to take my complaint to the headmaster? Genuine opinions wanted

[namechangenamechange]

DD is in year 2. Her "PPA" teacher who she has once a week as cover for her normal form tutor was reading to the children from the minipins book. When they left for the day, she picked out 12 children in the class who were "slim" "beautiful" "lovely and "skinny" and said they cold get their coats on first and said "the other 15 of you are too fat and big you'll have to go second, you're not as lovely and sknny as the others.

In what planet is it ok to classify children according to their weight?????

I should clarify here, that DD, despite being in the second group, is actually officially underweight at the doctors, as she is quite tall for her age - but she was in the fat group! That however is irrelevant, my argument is that children should never be criticised for baing fat by a teacher, or made to feel like the less good group simply by weight, which at age of 6 is nothing to do with them anyway.

I went back in to school immediately after my daughter told me this and spoke to this temp teacher. She said it was due to the book and the story of the book, but said anyone who would get upset about it was stilly, then she said to me DD, "don't be upset by this, a lot of other children in the class are much fatter and uglier than you are but don't tell them that".

On the grounds that she:-

1. classified children by weight and made the skinny group the good children and the fat group the bad group
2. Used the word fat in a deroggatory manner
3. Failed to accept that this was a problem when questioned and
4. Further repeated to DD in front of me that other children were fat and ugly

I think I should take the following points to the headmaster.

What are people's thoughts of this? I know the teacher has been complained about before for mnay different reasons and that is why she, close to retirement, is on PPA cover rather than having her own class.

YAmostdefinitelyNBU

YANBU. Go complain.

YANBU go and complain!

Absolutely outrageous , I would be straight on to the headmaster. Not just for the reasons you say, but to even mention weight in this way is totally unacceptable.

I have realised my name is very unfortunate in relation to this thread - sorry, it's just the name of a children's book (actually I wonder whether it was the one the teacher was reading?!).

Complain, I am totally outraged at her comments!

You must most definitely complain. That is absolutely outrageous.

yup go and complain - thats ridiculous

Seriously? Incredibly offensive and innappropriate. Complain very loudly.

Is she insane?

On what god-awful planet is it ok to tell chldren they are fatter ang uglier than others??

YANBU!

Is this for real??

must must must complain, very loudly, to the head and go to the governors & get her sacked.

then go to the papers.

OMG

That is totally not on. She needs to know that it is innappropriate and why.

I would take it further.

Not one for troll-spotting I might add, but it just sounds so unbelievable that anyone would behave like that towards anyone, let alone a teacher to children!

I don't believe you.

i honestly just don't believe this.

I found it unbelievable too, but thought the OP sounded too genuinly written (maybe I'm gullible )

I did wonder why this subject required a name change though?

I wondered about it too, hence the first word of my post being 'Seriously?', but for some reason I tend to believe people if their spelling's okay. I'm more suspicious of people who use txt spk. If it's a made-up one, it's quite well thought out.

It's not even the fact that she mentioned weight that would bother me. More the whole idea of people being ugly. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and all that.

And the fact that there was discrimination on the basis of looks, in that the pretty group got to go first, just is beyond belief.
The people in the second group will now be a target for name-calling, and as the teacher said it, it's now official, particularly with young kids who believe everything teacher says.

I would write to the board of governors and also send a copy of the letter to the head. But that woman should never be in a position to do this to children again.

NOt a troll I promise - just totally forgot to change back from the name change name I used for another, ruder subject last week. I have been on MN since I was pregnant with my DD, so nearly 7 years now and did mle for maude and everything - so absolutely not a troll I promise. I'm also on 2 of the ante-natal - post-natal groups and one of the weight loss groups too, with lots of mnetters on my facebook page - I promise I am not trolling - hand on heart. I jsut cant change back from my name change name or you'll all now who did that thread too. I should have changed back first but forgot in my utter anger at this teacher!

I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking it was completely inappropriate for her to talk to the children like this.

she's mad as a chicken, definitely tell the head your concerns.

I'm more concerned with what she actually said to you (as stuff to kids can be misinterpreted). She actually said to you that your dd wasn't to be upset cos there were fatter and uglier children than her.

At that point I would probably have screwed up my face in disbelief and asked her what planet she was on.

The fact that you are genuine is good

But now it makes the fact that this is a real teacher even more depressing

The teacher is so stupid - you do not illustrate the point of a book by doing this with any age group. Teachers teach discrimination with eye colour exercises and so on, but do so very very carefully in the context of a detailed lesson.
She needs retiring.