The General Teaching Council should be ashamed of itself for persercuting Mrs Mason for highlighting the conflict in classrooms. She should have been congratulated for highlighting the problem. This action smacks of a totalitarian regime.

David Wise , Salisbury,

When my wife was training as a teacher, the saying was "those who can't do, teach; those who can't teach, teach teachers". Perhaps now we should add, "those who can't teach teachers are promoted to the GTC".
It's quite obvious that the bureacracy has no idea of the realities at the 'chalkface', or, rather, in front of the interactive whiteboard. And the GTC is a complete time-wasting absurdity which is funded my involuntary subscriptions deducted from teachers' salaries by force majeure.
Until governments and local authorities are prepared to take proper action to deal with badly-behave and undisciplined children and their parents, education in England will be blighted and teachers work with those who do wish to learn will be undermined.
It is absurd that a physicaly or verbally violent child cannot be immediately removed from school, and the parents should then be forced to pay for the additional costs of schooling their child in an appropriate setting.

RW, Chichester,

As a teacher I have often wanted to secretly film lessons, just so I could show parents how their little darlings actually behave. I know some parents won't care (for example the ones who supply false contact details so we can't bother them) but other would be horrified.

Many of the skills that are considered necessary for teaching are related to behaviour management. The behaviour only needs to be managed to such an extent because "modern" pedagogy dictates that children have an option to be other than obedient without facing significant and fear-inducing consequences. Secondary teaching has turned into children's entertainment, pandering to the video game induced attention span of a house fly, with a little bit of learning on the side.

D, Herefordshire,

What is happening to young people in britain, i believe that this person should not have been suspended from her post.She was highlighting what is happening, and how can we support education to maintain some sort off order, promoting education as a positive experience. After all these children and young adults are britains future. I have to say, that many parents undervalue education due to many factors which may be happening in their own lives. Maybe educating parents is the way to go...
Im sure there are many teachers, see this behaviour and attitude every day of their working lives.

j forsyth, blairgowrie, scotland

Silly woman. If she had posted it all on YouTube alongside all her erstwhile pupils' happy-slapping footage, none of this fuss would be happening. From the nation with more CCTV coverage than the rest of the world combined, this decision appears a tad squeamish on the part of the authorities -- you know, the ones with the 14 million or so other cameras trained on the same pupils everywhere they go outside the school. Big Brother appears to be bullying his little sister.

David Masu, Zürich,

she must have an agent, she went in the schools to get a result. she never wanted to teach these children. her aim was to get good footage for the programme. Her lack of authority was evident and she now has her five minutes of fame. beats being a teacher i suppose. i personally know a pupil that was in that footage and i know for a fact she egged them on to get a result. she us to be a teacher, she has no right to call herself a teacher, shes a journalist remember that.

helen, london, u

This lady was right to film the classroom, she is being made an example of because she has embarassed the peolpe responsible for this behaviour e.g. the disruptive pupils, the parents and the teaching council who should be taking action. I look foward to a new generation of thugs when these pupils graduate.

John Gilliland, Portadown, Northern Ireland

About time too - kind of reverse happy slapping - I think the teaching profession needs to reaalise the tax payers pay for them and that we are very much entitled to see how they are performing and that includes being able to control behaviour.

Dave Robertson, Macclesfield, UK/Cheshire

Well...... I teach in a school and I have to say that my viewing of the program suggested the GTC were quite correct: the woman clearly is incapable of teaching, lacking almost all the necessary skills. Many of the problems, if I recall the program correctly, seemed of her own making and/or made worse by her unprofessional and inept conduct...

TG, Oxford,

Well done Angela Mason. I am saddened to see that the British educational system is no longer professionally managed.

John MacKinnon, Lincoln, England

It's about time we went back to treating ant-social people and criminals with real severity, rather than giving them the green light to worsen their behaviour even more.

Where I live we cannot put barbed wire on the top of fencing which is regularly broken into because we would be liable for injury to trespassers. Why?

Why for example does a rapist, pedofile or murderer get 14 years, often very much less? It should be 30 to 50, at least in normal circumstances.

As with the under-cover teacher in this article and many, many other cases, just another example of the rampant idiocy in much of contemporary justice.

One of the worst thing about life today is political correctness, which almost always is totally and utterly incorrect. How on earth did we get to this totally absurd state of affairs?

Stephen Felce, Enfield, United Kingdom

Having seen what does go on in a classes, will the GTC do something about it? No, because it shows that they, along with others, have had their heads in the sand for too long. OK, the teacher may have been wrong in secretly filming, but for the GTC to put the pupils' behaviour down to her inability to exercise control is simplistic and a total whitewash.

Chris D, Edinburgh, Scotland

Along with many others involved with education the GTC penalises someone for revealing the truth in the classroom of many secondary schools. I too was a supply teacher for four years and in all that time the number of well behaved classes was small.

Today' disruptive students will be the parents of tomorrow's more disrutive students. However, those involved with educational will be spouting grand theories whilst those at the chalk face, face disruptive, rude and aggressive future pillars of society..............................!

Rodney Barker, Gainsborough, United Kingdom

Angela Mason should be given a OBE for service to the country, instead she is victimised by the liberal elite who are resonsible for so many of this countries problems.

andrew brown, derby, UK

Full marks to the teacher!

Rosemary, London,

She should not have been suspended, as she did a valuable service. The minority of students who make teachers' and other students' lives a misery are the ones who should be disciplined. There is no excuse for their behaviour.

Astrid, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

It would seem that school administrations in the UK are sometimes similar to those alleged to be in the US--a bunch of pompous elitists whose only real concern is the protection of their own jobs and income.

The concern for the effectiveness of learning or of the students' deportment is minimal.

No wonder the corporations are outsourcing--the local yokels have learned nothing of value.

Neal E. Wilson, Manchester, Connecticut

PROGRESS

When I went to a British school, each teacher had a thick leather belt on his/her desk...and the Headmaster had a nice collection of canes in his
office. They were USED!...VIGOROUSLY!!...when appropriate!!!

I got my share (I WAS a boy)..so did my classmates.

Caning did NOT kill any of us...nor did it cause any lasting physical or psychological damage! In fact, I believe that my school produced VERY many disciplined, high-quality, high-achieving men who ultimately became outstanding citizens, husbands and fathers.

No one in my school would ever DREAM of being rude or disrespectful to a teacher! ! ! !

Of course, that was many years ago: I guess we have
become much more "enlightened" in our eductional practices and attitudes today.

Garth Rex, Glendale Heights, USA

If it is of any crumb of comfort to Ms Mason, the situation is exactly the same here in Queensland. My partner has experienced the same chaos as a supply teacher in State schools here in Queensland.
Shame on the GTC for shooting the messenger. Double shame on the Teaching Union for doing likewise.
Never mind, let's just fiddle while the Rome of education burns.
You have my respect Ms Mason and as the native here say "Good on you".

Peter, Brisbane, Australia

I teach, but wouldn’t think of doing so in England. Teachers are trapped by the little rats below & the big rats above. Just look at how the union backed up the council ( the employer ) against this teacher. Do something to cure the problems? No chance. Protect the system not the teacher. A system that is almost out of control. A missed chance, missed by stupidity & cowardice.

JCM, Alicante, Spain

This is what happens when commities such as this turn a blind-eye to the truth. They are just afraid of angry parents turning up on their doorstep upset that their troublemaker of a son/daughter was portrayed in what would appear to be typical behaviour.

Conclusion: the higher-ups are just ignorant when it concerns their wellbeing.

R.B, Newport, Wales

The few good people left in teaching, who are prepared to stand up for their ideals, will get punished by this governments' puppet 'authorities'. This Teacher is nothing but a scapegoat for the failings of this government and their policies.

R, stansted, UK

i work in a school and im sure its not the worst school in the world but kids are out of control and its not the teachers fault ,it`s just seems to be the norm to keep bad kids in school when they should be somewhere else. in a class of 30 there can be upto 4 students that are totaly out of control, I am from a working class background A fabricator for 20 years and never dreamed that the education system was such a mess till i worked in a school.

mike hughes, birmingham, westmidlands

what can you say,will the last person with any IQ or even none please close the door on the way out,sorry your honour i forgot you were deaf and blind

ian martin, glasgow,

Well done Angela Mason!! Teachers are blamed for everything!! They cannot discipline bad behaviour, for fear of violence from, parents or pupils, or reprisals from anyone including the Social Services, the GTC, ofsted, the government and others.
I am disgusted that the unions, ( a complete waste of space) have the gall to side with that jumped up heap of money grubbing petty bureaucracy the GTC.
Yet they are blamed every time it is convenient to point to them for social and educational ills.
Go the Conservative manifesto!!

Simon, Exeter, England