Heavy Handed Teacher of Seven Year Olds.

I think standards are too lax in schools. When I was at school if I made a mistake like that I was asked to copy the whole page out again in my own time. I tended to not make same mistake again. As a former teacher I would not have ripped page out of book but would have written in book that student had not followed instructions correctly and reminded them to look at inside cover of book stating how to set work. I can't see why it is a big issue for your gd especially as several children were treated the same.. The child will not make same mistake again. Some teachers let mistakes slide and then parents wonder why their books are so untidy and the children lack discipline.

When I was in the first year of junior school (age 6) I wrote the story of how the elephant got his trunk, was very proud of my work. The class teacher held my work up in front of the whole class going on about how untidy it was then proceeded to tear it into strips & made me re-write it ?
Fast forward to college & again my work got held up in front of the whole class, only this time as an example of how our work should be presented. I've always ripped up/started again if I make a mistake writing, even if it's just a list. I guess this is subconsciously due toy lovely junior school teacher!

This is the sort of thing that used to happen 50 years ago, not in the 21st century. Better to ask for a meeting with the teacher first and escalate to the head if not satisfied

Like annodomini I had a horrible teacher whose behaviour affected the whole of my secondary education. Some sixty years later I can remember the hurt and humiliation she caused me. It wasn’t until I left school and went to college that I regained confidence in my ability and fortunately went on to have a very successful career. And so the moral of this story, nip the teacher’s bullying behaviour in the bud. Ensure your granddaughter realises her minor mistake was nothing to worry herself about and whilst the teacher is usually right, on this occasion he/ she made a mistake.

Ah well I tried.

Lucca

Ah well I tried.

I hear you, Lucca. Keep up the good work.

I'm amazed how many people would go in guns blazing and castigate this teacher without investigating further, or report him to the headteacher without a second thought. It may have been done agressively and to punish, or it may have been done with the idea of making sure the first page in a book looks good. You simply don't know. What we do know is that children who receive mixed messages never do well. So instead of creating tension and opposition it might just be advisable to open a conversation with him, because he is the child's teacher and if she thinks the teacher and the parent are at odds she may take advantage of the situation. Teachers really aren't the enemy as some on this thread seem to imagine they are. They actually want the best for the children they teach.
And to all those ex-teachers who would never tear out a page in an exercise book- I've done it. After a consultation with the child, who knew it wasn't his best work and who was quite glad to see the page gone.

I can remember tearing a page out of my own book as a child, because I wasn't happy with it and wanted to redo it. The teacher told me I shouldn't have torn the page out!

I was a teacher, Deputy Head/Head of Upper School in a large High School and had a reputation for being tough but fair. I can’t imagine why any teacher would do this to a piece of work. If covered in graffiti or swear words then possibly otherwise it’s way over the top. Or perhaps I’ve gone soft haha

Ps on the other hand teachers need all the support they can get from parents so if it happened to my child I doubt that I would complain - just explain to child that teachers have different ways of doing things and it’s not personal .....

Trisher I do agree with you .We don't know the why, so it is unfair to be so judgemental.
I have had occasions when I was told my child wouldn't do /say that and been called all sorts of things by a parent. We should remember that the child at school is not always the same child as the one at home.
I am not being unkind about the child by the way.

No excuses for that sort of behaviour towards a child. What a way to sap a child's confidence

Me too trisher absolutely agree with your post.

I'm amazed how many people would go in guns blazing and castigate this teacher without investigating further, or report him to the headteacher without a second thought.
Yes, as if the Headteacher hasn't got far greater worries to be dealing with at this moment in time.

Sometimes teachers get it wrong.
When I was about 9 years old I opened a window in the classroom and knocked over a jar of tadpoles.
I was made to clear up the mess with izal toilet paper and was told I could not be editor of the class newspaper any more.
Even as a young child I knew what he did was wrong and although I never told my parents I did hear some other teachers talking about it and saying he was wrong which made me feel better.
Also I got my editor job back because my replacement didn't want to do it.

trisher
I agree with your post.

I still shudder thinking about my first day of school and was yelled at by the teacher when I left my chair to pick up a pencil she dropped on the floor. I hated school and often wonder if the incident played a part or maybe am ( and still am) too sensitive

I’m nearly 70 but remember being caned by my teacher for the same crime. After being caned I fainted and banged my face on my desk resulting in a black eye. I was so ashamed of my ‘bad’ conduct, I did not tell my parents that my teacher had caned me. This incident has affected me so much so that I always double check my work for fear of making a mistake.

Yes , sometimes teachers do get it wrong, so do parents and grandparents and children .

It may have been done very differently to the way this is being interpreted. As in, "We're in Y6 now, and this is the beginning of a new school year. Let's start again with a beautiful clean page and no mistakes." Not necessarily bullying behaviour by anyone. As someone else said, who wants to look at a glaring mistake in a brand new book.

As an ex-teacher, I do think people over-react to these things. I used to find that Y3 children could be much more sensible and mature at school than given credit for at home.

I would imagine that this kind of behaviour from a teacher (and the negative consequences for some children) would be at the very heart of good teaching practise guidance on what not to do.

Bullying and unacceptable. But I also agree go in gently.....

GrannyAnnie2010

Lucca

Ah well I tried.

I hear you, Lucca. Keep up the good work.

Don’t think anyone else reads anything but the OP and then make their comment.....
Check out the other possible side of the story !!!

eazybee I just saw this
My friend still blames the Reception teacher for her grandson's dyslexia because she wrote comments in his work book in red ink, twenty years ago
How awful and dreadfully ignorant. Yes 20 years ago there were (and there still are) teachers who wrongly criticised dyslexic children. My youngest DS went through the system (well until he was 14) and there were teachers who were wonderful with him and teachers who weren't. But his dyslexia is a disability and wasn't "caused" by any of them. His brain simply works differently. It's something I struggled to understand being an avid reader,but I now appreciate he is never going to read for pleasure. He is still a wonderful and creative person who is very talented.But really a teacher causing dyslexia, would your friend blame the teacher if her DGS was deaf?

Lucca, I'd expect a teacher to nip any remarks from the boys in the bud, to set the standard that it's none of their business if you can see the girl's knickers, when they wear leotards and do gym and do handstands or cartwheels you can see the same amount of cloth for longer [daughter did sports acro for years, seen many a display] . Maybe suggest that they tuck their skirts into their knickers so they don't get them over their faces, but they shouldn't be harrassed for showing knickers for a few seconds. Eventually they won't want to and that will happen naturally