaviour that require correction.

We don't assume that all men are predators. We acknowledge that some are. All teachers understand the need to follow basic safeguarding procedures. Those who insist on pushing the boundaries should be treated with suspicion.

If we removed all safeguarding policies and procedures, teachers wouldn't all become paedophiles. But paedophiles would become teachers.

There are procedures in all workplaces. If it were commonplace for paramedics to have unmonitored, one on one contact with children or other vulnerable patients, then this would certainly draw predators to the profession.

Safeguarding is not a personal attack. No one owes anyone a special " certified safe to break the rules" sticker. People aren't props in validating your husbands /sons/brothers good character.

Those good ones understand the rules are there for a reason and they don't break them and they don't take them personally.

Anyone who thinks they don't apply to them is someone we should be suspicious of.

Op I'm quite shocked you're getting such a negative response - my instinct is that it's inappropriate too. There is a brilliant monologue by Michaela Cole in 'I may destroy you' about men who tip toe on the line, where the boundaries are not clear, where neither right nor wrong exists. And this is when our senses can kick in but we get gaslight for it.

I have a number of friends that are male teachers and they're v aware of their position of power. They go to great lengths to avoid enforcing the uniform policy in girls for example, as they undertsand the context of rape culture in which they would be telling a girl child to pull her skirt down.. I'm going off piste but I think relevant.

OP still hasn't told us exactly what happened. So many assumptions.
Did he knock? Did he stand in the doorway and say it was time to get up? Did he flick the light on and leave?

I think it was perfectly clear he entered the room. She says so in the very first sentence, and makes it pretty clear in further posts:

...enter a girls' shared dorm to wake them up

A male teacher in a room of sleeping 13 year old girls. It doesn't sit right with me.

It was my daughter who felt uncomfortable at him entering the room. How do you think the discussion even arose? I was hardly going to ask her who had woken them up in the mornings!

Enter: verb. 1. come or go into a place "she entered the kitchen"

It doesn't mean stand at the door and knock, or lean against the doorpost and whistle. It means he went inside their room.

As she also points out in her OP, it is a safeguarding issue, and as numerous teachers and others have pointed out, his behaviour was against guidelines.

I hardly think that is having "an agenda".

Absolutely unacceptable and you are correct it is a safeguarding issue and needs to be raised with the school. In the past, I have been in charge on a residential trip and had a male teacher do this. He was told, in no uncertain terms, never to do this again. (Roll on thirty years and he is now a convicted sex offender.)

Interesting, @RedRedbone .
A definite indicator.

Exactly this, @334bu

I really hope OP that you put what occurred in writing to the school.

MN is full of posters that love to explain away and deny bad male behaviour.

As a parent if my child came home with that code word story I would be raising it with the school.

That male teacher should not have entered that dorm.

This is so basic and in this day and age is well known by schools and teachers.

Why did he choose to ignore basic safe guarding.

The code word incident can be verified.

Asking the school these questions is tge right thing to do.

My first instinct was regardless of the way this was being raised here, this teacher's behavior was either pushing or 'just' treading on boundaries, but I wasn't sure if I was overreacting.

Ds works across a group of schools, often directly with students, not in classrooms, and unexpected/potentially awkward situations are commonplace.
So I asked him if this was anyway questionable or perfectly reasonable?

His response was "Whoa!" "Someone needs to update his safeguarding training!"
He also said the code word was "weird behavior" and it all sounds "unprofessional."

Reiterated that safe guarding rules are there for everyone's protection and comfort and neither every teacher nor every child is beyond questionable behavior whether directly intentional, or subconsciously led.

He also pointed out that what sex anyone is, is neither here nor there in an era of gender and sexual fluidity, and he's equally cautious around male pupils as a whole.

Also asked him what would happen in his schools if this 'situation came to him as pupil or parent 'gossip' about a colleague.

He said he'd automatically report it up the line, and would expect the colleague would either be hotly denying events as claimed, or would say no intent behind it and be told it was poor judgement and would be required to undertake further safe guarding training, for everyone's safety and reputation.

Not appropriate
years ago 1976 I was horrified when my friend told me on a school trip make teacher walked in on them to wake them and they were undressed …
i was 12 years old and knew this was wrong

And people wonder why there are so few male teachers now

Amen to some of the stuff said here. A few years ago, working in school admissions, I had a mum refuse a place at a school, because the reception teacher was male "and all male primary teachers are paedophiles".

Tbh I think YABU and a bit ridiculous - your comments sounds like there a few thugs going on and you don’t like him - bring it up with the school but don’t make him out to be some kind of pervert

What are you saying, @riceuten?
Safeguarding policies should be slackened because of one ignorant, idiotic parent?.

Teacher gives up own time to go on residential, would not be paid be extra either and gets accused of predatory behaviour for telling students to get up . Students who would be fully covered as they are in a room together. Teachers just shouldn't bother putting thenselves at risk of hysterical, dodgy parents with dirty minds.

My ex was a Teacher and is now standing trial for multiple child sex abuse charges. Everyone trusted him because he was a Teacher and had passed all DBS checks . He was a predator who groomed young children and was a bully and fortunately has now been caught . Do not ever assume just because someone is a Teacher that automatically means they are above reproach. A male Teacher going into a dormitory with girls IS a concern - with all the safeguarding training he would have received he would have known not to do that - to protect himself from accusations and to protect the children . Also his behaviour around the phone was bullying . Most Teachers are nice and genuinely like children and teaching but sadly some are bullies who are pretty inadequate in every other aspect of their lives so enjoy having power and control over children and abuse that power . Schools are more interested in protecting their staff and reputation then listening to complaints against their Teachers so the poor children have nowhere to turn and end up hating school .

No way. The Female Teacher should have gone into the dorm room to wake them up, never a male teacher and the same the other way too.

We don't know he went into the room. OP has told us nothing. Just he told them to get up.

I think that is totally out of order. He should have more sense. Of course a female teacher should have entered the dorm and not a male one. Also, you would have thought that he would not do it to protect his own reputation.

You also don't know that the student was not using someone's phone and you don't know exactly what the teacher said. These is reported speech from one student to another student and then to a parent

OP would you have the same reaction if you had a son instead and a female teacher would go into the boys rooms to wake them up?