Teachers

Somebody (I forget who) called my DGS lazy! This is far from the truth, he suffers high anxiety and worries constantly about dropping a set as the schools expectations of him are so high! His self esteem suffered during the isolations of lock down and has been built up with lots of careful work. This type of punishment does not help. He was also upset because the instructions stated that if he failed he would need to show his work but instead the teacher went straight to detention, this is an hour and a half after school in a room with others and not extra help from the teacher, as was suggested. His school also gives detentions for petty misdemeanours such as not have a pritt stick with required amount left, or not having a green pen. He knows these rules and while, as a 12 year old, he often cant see the point does carefully follow them. His issue was as much about it not being stated in the instructions that it would merit an automatic detention as about the detention itself. My issue is that I strongly believe in carrot rather than stick in education. I too was a very compliant and hard working and anxious pupil and know that a punishment like this would have meant depression rather than incentive. I also do not believe that it is good for a child's mental health to be sent a message that only perfection is acceptable!!
In other ways he likes his school, enjoys the work and the quality of teaching especially in STEM subjects and English are excellent which suits him. I merely was seeking a teachers perspective not looking for unwarranted accusations of laziness

Having taught for 36 years I find this to be totally unacceptable by the school! Some family member needs to discuss this with the said dept and sort it asap !! I am speechless with disgust

I come from a family of teachers, my daughter is a teacher, albeit Primary and I was a school governor for over 12 years and I think it’s utterly disgraceful a) to expect students to get 100% in exams and b) give detention for anyone failing to reach this and 80% is a great pass mark ! Nope you’re not being at all unreasonable but that teacher and/or school are certainly being so !

I’m ex teacher and it is ridiculous. Have no words!!

I am a retired teacher and I think that, unless the test was extremely easy, expecting everyone to get 100% and punishing those who don't is a little excessive.

When one of my relatives started senior school the first maths lesson was with a new teacher who set homework. My relative didn't understand the work so the mum sent a note explaining this. Next lesson about 3/4 of the class hadn't done the homework as they couldn't understand it. Those without a note were stood at the back of the class against the wall and repeatedly shouted at for the whole lesson.
My relative was terrified to watch this even though they were not affected. Her mum wrote a huge complaint letter to the head basically saying that public humiliation ceremonies and dunces stood in corners had no place in today's schools. Also the fact that even not being affected had frightened her daughter so much she didn't want to go to school. It never happened again but the damage was already done.
They failed GCSE maths and needed it for university. Relatives parents then paid for a lovely private tutor and their re-take was successful. They now teach maths in a school.
The teacher left after a year but the damage they did was ongoing as a lot of other children in that class failed maths exams.
A harsh regime does so much damage.
The parents of your DGC should write a letter of complaint.

Absolutely, unbelievably ridiculous. In our school I have NEVER known a teacher give detention because of any test score. Failing to hand in homework or disrupting the learning of others, yes. And 80% is a fantastic result. It is no wonder our kids get so stressed and anxious and end up with mental health problems such as self harming. This is definitely on the rise. Teachers are meant to be aware of this and their role in students' wellbeing. Doing your best is the most important thing of all.

If I were this Childs parents I would be seeing the school Headteacher and the Governor! The teacher is nothing less than an intimidating bully and should not be in the profession with an attitude like that! No wonder the child was upset, and I hope they are ok now.

Tuskanini

This 'quiz' doesn't seem to be a test of memory, more one of using and understanding the resources. Read the book, copy the information into a quiz. And you get three tries! Doesn't seem particularly onerous. You'd only fail by not taking the trouble to do it.

They're quite good fun!

Talks about HW (homework) so missing the lesson in school SHOULD make no difference. I do accept the comment that ‘this is happened they become outstanding’ but since ‘satisfactory’ is no longer accessible and league tables are driving school finance (Gove et al) having ‘decided’ that the drive to improve schools (as exemplars in London proved) is ‘unConservative’ and, despite Truss, no one really believes restarting Grammar Schools is viable, this is today’s pathetic education system in play

This 'quiz' doesn't seem to be a test of memory, more one of using and understanding the resources. Read the book, copy the information into a quiz. And you get three tries! Doesn't seem particularly onerous. You'd only fail by not taking the trouble to do it.

So difficult for the children with anxiety.

Ridiculous. I am a retired teacher and can't bear the practice of treating every pupil the same. Their circumstances are often different. Before I retired a system was introduced at my school where all teachers in the department had to teach in the same style which is crazy. Good teachers bring their own quirks to the job. That's why we often remember our favourite teachers. Not because they were all the same. His parents should definitely complain.

Who called it "detention" ? It may have been a little remedial work. If I were you I'd not encourage the boy to feel sorry for himself or feel victimised for insufficient reason.

I remember our whole class getting detention once but I can't remember what it was for so it obviously had no impact on me whatsoever.

My grandson had a Science lesson and did a squiggle in the margin to get his pen working before completing his work. The teacher tore out the page from his work book and threw it at him. I could have cried. A friends daughter at the same school got a detention for not having a prit stick. How petty is that ? These are quiet , hardworking kids.
Some of the more challenging kids go to school in track suit bottoms and trainers repeatedly with no consequences and it really makes me cross and sad. It is so unfair.

Hell's bells....80% gor an exam was considered really good when I was at school. Giving a child detention for not scoring 100% is terrible. I would talk to the head about that!

Horrible. Especially for one so young. Still, that's Ofsted inspections, league tables and our "wonderful" National Curriculum for you.

Ex teacher, sadly this is how 'outstanding works nowadays'. The picture included states he can take the test up to 3 times to improve his score? If he didn't get that chance before the detention that's unreasonable. I also think and said in the past, this type of disincentive is dreadful - being taught only perfection matters!

Back in the olden days, when I was at school, detention was quite a rare punishment and only given for bad behaviour like fighting, swearing, etc. It was the same when my DDs were at school.

My 12 year old DGD now attends the same secondary school where her mum and aunt were pupils. Detention is handed out all the time for what I would consider to be pretty small stuff, such as forgetting a piece of PE kit or being 5 minutes late. Things which teachers used to deal with by giving the offender a sharp telling-off. Doesn't a punishment lose its impact if there is no difference between the consequences for inadvertent mistakes and deliberate bad behaviour?

My DGD worries about getting detention and has managed, so far, to only be detained once. This was for forgetting to hand in a piece of homework. Again, wouldn't a telling-off have done the job? She was very upset and ashamed to be in detention. Her former friend - no longer in the same class, thank God - gets detention several times a week for being rude, disruptive in class, skipping lessons, etc. She couldn't care less and it has absolutely no effect on her behaviour. If, for example, the punishment for insulting a teacher is the same as for forgetting a library book, how is it supposed to be a deterrent? The good kids are cowed and the naughty ones know that they might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb.

As for schools which give detention for not sitting up straight, not facing the front, etc... You send your kids to school to learn, not to join a chain-gang. And detention for getting less than 100%? Why should you be punished for something that you couldn't do, as long as you tried? I don't think I could have got 100% in algebra if you had held a gun to my head. I would have been in detention all the time.

Apologies for the errors in the above, eyes are bad today.

Ive had two careers, one as a university academic with lots of teaching experience (and qualifications) and another as a psychoherapist. I have seen, and do see now, hoards of students/people fall into poor mental healthy precisely because of ideas about having to be 'perfect' according to somebody else's standard. The teacher in question needs whipping - yes, I mean that s/he will be responsible for the anxieties of countless children who may grow up with poor self-esteem. Makes my blood boil. If the teacher is doing his/ her job properly, there's absolutely no need or room for this punitive approach.

My grandson was given a detention for truancy by the same teacher that had messaged his mum to collect him because he was poorly

As a retired teacher I think this is dreadful. Students do best with positive reinforcement, not punishment for not being good enough. I would query this method with the principal or whoever can change it because even in the top stream some will not be able to score 100% all the time and it could be very damaging to their self esteem to be punished so severely for very likely doing their best.

some children have responsibilities to fulfil after school such as picking up a younger sibling, and should never be prevented from doing so

Agree 100% My parents took little interest in my schooling and did nothing to encourage me to do well. However when I got into my teen years my mother took a part time job and I had to come home to let my younger sister in. One time the whole class was kept in without warning. However I knew I would get a whalloping from my dad if I was not home to let my sister in (she would certainly have snitched) so I dodged off home. My mother sent me in next day with a strongly worded letter that she did not give permission for me to stay on at school as I had family responsibilities.