how do i stand if a teacher called my child a ginger head?

Question

my son was being shouted at and a teacher called him a ginger head

Answer 1

You must report him to the police immediately.

The teacher must be punished, up to and including immediate dismissal.

And you should seek compensation for the obvious emotional trauma that you AND your son have been subjected to. In effect, you have both been "emotionally raped" by this person.

Gingerism must not be tolerated. We must stamp it out. There is no place for gingerism in Modern Britain.

Answer 2

Try to setup a meeting with the teacher. When preparing for the meeting consider your child's reaction to being called a ginger head; did he come home crying his eyes out, was it an oh-by-the-way my teacher called me a ginger head or did he seem more upset with his friends e.g. I"m not speaking to gary and mikey anymore because they laughed when the teacher called me ginger head.

Each reaction says something different about what the child thinks about what was said.

If he was crying his eyes out most likely he didn't expect this from his teacher and was caught completely off-guard: 1) He is kind of a teachers pet and being called a ginger head demotes him in status, or 2) The term is completely derogatory and degrading and having the label attached to him by the teacher is humiliating.

If he remarked in the oh-by-the-way when telling you of the incident then he's astute enough to know that the teacher crossed some line and is just following through on what you've taught him; he's keeping you informed and not exaggerating the facts.

If he is only concerned that his friends laughed then this is not good at all. Most likely it is he is not unaccustomed to being ridiculed by those in authority and he takes out his frustrations, in this example, on his friends.

So, consider what you hope to accomplish in your meeting. And, if you think there may be some admonishment don't have the child in the room. Don't villify the teacher to your child.

(we're grandparents now, eight times over)

Answer 3

What's a ginger head? I would ask the teacher about it, it sounds like something a child would come up with because he's mad at the teacher. If the teacher says she did, the two of you can work it out and she can then fix the situation with your son. If she says she didn't do it, talk to the people at the school and the kids in the classroom about what happened.

Answer 4

I do not know what the name means, or how it is offensive, but if it is offensive to your SON (not necessarily to you) then you should have a conversation with the teacher. If the name calling persists, you should then take it up with the principal. If your son was doing something at the time that he shouldn't have, you should also have a talk with him. Just because someone called him a name doesn't mean he should get away with being bad.

Answer 5

She must watch South Park....There is a joke about "gingers" on the show.

You should speak to the principal, and let him/her know what happened.

Are you absolutely sure the teacher called your child that (maybe it was another student? Were there witnesses?)

Answer 6

If your child has red hair then it is inapropriate to refer to the child by his /her hair colour, if he /she is not then the teacher should call him /her by the childs name , it is not a huge debate, but at the same time I would speak to the teacher and ask that they would not use that term again ,on this occasion I would not take it any further ,neither do you want to create a bad feeling for the child either. Should it happen again then the teacher need to be reported to the school board .

Answer 7

If that is the worse thing that ever happened to your kid you don't have much to worry about. I am more against teacher bullying than most people but calling a kid ginger head is well within normal. If you take the teacher to task about that then you are the one behaving unreasonably, not the teacher.

Answer 8

Speak to the teacher about the incident and keep in mind that sometimes children are mistaken about what was said to them. Ask your son who else was there who could confirm what happened. Teachers should only be shouting if they're calling students in from recess or if someone's about to be injured.

Answer 9

I had a similar situation when my son was about 10. He had just been told he had to wear glasses and he wasn't very happy about it. So you can imagine our anger when a supply teacher (who obviously didn't know all the children's names) called him "you, speccy".
I complained to the head teacher, and that supply teacher didn't come back to our school again.
Make your feelings known to the head and point out that if another child had said it, it would be seen as a form of bullying.

Answer 10

Is that because he has red hair, sort of like calling someone a carrot head? If so, then that was uncalled for. Kids (of any color hair) face enough self-esteem issues without their teacher contributing to it. I don't see why a derogatory remark about a child's appearance would have anything to do with disciplining him. I would set up a meeting and ask her why she thought that would be appropriate.

Answer 11

First find out both sides of the story. Or you speak to the school administration until something is done. Teacher's need to maintain a professional atmosphere and certainly do NOT need to be name-calling. However, you still need to make sure your son isn't causing trouble in class. Best of luck!