Why Would A Pupil Say This About Me As A Teacher?

[Jack8991]

So in the beginning of 2020 before covid came I was working as a supply teacher in high schools, I now do primary teaching instead. Basically there was this one girl who I’d taught before and she was always very polite and pleasant to have as a student. She used to always say hi and this one particular day she asked me what class I was teaching after break and it just so happened it was a class she was in. She directed me to that classroom. During the lesson I noticed she was doing a lot more talking with her friends than working so I walked over in front of their desk and told them to get on and I picked up her work book to read and told her she needed to do more. She said she needed a new pen so I said she could get one from the from the front of class. As she got up I noticed she had rolled up her skirt to the point of it being way too short for school so I told her to put it back to the length allowed in school, which she did. After that nothing else happened. 3 days later I’m at home and I get a phone call from the agency I worked for saying that this girl had accused me of leaning right in her face and asking her to pull down her skirt (obviously making it sound sexual). I denied these claims and other pupils who was in the class also vouched for me, so nothing else came of it. I just can’t understand why someone would go to such lengths to accuse someone of something so serious when nothing of the sort ever happened. Especially when there was a class full of 29 witnesses?

[sanmac]

Am I the only one who, after reading the OP numerous times, thinks that there's something amiss, quirky, or strange regarding the situation being described?

[Jack8991]

Barmaid- she didn’t, however, I’m saying that someone must be sick in the head to do such a thing and she is asking me why am I surprised as she is a teenage girl like that is normal for teenage girls to do

[Jack8991]

Anneasquith- yes I am a teacher, can I ask, are you a teacher?

[anneasquith]

I doubt we need to be teachers to ‘ understand ‘ teenagers and their behaviour.

[anneasquith]

As an aside I didn’t query your credentials .

[Jack8991]

Anneasquith- I really don’t know why you feel the need to make an argument out of this. You are making out as this is normal behaviour for teenagers to do and that it should be expected of them, well it isn’t, it is abnormal for people of any age to make serious false allegations like that

[sanmac]

Those who can, do...Those who can't, teach. By the way, I taught elementary school for about 8 years, but then became more ambitious.

[anneasquith]

I can assure you, arguing is not my intention.

[Mamyalynne]

No one is saying that all teenage girls you come across in your teaching career will be like this one Jack, just that, now and again you'll come across behaviour of this kind.

[chelle7272]

I don't think anyone is making an argument out of it. It IS quite normal for teenagers to push boundaries and if you are a supply teacher you are a target. Always was in my day which was some years ago now, and I'm informed by school aged kids I know that giving supply teachers a hard time is still very usual behaviour.
I'm more concerned about you dwelling on something from years ago than about anyone else's behaviour!

[Jack8991]

Anneasquith- ok fair enough, so in your opinion as a female yourself, what is your theory as to why this girl who knew me for ages one day decided to make an allegation like this out of the blue?

[tonyav]

Good job he wasn't teaching when I was at secondary school, mini skirts were at the highth of fashion and my school did not enforce the school uniform rule.

[Jack8991]

Chelle- yes I get that they give supply staff a hard time but there is a difference between giving supply a ‘hard time’ and making a serious allegation like that. Besides, I already knew this girl for a year before this so it’s not like she just saw me as a newbie. I’m also not dwelling on it, it just happened to pop into my head tonight and I was curious is all

[albaqwerty]

She was/is a teenage girl. Having been one, there is no logic to actions/lack of actions, teenage girls 'just do'. I agree with the majority, it was the short skirt comment she didn't like.

Forget about it. The next time a random thought like that re-appears, shove it back in the box, tie the box with string and put in the cupboard, never to be opened again.

[tonyav]

Exactly ah wench.

[chanel5]

If you have to ask this question on an online forum, it calls into question whether or not you have enough understanding of adolescent children to be able to survive in the classroom as a teacher.

Sorry if this sounds harsh. I speak as a teacher myself. You need to first and foremost understand the species that you are dealing with. If you don't understand that, you shouldn't be teaching.

[1ozzy]

https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Body-and-Soul/Question1768304.html

Nuff said.

[sanmac]

As I suggested at 0014, I just thought there was something "off' about the initial post.

[1ozzy]

;-/

[LadyCG]

FGS give the guy a break.

No idea why the student said what she did but people can be utterly malicious when they want to be and hell bent on causing as much distress and anguish as they can. Never sink to their level and never try to understand what makes them tick - I doubt they even know themselves.

Rise above it and just remember you are better than her.