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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Teacher exposing breast.

270 replies

bamboostalks · 12/03/2008 15:39

This sounds bizarre and I think it is really. Dsd is in year 6 and they are having the sex ed programme. Anyway, this week it was all about pregnancy and birth. The teacher has just returned from maternity leave and imo went into way too much detail for 10 and 11 year olds(discussing stitches etc. dsd was very intrigued, arriving home with a lot of questions!!) but most astonishingly showed them her breast to explain how the baby feeds. Now this is nothing new to dsd per se who has seen me bf all year but I was amazed. Dh wanted to go in and complain today and I received a couple of phone calls asking me to sign a petition "We think that this teacher needs further training etc." Quite moderate in tone really. AIBU or was this teacher totally wrong?

OP posts:
Chequers · 12/03/2008 15:40

Message withdrawn

jesuswhatnext · 12/03/2008 15:41

trot on!!!

CoffeeNChocolate · 12/03/2008 15:42

WOW, totally wrong YANBU, this isnt something i would expect any teacher to do even to 15/16 yr olds, i would definately sign the petition

Hulababy · 12/03/2008 15:42

Is this for real?

Of course it is inappropriate for a teacher to expose her breasts in a classroom! For her to demonstrate diiscrete breastfeeding in one thing, this is different.

hermionegrangerat34 · 12/03/2008 15:43

I think yabu. Showing some kids a breast in teh context of breastfeeding seems a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and might stop them getting all teenagey and thinking a womans body is just for male pleasure! could so easily be the teacher on here saying 'OMG, I was telling the kids about the baby, they asked about feeding, I showed them, now the parents are petitioning and I think I'm going to get sacked'.

girlfrommars · 12/03/2008 15:43
Hmm
Original poster
bamboostalks · 12/03/2008 15:45

No it's not a joke. She showed one and just explained where the milk comes from and how it works, it was in the course of responding to someone's question. I don't think she planned it.

OP posts:
LIZS · 12/03/2008 15:45

Assuming this is for real are you sure it wasn't , at worst, a discreet demonstration of b'feeding rather exaggerated by its audience ?

PotPourri · 12/03/2008 15:45

Erm, this sounds unlikely TBH. But if it did happen, then it's not really appropriate. She was not feeding her baby at the time, therefore not sure why she would be showing her breast. I would complain if my DC came home and told me this - and I completely support breastfeeding, just not showing breasts to children out of context

jesuswhatnext · 12/03/2008 15:45

was she pissed?

Hulababy · 12/03/2008 15:46

hermionegrangerat34 - would you feel the same if it was another part of the bosy being shwn to demonstarate aspects of biology or sex ed? A penis for example?

This woman was NOT breastfeeding. She was in her classroom working, and exposed her breast. This was not necessary and she could have easily gotten the message across through diagrams or even a model if need be.

Original poster
bamboostalks · 12/03/2008 15:48

Well I sort of agree Hermione and of course I want to support bf but I do think it lacks judgement and common sense to expose your breast to your class. I am a teacher too and cannot imagine such a scenario. It would be different if she had beeen feeding the baby there and then.

OP posts:
MicrowaveOnly · 12/03/2008 15:48

Am with you hermione. There's nothing so bitchy as a bunch of grown mothers signing petitions against a teacher doing her job. What she did is harmless biology. She is probably full of the joys of new motherhood and wants to share it with others.

What exactly is the crime? you are just enforcing the idea that breasts are for sexual or lavicious reasons...sigh.

They see a lot worse in their teen magasines.

babybore · 12/03/2008 15:48

It was certainly a brave thing to do! Did they all giggle? I wouldn't sign a petition - it was in context and she's hardly likely to be flashing her breasts again. I think it's quite cool actually. YABU.

Original poster
bamboostalks · 12/03/2008 15:50

Potpurri, it definitely occured. 30 chn rarely concur on anything but they all went home with this one.

OP posts:
Original poster
bamboostalks · 12/03/2008 15:52

Don't think that I will sign it as I don't like ganging up on teachers either but should I write her a letter about lessons with tmi in them? Dh thinks it is bonkers and wants to take action.

OP posts:
hermionegrangerat34 · 12/03/2008 15:52

I don't think genitals would be appropriate, no. But if she's just returned from maternity leave she probably wasnt' thinking of her breasts as sexual objects, and it sounds like it was an unplanned response to a question. It was in front of a whole class so hardly somethign to worry about from a child protection point of view (TOTALLY different from showing one child in teh stationary cupboard, for example!). I wouldn't get too het up about it, honestly. What is actually the difference, morally, between showing them her baby breastfeeding and showing them the breast and how it works? OK, a model would have been better, but how many primary classrooms have models of mammary glands available? It probably wouldn't be appropriate in a secondary school when the kids are all past puberty, but in a primary school I wouldn't worry about it.

jesuswhatnext · 12/03/2008 15:52

if this is for real, it will be 'exposed' in a red-top tomorrow!!!

come on you lot, feminism aside, TEACHERS would loose their jobs for whopping a gazonga out in front of a load of kids, it just ain't done!

Flynnie · 12/03/2008 15:53

Am with you Hulababy.

babybore · 12/03/2008 15:53

I think it's prudish to worry about things like this and definitely prudish AND bitchy to put a petition together. Let it go. Far worse than this happen at schools.

mrsruffallo · 12/03/2008 15:53

LOL Jesus
How is it brave?
It is barmy and you should sign the petition

Brangelina · 12/03/2008 15:55

Agree with Hermione. She probably thought nothing of it. I know when I was bfeeding constantly I'd go so used to whipping my boob out in public that it seemed strange when I didn't have to.

In any case, it's hardly as if she was caressing it in a lascivious manner. Relax people

Moomin · 12/03/2008 15:56

Whatever we think, it's highly likely that if this is made public (by complaints, petitions, etc) it will make the papers (I'm thinking the Daily Mail would have a field day with this one) and the poor woman will end up getting the sack. Oh dear.

Hulababy · 12/03/2008 15:56

It just does not seem like a very professional way of going about things. A teacher who has planned her lesson carefully will have preempted the questions likely to come from this subject, and should therefore have had a planned answer for such a question - with suitable materials (diagrams/models) to help her along the way, without getting her breast out.

But then I taught secondary and there is no way on earth I would ever have considered such a scenario! The fact that all the childre are now talking about it, telling parents talking to one another about it to me shows that is wasn't a good strategy for the classroom.

PotPourri · 12/03/2008 15:58

I wouldn't sign the petition, but I would talk to the teacher and say that it was ill advised and you would prefer her not to do it again.

Not showing your breasts is not making them into sexual objects, just like not flashing your bum to explain a 'biology' lesson. It was a very silly thing to do imo

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