AS A retired teacher, I read with interest the story of the pupil whose mouth was taped by a teacher "Pupil's mouth taped shut for 15 minutes for talking" (June 10); and with even more interest the quoted comments and responses of her parents, the school, the NUT and other readers.
The teacher concerned has, to his credit, apologised, but the girl's parents want him to be punished further, even to the extent of calling for his suspension.
But try as I might, I cannot find any mention of the nuisance this girl must have been by disrupting the class or, indeed, any report of insistence by her parents that she should apologise.
I doubt whether the teacher would have been driven to tape her mouth had this been an isolated act, and it would have been good to read of parents supporting disciplinary action.
The father suggests the pupil should have been sent out of the class, but suppose she had run off, instead of standing meekly outside the door, and gone off site – what then? The repercussions would have been far greater. Even in my day we were warned not to send pupils outside the classroom as we were responsible for them for the whole lesson.
My sympathies are entirely with the teacher. If this disobedient pupil had been taught to behave properly (a parent's job as much as a school's?) the incident would not have taken place. I hope soon to read that the school has spoken very strongly to the parents about her behaviour, and that the girl has had the decency to apologise to her teacher, her class and the school for both her disruptive behaviour and the bad publicity all round.
Anne Johns
Littleover
