Disrepute Dispute

“Any conduct that brings, or is likely to bring, discredit to the profession.”

I suppose that means things like MPs doing dodgy deals to help their tile-layers get visas, or government department bosses having PhDs from LSE but not really, or like their bosses knowing about their dodgy qualifications and not doing anything about it.

Not worrying about mixed metaphors, is this like smelling a rat that’s leaving a sinking ship hit by the tip of an iceberg?

I’m a tad anxious about the wording of our new rule “any conduct” that “brings or is likely to bring”… it’s looser than a granny’s knicker-elastic and a little vaguer than an MP’s promise and just a bit broader than a very broad broad’s broadside – if you know what I mean.
I suppose the prissier among us might consider nose-picking or bum-scratching or even saying the word ‘no’ to fall into this heinous collection of impropriety. Eating saturated fats and smoking cigarettes of course would. Not taking vigorous daily exercise, looking at chocolate without a pinched ‘that’s disgraceful’ look, eating white bread, white rice and white sugar, and wearing non-recyclable underwear – these too are obvious sacking offences.

But is it likely to bring discredit to the profession if I express concern for the poor people in “Myanmar” – because to say so is to acknowledge the unconstitutional junta and therefore gives credence to a tyrannical, undemocratic regime. Big Sister calls it Myanmar but them who make the rules don’t have to follow them – it’s one of the rules.

I understand that teachers have to be perfect and if we swear or are overweight or don’t vote correctly on the big day we must be removed from ‘the profession’. It’s because we’re role models – seriously influential in young people’s social and emotional development.
But what about kids’ parents – the ones who are physically violent or tell their drivers to exceed the speed limit to get to the rugby on time or sign art work that they didn’t do… Will they too be removed? From being a parent I mean. This stuff isn’t good role-modelling for a parents’ kids.

What about the ones who beat, maim and kill their kids? And now I’m very serious – what on earth is this government doing fiddling about with silly loosey-goosey phrases regarding what teachers can and can’t do in their private lives – while still, children are being killed by their own parents in their own homes. If children’s welfare is really the concern then let’s start by protecting them from killer parents.