Give the boot to whining parents

THEY hadn’t even made it through the first day of a new school year — and they were already in trouble with the headmaster!

More than 50 children this week were sent home from Djanogly City Academy in Nottingham after a crackdown on school uniform revealed they were not wearing appropriate footwear. Some were in trainers, while others had flip-flops.

How did their parents respond? Inevitably, they attacked the headmaster for being ‘petty’ and accused the school of caring more about clothes than education.

Oh, do shut up. Most schools have uniforms, and the clue is in the word: uniform. It’s a rule, and it applies to everyone. Break it and you have to deal with the consequences — and if you don’t like it, tough.

In the real world, employers don’t pussyfoot around, giving people dispensation and reassuring pats on the head. Try wearing flip-flops to a job in the City and see how long you last.

All these whining parents are doing is undermining the authority of the school. Being a teacher is hard enough without little oiks being shown that, rather than accepting they’re in the wrong, Mummy and Daddy will make a fuss and get them let off.

Yet it’s parents like this who howl to the heavens when discipline breaks down and school results suffer. They fail to see the connection between their own attitudes and their children’s behaviour.

All the headmaster was trying to do was teach his pupils some discipline. Isn’t that one of the most important lessons you learn at school?