The elephant in the classroom

YOUR lead letter, “The current funding model is letting our children down” (The Herald on Sunday, October 14) concluded that funding and staffing need to be released to support the policy of school inclusion. That is only part of the solution, given the authors correctly identify the growing violence in schools.

Brexit is an utter disaster, but it allows Scotland to bring back corporal punishment in schools. When the belt was abolished, in 1987, there were already concerns about low-level disruption – homework not being done, answering back, swearing etc. Today, you can add drunkenness, drugs, carrying a weapon, vicious cyber bullying and more.

Back in 1987, there was much talk about changing the atmosphere in the classroom, reducing class sizes etc, in an attempt to reduce disruption. But in reality there was no replacement for the belt.

Against that backdrop, academics imparted the advice that children who should be in special needs schools should now be taught in mainstream. There was no talk of better funding or staffing or training – and, understandably, the politicians grabbed at it as a way to reduce funding.

This left a stressed teacher, with a class of 30-plus kids, devoting all their time to a disruptive minority – a situation that could only be justified if the aim of schooling was babysitting.

Teachers today are voting with their feet in alarming numbers, but you cannot solve a problem until you acknowledge you have one.

The Scottish Government admires the schooling and achievement in southeast Asia. But they have corporal punishment and disciplined classrooms.

John V Lloyd Inverkeithing