This is why, when teaching in an independent school, I refused to subscribe to the GTC, and why I retired at 61. My school was far from those described (thank God), but I foresaw this

A G Tottle, Nr Woodbridge, Suffolk,

I am disgusted about the decision taken by the GTC panel against Miss Mason. Dangerous and abusive behaviour, violence amongst youth, verbal abuse, racist remarks, rubbish, junk food, detentions yes all this is daily burden in the exercise of our professional conduct. Pupils in our schools are also the most unhappy in Europe. And so are their teachers. I am sick and tired to hear that teacher are always the ones to be blamed for the general lack of discipline and bad behaviour.(by the way , what is the up to date techniques that the GTP has to offer for us teacher???) WHY my PGCE training was seriously lacking in modules such as child psychology, behaviour and emotional disorders. Teaching is a challenge, sure it is!But we just not geared up for what s coming, or we just get overwhelmed by numbers. we need more support for teachers now! My current professional conduct request cctv in the classroom for personnal safety only.

loul, London,

Well done the supply teacher: Angela Mason MUST be supported as she had the photographical evidence of what goes in a class room. And all the people who gave her critisim and stood aganist her must be investigated as we public have really enough of lack of school disipline throughout the country.Why a teacher cannot touch an unrully, disruptive pupil, touching female teachers, verbal abuse, the list is endless. why must anyone put up with such behaviour agains them ?. The do gooders have brought this country to this state . 'RESPECT' starts being thought in the classroom , and finally the parents must be responsible of their childrens action , by the way smacking kids ... this is yet another matter to discuss !
Yours faithfully.

Omer, Newcastle,

Totally 100% in support of Angela Mason. Its about time someone did something about the lack of discipline and lack of respect many youths present today. Mrs Mason has been treated unfairly but then again - when is justice ever done these days? This is the start of things to come and maybe one day, there could be CCTV in classrooms - its everywhere else.

James Anthony, Nantwich, Cheshire, England

I wholeheartedly support Angela Mason in her efforts to highlight the problem of disruptive pupils. The quality of education received by all is being dictated by the worst-behaved, and if the NUT is genuinely concerned with the rights of pupils, then they should seek to remove the pupils who disrupt, not the teachers highlighting the problem

John Hamill, Belfast, County Antrim

I think that the parents need to step up to the plate and be responsible for their children's behavior. The teachers are paid to teach the children but not the general life skills they should already know. Students need to come to class to learn and yes smaller classes would be nice to devote more time for the kids that are willing to learn. I say that everybody needs to get up the courage to discpline and stop being scared of what the consequences are. Consequences are a part of life

Angie Johnson, Gladewater, US

Re: Jerym Eedy's comment:

Teachers DO have Trade Unions. Recently, most of them agreed to a pay-cut for many teachers! I rest my case......
John Gower.

John Gower, York, U.K.

The shift in the burden of proof in the classroom has been the source of the decline of discipline and order in classrooms to almost zero. A teacher must prove him or herself not guilty of somehow infringing on the child's rights rather than being accepted at their word as to the child's behavior being unacceptable. Fear of litigation, of hearings, questioning, and parental retaliation have led many to not do what common sense would tell them to do. Whether or not one's administrator backs up the teachers or caves in to pressure makes a great deal of difference but all too many administrators take the easy way out (in the short term) by letting poor student behavior go unpunished or noted to avoid dealing with messy situations. And it is all too true that teachers are now expected to teach the children the behaviors they should have been taught at home. Children are not coming to school prepared to be there in too many instances.

Lewis Murray, Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

A pupil (and his mother) accused me of writing a swear word on his work. When this was verified as not the case by actually looking at the work (by the Head and head of year), the child accused me of swearing directly at the class. I insisted stridenly that I had never ever and would never ever swear at children in a class, and so the child changed its story once again and said I had used a swear word under my breath. Rather than believing my testimony that I hadn't done any such thing, it was mooted to interview the kids in the class to see whether I was telling the truth or not!. This is AFTER the kid and his mother were found to be telling untruths about my supposed swearing! Whatever happened to professional trust? Whatever happened to being "innocent until PROVEN guilty" in the UK? By the way, the Head dropped all this nonsense after a lot of worry on my part. I have never had an apology either from the child or the mother for their false accusations.

Clare, Poole, Dorset

I was under the impression that teachers had trade unions.I must have been mistaken.

jerym eedy, caerphilly, uk

I left teaching not because I couldnt cope, but because I wasnt able to teach. In some of todays schools the best thing you can do to help students that want to learn is to leave them alone. This is because you spend your time trying to ensure that the disruptive students allow the other students to concentrate on their work. If the government (in any country) was seriously concerned about learning in schools they would stop asking teachers to teach things that parents should be teaching (general life skills), and reduce class sizes (as there are less idiots in smaller classes which should leave more time for teaching).

Rachel, Chch, NZ

When I was teaching back in the 1970s a colleague was maliciously and falsely accused, by her mother, of putting his arm round a girl pupil of 11 in an unacceptable manner. As soon as the complaint was made, the teacher was quietly asked to see the Head who fully supported the teacher but said he was obliged to inform the police while the teacher contacted an NUT official who was at the school within the hour. The mother was called in and, after meeting both the police and the NUT official, completely withdrew her statement and acknowledged that her daughter had been lying. This is the way in which these matters should be approached, certainly not as described in the article, What we all learned from this case was that Union membership for anyone dealing with children or young people is vital. Teachers need all the back-up they can get.
The behaviour of the Deputy Head in the case you report is absolutely beyond the pale and she should be subject to disciplinary action.

Ann Keith, Cambridge, uk

This is mad and why people have to pay to go private.

posey collier, London, UK

If you really want to learn about schools then go to www.ratemyschool.org.uk

sarah, London, UK

This is just one of the direct results of socialist legislation/bureaucracy that has contaminated British education and indeed all of our institutions.

As a result we have children/adolescents, teenagers and even many younger adults who cannot understand the meaning of the word no. Their wishes and desires are constantly pandered to and they have no recognition of the simple truth that actions have consequences.

This does not apply to them and they have become, de facto, omnipotent . This is entirely the creation of left wing lawyers/bureaucrats whose hidden agenda is the breakdown of traditional family values, discipline and structure for which they harbour a visceral hatred, along with most of the government (sic).

They care not about the social anarchy this creates, rather they are interested only in destroying what they see as bourgoise values.

Paul, Woodford Green,

It is not the teacher's fault that the children lack discipline. A lot of the blame must rest on the shoulders of the inspectorate. I worked as a teacher for 28 years ('75-03). There is an ancient Chinese curse that says : may you live in interesting times. I certainly did as a teacher. Inspectors used to be there only to advise, but gradually their role changed and they became a stick to beat you with, should the head wish to do so. They reported back on your lesson, undermining any confidence you had built up over the years. That confidence was totally the essence of being a good teacher. A teacher whose confidence is shaken or destroyed cannot teach: he cannot maintain discipline. The kids sense the uncertainty and circle in for the kill. It's the nature of the beast. By undermining the authority of a good head ( not an ambitious control freak) who consults his staff in private and adjudicates fairly you also further undermine the authority of the teacher. It happened to me.

Carlyle Braden, Croydon, U.K.

My wife is a Teacher and paid up member of the General Teaching Council. I brought the original article involving Angela Mason to her attention and politefully requested that she cancelled her Union subscription with immediate effect. I think it is an absolute disgrace that Ms Mason is being treated in this manner by an organisation whos ghost policy is to act in the Teachers best interest.

Once again we have a situation where people (children), who should know better, have acted inappropriately. But, unfortunately, the informer will suffer most.

I am sure Angela Mason believes she has done the right thing. I believe she has.

Colin, Norwich, UK , UK

Here is an idea cooked up by a barrister doing youth work, a primary teacher and an ex-teacher: We live in a society where if something does not have a price tag it isn't valued. Why can't we put a price on bad behaviour. If a kid behaves badly, they get a mark in their planner. Notch up too many negatives and your parents pay a fine. More negatives, more fines. The fines cannot be used as a source of revenue (they will be too measly anyway) but use it to fund awards for the kids who do achieve, academically or vocationally. Too many fines and you go to borstal with corporal punishment thrown in. Parents could also pay a bond for their own and their kids good behaviour. Parents should also sign a contract not to undermine teachers. If they have a problem they should take it up with the headteacher, not tell their little darling that they have the right to not do as they are told. An idea worth exploring perhaps. Its all about incentives, man, as any economist could tell you.

Robert Grundy, London,

We are in the position of the man who is banging his head with a hammer and then wondering why he is sore. If you remove effective disciplinary sanctions from teachers, chaos will ensue. It's not rocket science. Our newspapers are full of street violence, disaffected youth and illiterate school leavers. The restrictions on teachers controlling classes have never been greater. For pity's sake, will somebody in Westminster PLEASE make the connection.

Roddy Campbell, Christchurch,

I taught for 30 years under 7 different Heads, all of whom but the last (a woman incidentally) would have firstly privately investigated the matter with the teacher concerned and initially defended him/her in public until when or if they were convinced to do otherwise. They would certainly have not asked for written statements from the other children. If anyone needs disciplining here it is the deputy Head who acted in such an unprofessional way. One wonders how such a person was appointed. The first loyalty and trust of the senior teacher must be to the teacher accused, until such time as the accusations can be proved valid, and furthermore parents should be made aware of this.

Derek Butler, Berwick-upon-Tweed, England

The school environement has been greatly altered from that of the previous generations. There was a time when discipline was just that, disicpline, and disruptive influences where dealt with in a way that caused them to change their behviour. Times have changed, and while i agree that violence agaisnt children should be prohibited, i feel that the current methods of punishment are severely inadequate. There be much thought put into the punishment system in our shcools in order to ensure that such behaviour as that descirbed does not continue to disrupt and disturb the environment for our hard working children that are being corrupted and exposed to a violent, volatile and abusive atmosphere.

Concerned, Slough,

Schools are places where young people learn. Unfortunately it appears that one of the lessons being learned under this climate is that all behaviour is acceptable and that there is no sanction that is available. And that if anyone does attempt to impose any sanction for unacceptable behaviour they can be punished. As a police officer I see the end result of this learning. I hear people of all ages expressing a belief that they can do what they like and nobody can do anything about it. being taken through the courts comes as a surprise. maybe this is why our prisons are full. Because we are deliberately teaching that right and wrong makes no difference.

Rick, Lincoln,