Are teachers allowed to get angry?

A teacher was banned from working with children after telling a Muslim child that “Britain is still a Christian state…” and gave a lecture to the class about the King being the head of the Church of England.

He was suspended and later sacked for the incident in which he allegedly admonished students for washing their feet in sinks in the boys’ lavatories.

The primary school teacher, who had been employed at the school for three years, was referred to his local safeguarding board over comments he made at the non-faith, so-called ‘county’ school in London.

The Metropolitan Police were called in to investigate the incident as an alleged ‘hate crime’ and the child abuse investigation team also became involved.

The teacher was initially banned from working with children after the safeguarding officer concluded he had made ‘hurtful comments about Islam’ and that a child had been subjected to emotional harm. The teacher has now succeeded in appealing the ban and is understood to be working at another school.

However, let’s examine a couple of issues from legal, ethical and moral positions.

First of all, has the teacher done anything illegal? There is no evidence of illegality and the police soon concluded their involvement. Indeed, the teacher stated facts – that “Britain is… a Christian state” and that the King is the head of the Church of England. In a liberal democracy that values free speech, facts cannot be illegal.

Secondly, is there anything here that the teacher has done that is unethical? Depending on the teacher’s tone of voice, it may be that the teacher did not “treat pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect…” or “show tolerance of and respect for the rights of others…” as is required by the Teachers’ Standards, the code of conduct for teaching in England. We have no way of knowing his tone of voice, but the child who made the complaint said he was frightened by the teacher’s remarks.

I have to admit that on the many occasions I was angry at children over the course of career that spanned forty-odd years, my tone would certainly have frightened a lot of children.

Is it unethical for teachers to display anger? No, of course not. But there is a fine line between displaying anger that shows a teacher’s justifiable annoyance or frustration at children who misbehave, disobedient or impertinent.

In this case, we don’t know if the boys were misbehaving by purposely contravening a school rule or were genuinely making an error of judgment about what is and is not appropriate to do in such circumstances.

Thirdly, is what the teacher did immoral? The judgment on that is largely a personal one for you to make. Some people believe that any anger shown by adults towards children is immoral. Others would say it is immoral not to show human emotions, even anger, even to children. In that way, children learn about the boundaries inherent in human relationships.

What I conclude about this matter however, is a series of questions:

Why did such a trivial incident as a teacher getting angry with some pupils have to be referred to both the safeguarding officer and the police and then end up with him being suspended and sacked?

Why could not the headteacher have dealt with it as an internal investigation and disciplinary matter?

Have we all lost our sense of proportion?

Alan Newland worked as a teacher, teacher-trainer and headteacher in London for over 20 years and then for a decade with the DfE and the GTC. He now lectures and writes on teaching professionalism and ethics.

His book: ‘Becoming a teacher – the legal, ethical and moral implications of entering society’s most fundamental profession’ is published by Crown House Publishing and can be ordered here.