What Were These Loony Teachers On?

[Just-Jude]

11 year old sent home from school trip for eating chocolate!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/5023786/Choc-n-nuts-Holli-sent-home-from-school-trip-for-eating-chocolate-bars.html

[modeller]

I was a teacher and I know the problems of looking after kids and irresponsible , ignorant parents. Talking of which what is your expertise of looking after kids.?

[jd_1984]

I remember a geography teacher of mine used to openly nibble on chocolate during lessons from a bar usually stashed in her desk!!

[factor-fiction]

I guess all 3 were disciplined but as we know this girl's mum elected to bring her home (thus blowing a hole in the 'sent home' story)

[naomi24]

Factor, Sounds like it. Going to the papers with it seems a bit of an over-reaction though. Still, if the girl's 11, she'll probably be moving to a new school in September, so at least there won't be on-going problems.

[jim360]

Well, JJ's never been one to let the facts get in the way of a good rant.

[Svejk]

Perhaps we are hearing one side of a story but the fact we're arguing on here about a bar of chocolate doesn't say much for the common sense of the teacher.
Surely this could have been dealt with in a better way.

[Just-Jude]

"irresponsible ignorant parents"...shame on them for giving their kids a treat to take on the school trip!

[sherrardk]

JJ - they were probably also told not to take any drinks in glass bottles. I expect you would be ok with it if your child was on the trip and a bottle got broken and your child badly cut themselves. If you entrust your children to go on a school trip where the teachers act in loco parentis then you have to accept the rules too.

[EDDIE51]

I wonder how much The Sun paid for the story ? A lot more than the £180 that it cost the Mum I bet.
Reading between the lines the Mum decided to come and collect her and the 'letter' was a classwork exercise not an actual personal letter . i will take a very heavy bet that the Mum now has a nice fee from the Sun. They offer several £1,000s for such stories.

[Just-Jude]

The mum comes across as a concerned parent, Im sure she's not interested in the money, only the mental anguish that her daughter went through.

[jim360]

Yeah, bet she turned the money down.

[Just-Jude]

You sound very cynical, jim.

[EDDIE51]

Just jude , The Sun journalists write the article and tell the Mother what they want her to say. That is how Fleet Street works very very little is ever reported exactly as the original subject told it.

[zebo]

Let's face it, we'll never agree on here. There are those of us who have taken school trips and have dealt with a roomful of gobby teenagers, then there are those who haven't, but know all the answers!
Sounds to me like yet another Andy Warhol moment, well done that concerned Mother, your 15 minutes are up I think. No doubt when your child turns round to give you a mouthful of lip in a couple of years time, you'll be back, blaming the schools for not teaching manners.

[Just-Jude]

I don't think they would last long if they kept printing lies.

[factor-fiction]

Now I know you're winding us up!

[Tilly2]

mental anguish?

[naomi24]

//The mum comes across as a concerned parent,//

She comes across to me as a mum who thinks her child can do no wrong - and there are plenty of those around. Since the child will probably be leaving next week, maybe the mother thought she'd put the boot in by going to the newspapers.

[boxtops]

when I was at boarding school, our letters home were always read by the teachers - I guess nothing's changed there - they didn't want us saying anything negative.

This seems to be a parent kicking off about the child breaking the rules - doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but making her go home is extreme.

[Just-Jude]

Mental anguish?...yes Tilly. Her daughter is now very withdrawn and may require counselling.

Naomi, she went to the papers to try and put right an injustice, the law is always on the side of the jobsworths.