Unfair practice can ruin a child’s education (From Warrington Guardian)

Unfair practice can ruin a child’s education

3:30pm Thursday 7th June 2012 in Letters

I AM writing this letter in regard to a practice that happened when I was at school some 25 years ago – it affected me deeply and has had a huge impact on my life. I have recently found out that this practice still goes on throughout schools today.

I am astonished that teachers still take the disruptive members of the class and sit them next to the well-behaved students, using them to influence the badly-behaved pupils.

I was one of the well-behaved children and right through my schooling I was used like this. I was taken away from my friends and put with pupils that compromised my education. I was frightened of getting into trouble and to be sat next to trouble makers and at times aggressive bullies which only led to me going to school in fear. Some of the pupils I had thrust upon me would then want me to behave like them, and as I was too afraid they would threaten me and humiliate me. By the time I left school I had no self-confidence and believed I was a worthless nerd. I had become intoverted through fear of more bullying.

Many of the badly-behaved students had such behavioural problems that it was not long after leaving school that they ended up in jail for assault and GBH etc.

So, I ask, is this a form of child abuse? Is this happening to your child at school? Imagine your child being forced to be in the company of bullies six hours a day. There can be no justification for these teaching practices. With bullying such a huge problem at schools, and the fear that some children have in coming forward, to put children at risk like this must be wrong.

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