Teachers who have watched 'Adolescence'- what are your thoughts?

[Fstt1978]

Had an interesting experience this week after watching this at the weekend

sanctioned 4 boys this week with a demerit each - for pushing and shoving in the corridor- swearing loudly and generally being gobby to me.
All 4 boys parents have written emails to say it's unfair/ I'm picking on them etc etc. As it was 4 of them- none of them can be singled out.
We also have a boy caught on CCTV physically assaulting a much younger student unprovoked - it is categorically an assault- with the victims parents pressing charges. He has been permanently excluded and his parents have instructed a solicitor to contest this.

What is going on with parenting boys? Girls sanctioned rarely have parents like this - this is NOT a goady thread- I am genuinely really interested , and open to discussion about it

I think equality makes a lot of males feel emasculated.

That’s a really interesting point of view.

I wonder if some men feel like the thing they can brig to the table is being taken away from them so what will they have left?

I have taught for nearly 20 years in inner city comprehensive schools and think on the whole behaviour has improved, most kids follow a group mentality so if expectations are clear and enforced behaviour will generally be ok (and most kids glad of it) and most parents supportive. Undoubtedly though, there is a large minority of, often quite middle class parents, who will defend all behaviour and undermine systems by telling their kids not to go to detention etc. There are also significant financial penalties for permanent exclusions so we always try to do a sort of swap thing called managed moves but it doesnt always work. The saddest, most misogynistic, arrogant and violent boys i have ever known though have not had parents who challenged the school but simply never engaged - not answered the phone, never answered emails, never come into school for parents evenings or meetings. These parents, again, often quite well off and not sure whether work or other things were a priority but it wasn't something like a language barrier or working long hrs in second jobs to cover the bills keeping them away. Heartbreaking and terrifying.

Errrr

Nice post and completely irrelevant to my comment of course. Surprise surprise

I think you’ve probably hit the nail on the head there.

Not really no. But if you’d like to withdraw the sarcasm and actually discuss then I’d be happy to do so. If not, so be it.

The school in Adolescence is an accurate portrayal of at least two, possibly three, schools (UK, state, not privileged areas) I have taught in. It is not like the private school or the international school I worked in.

Lots of shouty teachers, lack of respect, anxious/reactive/burnt out/disillusioned teachers, rowdy children, children eith no idea how to behave appropriately, disrupted lessons.....it's why I'm no longer teaching qland watching it makes me feel a bit unwell.

Read @Justapunta s comment that subsequent posters tagged.

My comment was relevant to that
Yours was just typical MNet speak re private schools ( using the chance here for a punt as soon as it’s mentioned ) and irrelevant to my comment or indeed @Justapunta s.

Simply not interested in non relevant attacks on my post.

It was a much better and more nuanced production than suggested in the OP which is what made it so good.

I don’t think the takeaway is that the parents are at fault. I also thought it was humanising of the teachers doing a difficult job in difficult circumstances. It also showed the complexity of the dynamic between the children, who after all are developing and aren’t fully formed. It’s normal for even lovely children to make mistakes and with an adult lens lots of the ways they treat each other is toxic, but in most cases children come out the other side.

But on the OPs proposition. I think there are lots of pointless rules and sanctions in schools to manage poor behaviour. It might make children more manageable and compliant but I don’t think it addresses the issues in Adolescence. An underdeveloped brain exposed to hateful ideologies is still capable of terrible things irrespective of whether they got detention for wearing the wrong trainers or handed their homework in late.

I really don’t think this is about sector. I
don’t think the strict behaviour management style of school is good for every child and in some cases is positively harmful. However I do think parents at state schools have little choice so I can imagine if this is the you’re allocate a strict school and it doesn’t work for your child it can cause conflict between parents, teachers and children. What private school does have going for it is that there is every flavour of school and as parents you have choice in the ethos which will get the best out of your child. Some private schools might have an entitled vibe with behaviours to match, but there are great swathes of the sector that have a completely different offer. In the right environment for them children have a greater chance of being resilient to the things that are thrown at them.

I have read all comments and I have no idea what ‘typical MN speak means’ but if you’ve read my posts I have no interest in putting in a ‘punt’ to private schools at all and have addressed state, private and home schooling. I have continued to reiterate the private schooling issue because it needs to be and I will continue to do so whilst people continue to act as though private schools are issue free, disciplined spaces with perfect teachers and kids who never get into trouble.That’s disingenuous and it disregards the serious issues that private school children and teachers face. The more we ignore all educational issues in all types of settings the bigger those problems are.

I work in a girls school. We have been taken to court 5 times in the last year in relation to suspensions. About 10% of our internal isolations come with formal complaints.

It’s an epidemic of crappy entitled parents.

Not a teacher but work in a school, also a parent of a boy.
Have watched it and think its very believable. My take from it is that many boys could end up feeling as Jamie does and in his situation, its very worrying.

Online stuff plus toxic masculinity and bullying all affect so many.
Boys in my school (primary) are aggressive and abusive daily to staff and other pupils. Its a very widespread problem.

In the show, Dad (Stephen Graham) has clear anger issues so combined with a bit of bullying (esp from a girl) is very big deal.

I think they were referring to it being every other issue that the kid just doing something wrong and being corrected

I realise it sounds a bit trite but I honestly think the lack of mainstream gentle drama and comedies which find drama and humour in everyday life rather than the high octane, snarky and generally negative stuff that seems to be the norm now can't be helping.

I think this is partly true.

There definitely needs to be a discussion around how we raise boys and men’s role in society. The likes of Tate have monopolised on the problem with male emasculation.

Research is needed into WHY so many boys/young men are so attracted to the shite he speaks. It’s no use just criticising him for it, we need to be honest about why he’s been so successful.

Anyone any ideas as to why? I’d say it’s a complex issue with some variables being the overly pressured, academic education system (& lack of physical movement for boys), families living in poverty and economic hardship, divorce, social media… thoughts?

I am currently working in a state primary. Since Monday I've had the same conversation with 5 of our teachers (including 2 SLT and one SENDCO) where one of the first things they said was "Episode 3, that's just like X" and all 5 of them named 2 of our current boys (year 5 and 6) that we are desperately worried about and hitting wall after wall in
our attempts to get them some help.

I was able to go further and name another 10 or, some from even younger years, that are already using misogynistic language, showing disdain to female teachers, showing anger and violence disproportionate to whatever it is that has upset them, and in one case even attacking a completely innocent girl in his class because a bigger boy had made him angry (and in his case, mum, almost immediately said "what did she do to him?" "Well she must have laughed at him" when we reported what had happened).

The majority of my day is taken up with behaviour and it is rare that I speak to a parent that doesn't immediately try to excuse their child. I thank the Budget Gods at least weekly for our CCTV - it's about the only thing I can use to open parents eyes.

I haven’t watched the series yet and I’m not a teacher. However, I have been shocked the behaviour of some teenagers and their parents my kids and I know. And giving it some thought, I’ve realised it is mostly parents of boys who are the worst for excusing their kids appalling behaviour. A lot of it seems to be down to “boys will be boys” mentality. Including the parents of some boys who sexually harassed and chased my daughter and her friend outside of school. I’d be mortified if there was cctv of my child behaving that way. But no, boys will be boys apparently. Just a bit of fun. Apparently.

The boyfriend of one of my daughter’s friends got into an argument with her at school that ended up with him grabbing her by the neck. According to his mother, that couldn’t be possible because her son “gets excellent grades”. So therefore can’t be capable of violence. It must have been my daughter who was at fault despite her not being violent. Never mind that she’s in the same classes as he is so presumably got similar grades. Not that it fucking matters obviously. But I fully expect to see her son on the news one day having seriously injured or killed someone, probably a woman because of his general attitude.

I have a teenage son btw. He’s ND and has SEN. His stepdad and I have made the effort to raise him well and not behave with such entitlement and aggression. He’s not perfect and we’re not perfect parents but he doesn’t go around behaving like the above.

To answer this, yes I love it

Well I don’t have my head in the sand as I supply in private schools as well. Obviously they also have issues but not on the scale of the majority of state schools I can assure you. And in all the ones I supply in, any issues are dealt with extremely swiftly - children can be asked to leave after just one serious offence. Try getting rid of a child in state school!

I haven’t watched it yet, but after listening to people talk about it in the staffroom, I’m not sure I want to. I don’t want to be depressed about it all. We’ve got such angry young men in our schools. Lots of them quote Andrew Tate or far right rhetorics, yet don’t fully understand what they’re saying. I’m really worried for the future of a lot of them, and society as it spreads.

Also, in EVERY private school I work in, phones are locked away by staff at 8am and returned at 6pm when the children leave. This alleviates 50% of phone issues straight away!

That’s very positive and definitely should be standard in all school settings.

Evil has got in everywhere, not just somewhere, I am afraid.

I think the danger here is people thinking thier child isn't at risk of being radicalised online or the victim of online abuse by being in a school that has good behaviour.

If they have access to things like roblox, tik tok etc there are risks.

There is research on the ‘problem’ with boys. @howchildrenreallylearn have a Google of Richard Reeves and the Institute of Boys and Men. He’s a British academic who has moved to the US and wrote the book Of Boys and Men. He cites societies’ changing roles, boys’ slump in education and the job market as leaving them vulnerable to radicalization. Most of this was written before Andrew Twat became a thing.