To be glad schools are finally hitting back

[Teachingquestion]

Over the last couple of days I've seen more stories about schools introducing new rules and sending students home who won't comply.
I'm in a really tricky school about to do the same (when we start back) and the staff are so relieved. Teachers on here : are you glad to see it?

That child should have had that adjustment allowed. Very quietly without a fuss and ideally without the other children knowing. However, were they not even allowed a carton or juice or squash in a lunch box? You'd think there'd be a way...

We check water bottles because parents otherwise send fizzy drinks to school, or sticky juice/squash. Those things are completely unnecessary and against the (sensible) rules.

Some parents ruin things for everyone else by telling their children they can be special and break the rules just for the hell of it (I don't mean anyone with SEND btw) BTW. It starts with little things like drink bottles and escalates very quickly and easily.

🙄

I had to leave my primary school job as it wrecked my mental health. I had students in my class who were violent and should have been excluded, but weren't because we had to be 'inclusive'. It was clear my safety and wellbeing didn't matter at all.

My job was to teach. It's unfortunate that kids that get excluded will be roaming the streets and this isn't great for them or the communities, but that's not my problem as a teacher.

You make sure that support in mainstram schools is available and funded. And if that is insufficient, thst non mainstream alternatives are available and funded. You ensure that children are dual registered if they move to Alternative Provision, that the move happens early enough and doesn't require lengthy periods of time out of school, that there is a path back to mainstream whenever that is appropriate, and not just at the post 16 cliff edge as now. And, while we're at it, post 16 AP for those who continue to need it.

Yes please!

@BeachLife2 - I asked yesterday, and I’ll ask again - why should we expect children to take responsibility for their homework, equipment etc, but don’t think they are responsible enough to decide whether or not they need their blazer on a hot day?

If you work in an office, do you ask your boss if you can take off your jacket ‘out of respect’, or do you expect to be considered sufficiently responsible to make that decision yourself? We should be letting senior school students learn how to take responsibility, not treating them like toddlers who need to be told what to wear for the weather.

What matters more - the ‘rule’ that students have to ask to remove their blazers even in 30 degree heat, or that the students are comfortable, not hot, sweaty and even faint, which will impede their learning? I’d say they are in school to get an education, so letting them take off their blazers even if they feel the need, so they are cool and comfortable enough to learn, is the right choice.

Also, as I said earlier - I have seen examples - even on this thread - of people saying that some teachers/principals do refuse permission for children to take off heavy blazers on very hot days - I have no idea why anyone would do this, but it clearly is happening.

And how many other families care at all?
How many other families help anyone outside their bubble?

So fine decide all I, we in the household, have is contempt. Because I haven’t just given my old digital DSLR to a teen friend because he wants to be a photographer, we don’t hear answeres to Eng Lang (non fiction) papers from unacademic teens friends lifted from conversations around the kitchen table. If our time, money, influence were matched by others, or in particular our teens who are strong, loving, patient and forgiving to their peers school society might be a slightly better place.

There are just nasty kids out there with dreadful parents or just selfish parents, we know our children will grow with their peers they don’t live in a vacuum, we are more than happy to make them, and us, and the teens we come across, part of our outer lives and contribute in any way we can or are permitted.

But as everyone else does we have limits.

We are quite happy with our teen boys, their friends, school, dreams. They are our children our choice our problem - not school’s not society’s not other family’s children - our problem not yours - we expect the very least from other people’s children. The buck stops with you, your choice, your children, your problem.

We have so much contempt we feed 6, 7, 8 teens most weekends, plus weekdays in holidays. They clearly hate it here.

Anyone else’s children should never be my children’s problem. We bring ours up with this philosophy just basic surely.

That's a massive overreach by the school imo.

You don't encourage parents to be supportive of the core mission of the school by antagonizing them and their children with petty power plays like that. All you achieve is sending the message that you don't trust parents to make decisions for their own children.

Empowerment of stakeholders is key in drawing all on board in hopes of improving the school environment and improving educational outcomes.

Disempowerment and disrespect of a key group will have the opposite effect.

It’d be great if they got rid of the tailored trousers, blazer and tie rule at every school for every kid. Comfortable trousers of one colour is fine. It’s mad students are doing drama, food tech, chemistry, DT etc in smart office gear.

This thread has reminded me of a story my dad told, back in the 80s.

My dad was a teacher, and his school had a rule that there couldn’t be any writing on students’ tops/shirts. He was in the corridor, and saw the Head call over a Sixth form girl, to look at her shirt, which had a small label type motif on it. He literally had to get way too close, and peer through his glasses, to see that the label said “If you can read this, you are TOO CLOSE!!”

I’m very old fashioned, traditional type of person but even I can see that blazers and ties for children are ridiculously outdated. Asking for permission to remove a blazer is nonsense and I tell all my classes at the start of the year that if they wish to remove their blazer during my lesson, just do it.