Mum livid after teacher sends 8-year-old home with 'shameful' punishment

10 November 2023 , 18:15

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She was shocked when she found the puzzle (Image: Reddit)

Sometimes as a parent it can be inevitable when your child is unwell to pull them out of school for the day, or until they are feeling better.

Usually schools are accepting of this, and to not let the illness spread, are happy with a child taking a sick day - but one mum was livid at her son's teachers reaction to him missing class.

The "shameful" punishment left her outraged when she came across an unusual puzzle in her sons school bag, and claimed it was the first day her eight year old had taken off over the whole school year.

She couldn't believe what he was made to do (Reddit)

Posting a photo of the puzzle to Reddit, she shared how her son was made to complete a word search puzzle titled "Miss School... Miss Out" and had to find words that related to missing a day of school - such as "excuse", "graduate", "responsibility" and "success".

Her son, who is in year three, even asked his mum what the word truant meant. In the post, the mum wrote: "My son missed his first day of school," and she then later clarified she meant the first day all year - not the first day of term. "I just don't know how to feel about this. My son had to ask me what truant meant," she added.

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Confused by the task, she asked: "Is this directed at the parents or simply just a fun worksheet?" and others slammed the teacher for the unreasonable task. One person fumed: "I find this sort of shaming behaviour towards children so odd, it's not like the eight-year-old is responsible for themselves attending school (even if put on a school bus). It's the responsibility of the parent/guardian to have their child attend."

Another chimed: "There are so many valid reasons to be late/out of class, and 95 per cent of them are frankly too personal to expect people to share," while another added: "There's no reason to be shaming any student for being tardy - it only makes them want to show up less, and I'm speaking from plenty of personal experience."

A fellow teacher gave their view and said: "I've been a teacher for 31 years, this is ridiculous. Even if it is a student who has attendance issues, how is this going to fix it? The teacher is a jerk," and another claimed: "This gives passive-aggressive vibes, especially with the 'slick' and 'excuse' put there."

Niamh Kirk