Do you see this as an intimidating comment by a teacher?

[diannescruffy]

DS13 told me that yesterday he and a friend were in an area of the Pod where they shouldn't have been. They were called over by the teacher of that area and he asked them "what would a pitbull do if you entered it's territory"? DS said "bark" the teacher replies "no it will go for your neck, I am the pitbull and if you come back into my area there will be severe consequences". It almost sounds like a threat, I just fail to understand why he couldn't have just told them plain and simply to stay out of his area.

Regards,
Dianne

[OceanPrincess]

Erm, yes, I see that as an intimidating comment. What are you going to do??

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

WOW, i know some teachers use intimidation or their 'reputation' as a tactic to get kids to toe the line but honestly... i don't think it's appropriate a simple "what are you doing in here" and a "you know your not allowed, come back and you ill be in trouble" would have done.

[*LittleMissSummer*]

That is a VERY inappropriate comment/threat to make especially to a student! I would report him.

To compare himself to a pitbull is almost calling himself a murderer.

[[M]umma[M]ia]

Very innapropriate!! Ide be taking it further!

[Calluna]

wow! That is really not on.

[diannescruffy]

I'm going to ring the school I'm just not sure if I should speak to the Yr8 Co-ordinator or the Principal. Was also thinking of ringing the Department of Education as I'm not confident the school will do much. DS13 said he wanted to go and talk to the principal himself so I told him if he feels comfortable in doing that then he should.

Regards,
Dianne

[kelebek]

I would hope the teacher didn't mean it as a threat and that it is a really bad analogy. I would be taking it up with the principle or his Department head just to make it clear that it is unacceptable.

[PumpkinZulu]

I wouldn't take it further, but that's just me. I wouldn't want myself or my child to be known as 'that' person, always making complaints etc. Teachers are people too, not jut these infallible figures in our kids lives. His comment was a little forceful, but maybe he was totally fed up with kids breaking the rules and not doing the right thing. Maybe your DS's friend (or your DS? I don't know his history) are getting into trouble a fair bit. I'd probably just tell my child to stay away from out of bounds areas, and if the teacher makes another comment that upset them like that, to let me know and if reconsider from there. But not for an isolated incident.

[Rouge]

Totally agree with teachers being people too. And unlike primary school they are given more freedom and respect and sometimes it doesn't get reciprocated to the teachers. I know this because I've been on both sides of the track and I don't know if it's changed much but when teachers were dobbed in it usually wasn't because they were at fault but often because there was a gripe because they could hold their own. Not that I'm accusing your son of anything just want to offer another perspective.

[*LittleMissSummer*]

Actually no i don't agree. Yes teachers are people but so are students and in no way should a student ever feel threatened or harassed by somebody that they are learning from. There are MANY other ways to get a point across. Who knows maybe they didn't know where they were was a restricted area, considering its a new school year and maybe rules have changed, i don't know. But his comment was very out of line and if nobody is willing to speak up then this teacher will get away with it over and over again.

So what if you are seen as 'those' people. I would rather stick up for my kid and be seen as a dibber dobber then ignore things and have them become depressed/anxious everytime they have to go to school. The worst that can happen is the teacher will be spoken to.

Dianne, you do what you feel is best for your son. Maybe even get him to approch that teacher and say that the comment was uncalled for. If the teacher then laughs or dismisses him then he should seek somebody higher up to talk to.

[Rouge]

Ok have to disagree there. I never said I would dismiss it, but I wouldn't go in guns blazing without all the facts, or better yet seeing if it was an isolated incident. And I certainly wouldn't send my child to talk to him about it for two reasons, it could make it a lot worse for for him or if there is an issue it could provoke more grief between the two of them.

[PumpkinZulu]

Our kids aren't made of glass though. We're talking about a 13 year old here, not a little kid. I will fiercely protect my daughter, but no, I won't be the person making complaints every time my child finds themselves in a situation they don't like. Like I said, if this is an isolated incident I'd leave it be. I'd explain that it's probably not a good idea to be going out of bounds, and to try and stay off of that teachers radar. By 13 I'd hope my daughter has a small sense of who people are and how people react, I'd just say you know what, Mr. X was pretty blunt when he spoke to you, try to stay out of his way from now on. If he says something like that to you again, let me know and I'll have a chat with him. I honestly do not want my kids going through high school with teachers so professional and infallible that my children go off into the real world unaware that sometimes, people in a higher position than you will sometimes also be jerks. I want them to know how to deal with that, professionally and emotionally, so that it's not so much of a big deal. I dunno. If this guy wasn't picking on my child on more than that occasion, I'd chalk it up as a lesson learned about the nature of some people and move on.

[LizLemon]

Our kids aren't made of glass though. We're talking about a 13 year old here, not a little kid. I will fiercely protect my daughter, but no, I won't be the person making complaints every time my child finds themselves in a situation they don't like. Like I said, if this is an isolated incident I'd leave it be. I'd explain that it's probably not a good idea to be going out of bounds, and to try and stay off of that teachers radar. By 13 I'd hope my daughter has a small sense of who people are and how people react, I'd just say you know what, Mr. X was pretty blunt when he spoke to you, try to stay out of his way from now on. If he says something like that to you again, let me know and I'll have a chat with him. I honestly do not want my kids going through high school with teachers so professional and infallible that my children go off into the real world unaware that sometimes, people in a higher position than you will sometimes also be jerks. I want them to know how to deal with that, professionally and emotionally, so that it's not so much of a big deal. I dunno. If this guy wasn't picking on my child on more than that occasion, I'd chalk it up as a lesson learned about the nature of some people and move on.

Yep, what I was trying to say but nowhere near as well.

It actually reminds me of a teacher at my school. He was so strict and scary and as lower school students we all thought he was the rudest bleep of a human being. And boy on the occasions we ever came across him did we stay in line. Then come year eleven I had him for I think it was physics. I was terrified and so not looking forward to having him. But he turned out to be the best educator I have ever come across. By the end of the year I worshipped this man, for while he was intimidating and probably not disimilar to the teacher in this instance when someone did something wrong, his ability to impart knowledge and to reward those doing the right thing was amazing. And as a 16 year old I was able to see that most of the supposedly scary things he was saying to the naughty or younger kids was actually tongue in cheek and he was just having a laugh while still disciplining. As a younger kid I wasn't able to see this.

I guess I'm saying as adults it's hard to get a genuine idea of the teacher through the child's perspective, as they will always be a bit intimidated to begin with. If you feel you must pursue it, which as a caring mother you have every right to do, go and have a chat to the teacher first. You never know, if he's anything like my teacher he could've been saying it all tongue in cheek and walked away with a bit of a chuckle.

[Mother Goose]

I'm not going to comment on the comment because enough ppl have. But can I just say DS, I am so impressed that your son told you and is comfortable enough to talk to the principal. It just shows what a great job of parenting you are doing!

[diannescruffy]

Thanks for all your replies, very appreciated. The day I posted this our internet crashed, was down until yesterday. I ended up speaking to the Yr 8 co-ordinator who agreed the comment was inappropriate. He also spoke to all the pod teachers to allow the children a little grace as the pod is huge and they are still unsure of the boundaries. He spoke to the teacher concerned and had a chat to DS and asked if he wanted to take things further to which DS said no.

Regards,
Dianne