Intimidating teacher

[chillie]

My son came home yesterday and told me that 8 boys including him in yr 10 were locked in a classroom with and by their chemistry teacher in clubs time until all the rubics cubes were handed in. After they were handed in she proceeded to shout at them that they had been disrespectful. When asked by one boy what was it that he had said or done to be disrespectful she unlocked the door and told them to all leave. She didn't answer him.
Today the same 8 boys were told by the head of year and an assistant headteacher that young female teachers can be intimidated by them and they should be more aware of how they behave.
This is in a super selective grammar school. All boys my son included can behave badly but I really feel that this was inappropriate to say to the boys. They are 14, all black or Asian and nobody shouted at her, swore or approached her. Surely if you are intimidated by teen boys then you don't take a job at an all boys secondary school?
My son who is not in her form tells me that other boys say she often locks the door, can't control the class and sometimes cries. I feel worried about this teacher, it doesn't sound like she is coping. I think she needs help. No teacher should need to lock the door, I would expect the teacher to have enough authority that the boys would not dare leave until given permission. Am I expecting too much?

Were there white students present who were allowed to leave the room or who were not included in the discussion of intimidating behaviour?

If racism is to be asserted (rather than merely considered), as it is a serious allegation, then presumably you would need evidence that these students were treated differently to a group of white boys acting in a similar fashion, not just that the teacher is Chinese (!)

Well... I think that just about sweeps the carpet from underneath the OP' s argument.

[quote OhShutIt]@chillie with respect, you're not posting in a place where racial nuance and lived experience will effect the lens in which this is looked at, and the response that you get as a result.

Please DM me, there is an organisation that works with Grammar schools that looks at this issue and a lot of their work is data driven. They can approach the school to see if there are any patterns in discipline according to race and specific teachers etc.[/quote]
Patronising or what?

@itrytomakemyway

Well... I think that just about sweeps the carpet from underneath the OP' s argument.

Yes, OP I would advise not engaging in racial stereotyping in your complaint about racial stereotyping.

@noblegiraffe Yes there were white boys who were allowed to leave and were not accused of intimidation but I'm still not sure that, that means the teacher is racist. Based on previous experiences and interactions with this teacher I do believe she doesn't like my son but that is a completely different issue which is not an issue any longer because she doesn't teach him and as long as he doesn't do her club anymore then there will be no opportunity for him to come into contact with her. I think there is a personality clash with this teacher and such is life. He does have to deal with her dislike of him, as it is very likely that he will meet others throughout his life who also don't like him, best he get used to it and find strategies to cope with it.
Teachers are only human, they can't like everyone, we all find some people irritating.

Sounds like you should back the school and reinforce good respectful behaviour at home. Make them see how this teacher has been made to feel everyone should feel safe in their workplace

@itrytomakemyway

Well... I think that just about sweeps the carpet from underneath the OP' s argument.

Love the way bigots rush to point out bigotry and invalidate.

OP is a racist so it proves they are talking bollocks.

Er no, its doesn't, because the OP's argument is the very real way black boys are failed by British schools. That's fuck all to do with her own racism towards Chinese people.

There's this common idea amongst white people especially that if a black person shows the slightest bit of racism themselves it invalidates all claims racism exists, when in fact the opposite it true, it shows how endemic it is - in all of us.

@namethattunein1
If 13 year old boys behave in a way that’s intimidating, they have no right to be in school.

@namethattunein1

Words fail me! Bigot: dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bigot

Maybe she did deal with it badly but as you are the parent I would have hoped you'd be more concerned with the it that caused another human being so much stress than the reaction. I do worry how this generation will grow up

[quote Soontobe60]@namethattunein1
If 13 year old boys behave in a way that’s intimidating, they have no right to be in school.[/quote]
Yes, lets exclude them for being intimidating and throw them on the scrap heap.

And let's ensure it's what WE deem as intimidating behaviour...so of course verbal or physical violence, but let's include 'attitude'.

@ZiggysPFrow

Maybe she did deal with it badly but as you are the parent I would have hoped you'd be more concerned with the it that caused another human being so much stress than the reaction. I do worry how this generation will grow up

As a parent I'd be concerned with my son, period. That's my job.

'When asked by one boy what was it that he had said or done to be disrespectful she unlocked the door and told them to all leave. She didn't answer him.'

They were fucking about and not handing over what they'd been asked to hand over: sounds pretty fucking disrespectful to me. Poor woman probably gets this backchat all the time. She doesn't have to answer a question to which they already know the answer, the little shits.

@chillie - the teacher was Chinese from Asia

Op, are you sure you're a teacher??

[quote whiteworldgettingwhiter]**@chillie* - the teacher was Chinese from Asia*

Op, are you sure you're a teacher??[/quote]
I'm confused. China is in Asia.

@chillie

Your fucked here as you’ve said your a teacher and a person of colour- MN don’t really like either of those. Solidarity though as a black teacher, in my huge city there’s only 24 of us.

@LetHimHaveIt @whiteworldgettingwhiter
Chinese from Asia means born in Asia and brought up there.
There are also plenty of Chinese who were not born there and have never set foot in Asia. Both Chinese but brought up and influenced very differently.

Cool. Don't know why you've tagged me. I was questioning what the problem was with 'Chinese from Asia' as the poster asking you if you were a teachers seems thereby to be implying that China isn't in Asia. Maybe I misunderstood what she was inferring form your implication. But to be honest, if you've never set foot in Asia, I'd say you were of Chinese extraction, or 'born to Chinese parents'. Daniel Kaluuya, for example, was born in London to Ugandan parents. I wouldn't say he's Ugandan.

@LetHimHaveIt oops sorry, I misread your post, reading too quickly! Your wording is far more eloquent than mine, much better at explaining the situation. Thanks!

There is a simple solution to this. The teacher stops giving up her free time to run the club. She'd get more time back which will help her mental health and ability to cope. The group of boys will learn that this club was a privilege that they have now lost because the teacher was stressed out for whatever reason. Maybe this could change how they see teachers a bit and modify their behaviour in general (although I doubt it).

[quote chillie]@LetHimHaveIt oops sorry, I misread your post, reading too quickly! Your wording is far more eloquent than mine, much better at explaining the situation. Thanks![/quote]
Well I don't know about that. But thank you.