josimar - Spot on. Very few people, parents included, have had...

josimar - Spot on. Very few people, parents included, have had the experience you have of actually watching a teacher at work. Very evidently you know the scene now. Once those little f....ers become big kids, they are also now even bigger f....ers. The discipline codes presented to new teachers as to how to cope with the worst of them, fail miserably as their intent crumbles in the face of practicalities. Teachers in charge of the Detention classes complain if too many of the f....ers get them after school for them to look after. Detention requires parental consent and reasons carefully written out in detail for the punishment. In order to write this up takes time and the Detention Book is purposely kept well out of the convenient reach of teachers, so detentions are rarely given for misdemeanours occurring regularly within each class room. The behavioural code is violated without ramification over and over again on any single day for each and every teacher. The worst of them are ignored. I can recall something being done about a child who threw a lighted match into a wastepaper basket when the loudspeaker system called out there was going to be a fire drill, starting now. He reckoned he might as well make the exercise worthwhile.