According to “Britain’s harshest headmaster,” also known as “The Hitman,” teachers are leaving the field because of “habitually nasty and hostile” kids.
The 54-year-old teacher trainer and consultant Barry Smith claims that teachers are quitting their jobs “in droves” because they are being tormented by the students they are supposed to be teaching.
The contentious former headteacher, whose policies included a “required grin” and referring to detained pupils as “detainees,” is now advising other educators to establish tighter regulations in order to foster a “culture of respect.”
“Children are routinely ruthless and violent – it’s a social issue,” he remarked.
I visit schools to demonstrate to instructors how to teach youngsters to be courteous.
I advise them to be kind to one another while also setting boundaries so that everyone understands where they stand.
Teachers are quitting their jobs in large numbers, and being mistreated by kids is a big reason why.
Nearly half of England’s teachers intend to resign over the next five years, while a fifth claimed they would do so within the next two years, according to a National Education Union poll.
Mr. Smith emphasises that the goal is not to make kids afraid, and he urges teachers to be “warm and friendly.”
Everyone engaged in it at school, where there were some teachers with whom you could get away with mischief and others with whom you knew you had to behave.
The head’s responsibility is to foster a climate of predictability and safety that is based on true respect for one another.
After taking over a failing school in 2017, Mr. Smith reopened it as the Great Yarmouth Charter Academy in Norfolk.
He allegedly wrote a letter to parents detailing what hairstyles boys were and weren’t permitted to have, as well as asking kids to get up at 6.30am every day.
He once gave half the school detention in a single day. He will be posted to Hackney New School in East London in February 2020.
He allegedly forced students sing chants about excellent behaviour, fold their arms while they spoke, and even skip class to attend assemblies about discipline.
“I adopt policies that foster a culture of sincere mutual respect,” he declared.
Teachers are in charge of you, but we do so with respect and love. Kids should treat us with the same respect that we do for them.
The stress of dealing with parental complaints, which has escalated since the outbreak, has also been mentioned by school staff.
Since the pandemic, parents and children believe they may contact instructors whenever they need to, according to Teacher’s Union member Sharon Bishop.
“Many of us have been instructed to download apps like ClassDojo [an educational software programme] to our phones,” says the author. “Parents and students have developed the habit of shooting off emals 24/7, with the banal, odd, and occasionally, more concerningly, angry and accusatory remarks.”