LETTERS

Telling it like it is

WhY was teacher Joshua Sutcliffe suspended for saying ‘Well done, girls,’ which led to a transgender pupil taking offence (Mail)?

What should he have said? ‘ Well done, girls and boys and those of you who feel you are a boy, but in a girl’s body. or vice versa. And if you are confused, who can blame you.’

This whole situation is becoming untenable for teachers and the authorities need to get a grip on it.

L. GADSBY, Truro, Cornwall. DoeS this country have such a surplus of maths teachers that a school can afford to suspend a teacher because a pupil does not like the way he/she was spoken to?

The child should be told to get his/ her act together. The whole issue of transgender is a classic example of the tail wagging the dog.

emphasis should be placed on the needs of the 99 per cent of pupils who are happy with their gender.

ALAN BRIGGS, Thetford, Norfolk.

Multi-tasking teacher

I hAVe never known a teacher whose social skills, sexual morality or financial acumen are such that their pupils should be encouraged to emulate them.

Teachers should stick to traditional educational subjects and let parents be responsible for their offspring’s culture and life skills in accordance with their own family values.

They should not sub-contract them to those they cannot hold accountable who could have a different set of values. We would never consider asking a plumber or an estate agent to provide sex advice to youngsters, so why expect teachers to? BRIAN CHRISTLEY, Abergele, Conwy.

Credit crunch

MAXeD out on your credit cards to pay for all those Christmas presents and just when you think it’s all over, the sales start. And all those presents that cost you an arm and a leg are now half-price.

It really is annoying to find that all your efforts and work have been devalued before you’ve eaten your last mince pie and watched the repeats of only Fools And horses, while being bombarded with adverts for summer holidays.

We need some respite in the continuous assault on our pockets. It’s little wonder so many people have the Christmas blues and Boxing Day is the most dangerous day for domestic violence.

S. T. VAUGHAN, Birmingham. BeINg able to spend £2,000 on Christmas presents for her children as out- of-work mum Claire Young did (Mail), shows our benefits system is far too generous.

Many hard-working people couldn’t possibly spend that amount on presents after paying all the bills from their wages.

Those on benefits should be given enough to live on, but not enough to go on foreign holidays or spend thousands on presents.They should be grateful they are able to rely on a regular income.

B. ROBINSON, Southampton.

Stand and deliver

I AM a former parcel courier and know that a 12-hour day at this time of year is a luxury and that 200 parcels a shift at 50p a time would be the bare minimum.

Couriers have been working seven days a week since Black Friday and I have heard managers saying: ‘get your family to help,’ unpaid of course, and: ‘If you can’t do it, l’ll replace you with someone who will.’

Couriers are forced to take risks when delivering parcels, something companies put pressure on you to do in private, but publicly condemn.

The courier only gets paid when he delivers your parcel and is supposed to attempt this three times, all for the one 50p payment. The attitude of customers doesn’t help, with many confusing the word service for servant. If you want your parcels delivered safely and are not in all day, then don’t order online.

otherwise, make sure you have a safe place to leave it, a neighbour who is happy to take it in (not everyone likes being treated as your parcel warehouse) or have it delivered to your workplace.

J. MACNAMARA, London.

Songs of hope

AT ThIS time of year, my thoughts go back to Christmas 1945 when I was in the royal engineers in barracks at Wenzendorf, near hamburg in germany.

In bitter freezing cold, a group of children aged seven and eight stood outside and sang Silent Night to us.

Many of the servicemen who had been through four years of conflict stood with us younger soldiers and listened to the children, and we all had tears in our eyes.

Many of those dear children had been orphaned through the strife of war and had nothing. We had plenty and gladly shared it with them. It’s a day I will never forget.

O. BROOKS, Manea, Cambs.

Sharp practice

I hoPe Alex Fulford didn’t buy the man in her life a razor for Christmas (Letters).

The manufacturer gives away the razor handle in a gift pack and then makes a fortune by selling replacement blades.

It’s the same business model as computer printers: sell the printer dirt cheap and reap vast profits from the sale of ink cartridges.

There is a printer that does not use cartridges, which has a higher purchase price, but lower-priced ink replacements. It’s a shame it costs nearly £300 in the uk and less than $200 in the u.S. PETER WILLIAMS, Hayes, Middlesex. BeINg one of the ‘scruffy’ men with hair all over my face, I will use a razor when all those women who think they look good in skin-tight leggings get a full-length mirror. NICK KOKOLSKI, Colchester, Essex.

Car choice

WhY all the fuss about anti-bird spikes being fitted to trees that overhang a car park (Mail)?

every car owner knows how unpleasant it is to remove bird droppings from a car.

There are plenty of other trees in the area in which the birds can roost and the spikes will not be seen when the trees come into leaf. Is this simply a case expensive car envy?

ANDREW RHODES, Derby. hoPeFuLLY, the birds deterred from roosting in the trees that overhang the expensive cars in Bristol will go to places where the plebs park their old bangers. JOHN COLLINS, Chelmsford, Essex.

Colour-coded rubbish

AFTer reading Tom rawstorne’s article on recycling (Mail), I realise I have been doing it all wrong.

Paper, cardboard, glass, tin and plastic all go in the blue-lidded recycling bin, but now I realise that most of it should go in the black bin for general rubbish.

Yet I have never had my bin rejected for anything I have put in, so what is happening to my non-recyclable plastic tops and metal lids?

Maybe I should follow my neighbour’s example: he recycles nothing because he says he can’t be bothered.

Name and address supplied. I Agree with Ben Fogle that ‘everyone should take ten minutes each day, even if it’s a walk in the park, to disappear into the world of nature’.

I regularly go litter picking with a Write to: Daily Mail Letters, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT email: letters@dailymail.co.uk