To what extent is it ok for a teacher to call a student something bad?

[QueriesAndQuestions]

Stupid , selfish , annoying , immature , mouthy , loud , gobby , attention seeker , full of energy , daydreamer , ditzy , muppet, lazy.What are your opinions on teachers Saying these things to pupils ? . What is the furthest you would go or the worst word you’d call a student . What is something you would never say . Curious as Friend has told us a few stories about her son being called these - from her sons view anyway.

My ds keyworker called him a muppet.

Pretty spot on description of ds! She also adores him, does loads for him and has a dd slightly older. So I think it was probably just done affectionately and ds didn't care!

I'm fine with gobby I'd said in a banter way to stop confrontation of a student talking too much or giving their opinion too much.

Lazy - fine if they are.

Some other things are fine in context.

"You're being very arrogant at this time"

I do t like when teachers or adults in general really label a child in derogatory ways.

So "you are a lazy arrogant gobby muppet" would be unacceptable (although probably accurate in some cases 😂)

Totally agree with FallenMadonna re AP. The disdainful look thing is far more likely to provoke because it’s imprecise. In that context I found I had to be completely clear about the behaviour I wanted to be changed and to separate that behaviour from the child. Cutting looks are awesome (in both senses) but some situations require explicit labelling.

I use more verbs than adjectives. Stops irritating him, stop annoying the boy in front etc.
Stupid never. But maybe your friend should nip her son's behaviour in the bud

A lot gets lost in translation. For example, I said to a student that what he was doing met the criteria to be defined as 'bullying' and then I got an angry email about "DON'T YOU CALL MY SON A BULLY!!!"

I think it's unfair to label students because they take a lot of what we say on while they form their identity in adolescence. But I think it's fair game to give them a heads up about what their behaviour makes other people think of them.

Describe behaviour rather than character.

I'm amazed one child could be called all of these names...is he some sort of mega difficult child who is at the same time a loud daydreamer who

Are children attention seeking or needing attention?

Laxity attention seeks?

I'm not sure it's even possible for one child to be described in so many ways.

I've known teachers tell children they're a muppet or a banana when they do something silly by mistake, but not all children will laugh along with something like that. My DC. Would but others would be hurt. Most teachers manage to gauge it right if they're going to describe a child to their face..

I think it depends on context. I could tell one of my Y11s s/he was being a drama llama or a muppet, but I wouldn't say it to a child I didn't know. I often call myself a stupid woman when I, well, do something stupid. If it's a kid, I'm more likely to say that it wasn't a particularly smart or clever thing to do.

As behaviour descriptor most of them are fine but not on a personal "you are" level. I'm guilty of "muppet" and "muppetry" but again, it's "being a muppet" not you are one. Teenagers can be exasperating and, well, muppets.

Well, when a Y8 girl walks into a classroom 15 minutes late and stands on a desk, then proceeds to walk across the desks of those pupils who are working, I feel that's fairly attention seeking behaviour. She most definitely does need attention because her parents, by their own admission, have never made her wait for anything. Both giving up work when she was a baby so they could devote all their
time to her. A decision they seem to regret now.

They impact she has on every other child in her classes is pretty huge.

I would say a student is being loud, being lazy
I can’t see anything wrong with full of energy I’ve said that sometimes. Oh you’re full of energy today, bet you can’t wait till playtime.

Behaviour issues I’d say that behaviour seemed selfish because of ... etc.

Second what has been said upthread. Name the behaviour, not the person. Anything else is not OK.

I've said most of them to my secondary pupils but as a descriptor of how they are behaving at the time. So "X you are being very loud, be quiet" or "y that was a very silly, immature thing to do"

I do call them all numpties at times though. Particularly when they've forgotten their books/homework/ pen.