A retired primary school teacher has been hauled before a disciplinary panel after branding his pupils "pests, idiots and buffoons".
Roger Griffin, a former music teacher, was told by his school not to come into work while during its Ofsted inspection and, in retaliation, played the piano in the school hall for the entire day.
In response to complaints about his language, Griffin wrote a letter to Beechview School in High Wycombe, Bucks, saying: "Persistent miscreants who act like delinquents can expect to be treated as such.
"If they don't like being called idiots, fools, clowns, buffoons or any similar epithet, there is a very simple solution: don't act like one," the Daily Telegraph reported.
Griffin, who had worked at the school for nine years, was reported by the acting assistant headteacher who said he had been "unduly punitive" when he put three children in detention for fidgeting.
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Griffin told the Teaching Agency disciplinary hearing in Coventry, West Midlands, one child had been "cavorting" in the classroom and asked the panel: "How do you describe that sort of behaviour without using that sort of language? There is no other way, is there?"
The 66-year-old, who is now retired, faces two charges of serious misconduct towards staff and pupils, who were aged eight and nine years old, between December 2007 and May 2008.
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Sir Chris Bonington holds the Olympic torch on the summit of Mount Snowdon on May 29, 2012 in Llanberis, United Kingdom. Legendary mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington, aged 77, was given the honour of carrying the torch to the summit of Wales's highest mountain, the place his climbing career began 61 years ago. The Olympic Flame is now on day 11 of a 70-day relay involving 8,000 torchbearers covering 8,000 miles. (Photo credit: Getty)
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A retired primary school teacher has been hauled before a disciplinary panel after branding his pupils "pests, idiots and buffoons".
Roger Griffin, a former music teacher, was told by his school no...
A retired primary school teacher has been hauled before a disciplinary panel after branding his pupils "pests, idiots and buffoons".
Roger Griffin, a former music teacher, was told by his school no...
This teacher is right. If a kid is acting like an idiot, I have no problem telling him or her so. What a parent does not understand is that there are 24 or so other students in the class. The negative behavior needs to be stopped quickly and sometimes that means saying something that is not in the 'handbook.' This is not a matter of being professional or anything else, it is a matter of being efficient and stopping the behavior as quickly as possible. Students will often ignore the pleasant plea to stop negative behavior or they continue the behavior until they are 'shut down.' I know there will be those out there claiming it is never appropriate to go to such lengths, but you are dead wrong. Some times it takes an idiot to know he is acting like an idiot in order to gain his attention and eventually his compliance.
Vgman: This teacher is right. If a kid is acting like
Right let me think this over....You can't lock em up, you can cane them, you can't smack them, you can't force them into doing a detention, you can't make them wear their uniform right, you can't kick them out without paying a huge fee, unless you play dirty games, humilitaing them out of order, it's wrong to make them pick up litter as a punishment, and you've got a huge list of words you cannot call them taking out all the clout in anything a teacher can say. A teacher faces punishment if they get angry. So basically a teacher is left with playing gentle psychological games on a student to make them behave, which in due course will be deemed mental abuse.
It's all very pathetic. Children aren't all as sensitive as we think, and they are far more manipulative than we give them credit for.
Ben_Wilson: Right let me think this over....You can't lock em up,
If the stupid man thought that of his pupils, how did he install respect into them, because before you get respect you have to give it. he should have chosen another profession because it is obvious he should never have been a teacher.
junenorris: If the stupid man thought that of his pupils, how
It's often forgotten that teaching (nursing too) is a vocation not a career. This is what happens to even the best of people when they have given too much. Teachers, and some other professions, need to be reaffirmed in their vocation and rewarded and appreciated for their dedication to it. The best way of doing it is a paid sabbatical.
Laatab: It's often forgotten that teaching (nursing too) is a vocation
They get a 3 month sabbatical every year... it's called a Summer, Christmas and Easter holiday!... not for Nurses though to be fair, who do seem to get raw deal.
I still can't believe that this guy was a primary school teacher... I don't envy teachers for older kids, but he clearly doesn't have the empathy to deal with younger kids who you are trying to encourage (which is mostly the parents reponsibility anyway).
mwatts199: They get a 3 month sabbatical every year... it's called
It's idea that teachers get these long breaks is a bit of a myth. They spend most of these breaks marking papers and preparing the next terms classes. A sabbatical is a complete break not jkust a holiday and should be for at least a year. One every ten years would increase the quality of teaching no end.
Laatab: It's idea that teachers get these long breaks is a
It's often forgotten that teaching (nursing too) is a vocation not a career.
for what teachers get paid it is a career calling it vocational is a bit of a joke really compared with other professions and jobs where the salaries are but a fraction of that of teachers
Nursing meanwhile is a vocational job as few would do it for the money ordinary nurses get paid. would teachers and nurses change places? nurses probably would for the teachers wage, but not the other way round
northern_git: It's often forgotten that teaching (nursing too) is a vocation
WI disagree.Nursing takes years of study and passing both practical and overcritical assessment and involves continuous training and therefore is a profession,Also i feel you are comparing basic nurses not specialists who have degree's and are comparable with doctors,also theater nurses get paid more(as they should) I have known many nurses both Srn's and specialist and they are way more professional than accountants and Middle managers.
A good teacher is worth more than Meryvn King(and is more professional) yet gets paid a fraction of what he gets paid to destroy the country.
Its time to get away from this vocation rubbish which allows fully trained and qualified people to be devalued and underpaid.
Gunderan: WI disagree.Nursing takes years of study and passing both practical
We have been for the last 40 years having a Social Experiment with our Children which has developed into a no blame culture for the children .
Lack of disapline or punishment for there actions has not given us children who are kind and understanding , but a group who seem to think that they have a right to something with little or no effort.
And if you think this does not include you.Ask were your living Parents and Grandparents are
right now.
Do you think your children will treat you any better ;)
liebensuc: We have been for the last 40 years having a
He is not saying ALL pupils are Idiots Pests or Buffoons - but some undoubtedly are as any teacher will confirm - just about every class has its " boffin " and almost every class has its " idiot " orv " clown " or " classroom lawyer " - it is the nature of humanity simply - there are always some exceptionally attentive pupils and a few exceptionally inattentive - all he is doing is stating the obvious
ronnieince: He is not saying ALL pupils are Idiots Pests or
An example if one was needed as to why is was ridiculous to higher the retirement age, there are many young teachers who can't get a job who still have enthusiasm for teaching because teachers like him who are clearly past it are still in the job. Same in every other line of work.
janno000: An example if one was needed as to why is
If you don't chastise a child now when in infant and primary school then you have lost the battle because they will go on to become delinquents. Bring back the cane there is no discipline in schools today, so can you wonder why so many kids run riot. It did not do us any harm and we sure wanted to learn so that we could get up into a higher class and leave that teacher behind, but it worked. I am not saying we did not let off steam outside of school we did playing "Knock A Down Giner" on our way home from school. Children need discipline they know where they stand then. I can remember a teacher calling me stupid when I could not do something I sure learned how to do it the next time.
Barbara_Longstaff: If you don't chastise a child now when in infant
Another example of someone utterly unfit to teach young children. In a time past he would probably have been one of those sadistic ''teachers'' who beat children whom they did not like. Education needs to be rid of these menaces to children in favour of those who can inspire and nurture future generations. In my experience both as a pupil and as a TA, those teachers who like young people and who inspire them get superb results from even the most challenging of students. Those 'teachers' who clearly dislike the company of children and who view them with disdain and ridicule, rarely get the best from them and are without exception disliked in return. Children who dislike their teachers do not achieve their potential and quite rightly usually view those teachers with disdain in return!
iamhollypalmer: Another example of someone utterly unfit to teach young children.
I couldn"t agree more. I had teachers who called me and other pupils names and hit us, they were to the last one poor teachers who couldn"t teach their subject properly. The best teachers were those who knew their subject and commanded enough respect in the classroom to keep discipline without resorting to abuse or violence.
glenn_c: I couldn"t agree more. I had teachers who called me
i remember a teacher who used the power of his personality to teach us kids. He had a marvellous sense of humour and could have us doubled up in stitches with just a few words. He could make a boring subject the most interesting in the world and his after school science club was always a popular activity.
On the other side of the coin he could pull unruly kids up just by changing the tone of his voice, he never raised it. Once a kid had had his telling off he moved on and the boy never had the feeling the the teacher remained angry or had been abusive.
That was in the late 60s at a time when kids were still being caned for really petty offenses. I have never had a problem with caning but abusive teachers I came across are still in my memory and they did nothing to earn my respect.
Flinglebunt: i remember a teacher who used the power of his
I am not sure why everyone thinks it is OK to be nasty to children in this manner by name calling etc. It is clearly setting a bad example. Don't get me wrong, I am all for discipline; I just don't see how using derogatory terms to call children would be classed as giving discipline. The teacher in question clearly had issues if the police had to escort him off the premises. It frightens me to think that someone like that would be teaching my child. When I was about 10 I was picked on by my teacher for a whole year. She used to call me names and completely broke my confidence. I was never the same; even now, some 30 years later. I always felt I was one of the better behaved in the class but if she could find something to pick on me for, she would.
I guess what I am trying to say is name calling isn't a form of discipline and if a teacher feels they have to do it then they are not fit to be a teacher imo.
eascompute: I am not sure why everyone thinks it is OK
Gratuitous name calling is ione thing but calling someone an idiot if they are behaving like one is ok. I think it is the small bits of discipline which add up to form the big picture for instance sit children in alphabetical order ,stand up when a teacher comes in etc
eastlondon: Gratuitous name calling is ione thing but calling someone an
"The 66-year-old, who is now retired, faces two charges of serious misconduct towards staff and pupils"... If he's already retired, what difference would a misconduct charge make?
He does sound like a jumped up tool though. Good teachers inspire minds, bad teachers destroy them.... and he looks like the Emperor from Star Wars which is never a good sign.
mwatts199: "The 66-year-old, who is now retired, faces two charges of
When I was at grammar school in the late 1950s and early '60s we were called far worse than the relatively mild language Mr Griffin used, by masters who were largely cane-wielding homicidal maniacs who would never get through the PC brigade standards these days. But we accepted this as part of our education and upbringing, and basically conformed to the regime that was inherent at the time. For one thing it taught us resilience and right from wrong - and, above all, a great respect for authority. We didn't like all of it all of the time, but there were some memorable moments - not all bad, by any means. As in most things, standards have declined and society is now suffering as a result. I'm thankful I shall not be around in another sixty years to see the surely disastrous results of present-day lack of discipline and respect.
zonophone78: When I was at grammar school in the late 1950s
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The Huffington Post UK | By Lucy Sherriff Posted: 29/05/2012 10:09 Updated: 29/05/2012 10:11