How can you justify this view-point?

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Justify them ..... properly or just sarcastic one liners?

1: Stop being a wuss!! Weekends are for crying into your pillows!

2: Back in the olden days a family member died of polio every other week. You should be thankful it's only one every now and again!

3: Would *YOU* want you kids suffering in school if or when you die young?

 

[Mikeyfell]

Um... one question: Do British schools get state funding based on test scores?
If the answer is yes then there's your rationale.

He's still a dick though.

I mean if he's the kind of person who replaced the entire senior staff with business people then he's the same kind of person who wouldn't jeopardize his funding just because one of his students might have some form of human emotion.

I don't know why he would say that in the opening assembly though? He might just be an asshole, you should totally kill his parents.

 

[OneOfTheMichael's]

That seems a bit more like a dictatorship than a principal. Rally students and go for a new one!
No don't that was a stupid suggestion but I guess it's not that bad unless he's affecting students personally like one-o-one talking down ons.
But It's still insensitive for him to ask people, who are deeply affected by the lost of loved ones, to suck it up.
Yah! great personality.

 

[Saltyk]

Just a thought but...what was the context in relation to that line? Have there been many deaths in the families of students, or at the very least, a recent death that he was referring to? Seems kind of an odd thing to state out of no-where...

At the start of the year, he made a big speech to all the school (the year groups were separate due to space) and whilst he was talking about manners, behavior and all that stuff he said this. The worst thing is he had just sent out a girl who had just lost both of her brothers in a car accident out, saying she had terrible manners and will never have a good life when she was gone. Also, he said to everyone in the room that they are lesser humans because youre young, thats why you cant vote or drive. Also, at the end he asked us if we found any of his points unreasonable, which we would've got suspended if we actually did (noone did btw)

Seeing as I can drive and vote on top of a few other things, I must not be a lesser human. And if I heard this guy saying anything like that, I'd give him a piece of my mind. There's no excuse for that kind of belief. That's just sick and wrong.

As for his statement about the deaths of loved ones affecting your grades, even if he is right on some level, he could have found a better time, place and way to say it. Seriously, if this man considers himself human, I don't want to be a human.

 

[Jake0fTrades]

Your Headmaster is a cynical prick.

"I don't care what your sob-story is, you will not fail me!"

 

[Ready2Go]

it's pretty unjustifiable. he's a asshole.

 

[Tselis]

I had a supervisor like him before, whom everyone hated. She told me basically the same thing, to which I responded, "Sorry, I have a life, not a textbook." She didn't get it. Odds are good he won't get it either. People like that aren't really people, they have no depth or personality. They're more like dolls running around trying to ruin other people's days.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

If that girl isn't to damaged from her accident, try and convince her to get that Headmaster fired.

You have more than enough grounds to, and I really don't take too kindly to people who are as big as pompous assholes as that guy.

 

[LTAshler]

Boy does thatr sound like my job... X(

 

[kickyourass]

This is one of those view-points where you can easily justify it, but it's also a view-point where if you hold it, you're probably an asshole.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

So, I have currently gone into another year at my school. The year before we got a new Head Master, and he has made a lot of changes. He's changed the school uniform (i'm British btw), put everyone into a class system and has put a business park over the road (or at least going to). He has also made most of the veteran teachers and senior staff redundant, and replaced them with business people. Anyway, all of that doesn't matter but what does matter is what he said in our opening assembly.

"If you have lost a relative, it is not an excuse to do bad in school. I once said to my nephews after they lost their mother "just because this happened, is not your excuse to start failing in school"

The main reason I'm offended is because I lost my father when I was 6, it affected most of my school work and social life. He is basically saying that if you have had a life affecting tragedy, that doesnt mean you dont have to do your work.

So escapees, what do you think could justify this, or make it unjustifiable.

[EDIT] He has also just sent out a person who had just lost two of her brothers in a terrible car accident because she was being ill mannered and wanted to have attention. Theres some more reasons for you to call him an asshole

[return of the edit!] For people who have been asking about the context, it was at a start of year assembly where he boasts about last years exam results and tell us all to behave well and not be naughty.

Setting aside the deaths of innocent people involved, it'd be great to see him sacked after losing a relative (certainly he should receive a few letters if that ever happens and he takes time off).

If trite soap-opera characterisation has taught us anything, it's that he probably lost a relative of his own and was treated similarly badly.

That or he's just a tremendous dick.

 

[Nouw]

Sometimes telling the underlying truth makes you an asshole. It's being logical about it, but logics don't come into grieving.[sub]Thanks LacktheKnack.[/sub]

 

[Android2137]

...Goodness gracious. How has he NOT gotten outrage from parents/guardians of the students yet?

 

[Some_weirdGuy]

[EDIT] He has also just sent out a person who had just lost two of her brothers in a terrible car accident because she was being ill mannered and wanted to have attention. Theres some more reasons for you to call him an asshole

wait, so you're saying some kid was mucking up and being an attention seeking twat, but because they suffered a tragedy he's an ass for doing the normal thing (sending them out)?

I'm sorry, no, that's not how it works. Personal loss is not a get out jail free card, it doesn't suddenly mean that you're allowed to be rude and disruptive and the teachers should do nothing. They should discipline you in the same way they would any other time.

 

[Gnoekeos]

I won't say he's a great man or anything and it sounds like he may be doing some other questionable stuff AND honestly that is the most absolutely ice cold way you could possibly put it but it is solid advice. That statement isn't telling you to not be hurt by it or that your loss doesn't matter, its really just for the good of your future. It may not seem like it to you now while you're in school but its really important that you learn as much as you can while you're there so you can grow up to be the best person you can be. If you've got the potential to go to a really prestigious college you could end up ruining your chances to achieve great things if you spend your younger school years not living up to your potential and being depressed all the time. The cold hard truth is that your lost loved one is gone and spending your life brooding over it and letting your grades fall by the wayside isn't going to bring them back or make things better. Your lost loved one wouldn't want you to spend your life in misery just because they're gone. I think in at least this sense what he said is justified.

 

[BlackWidower]

I think I understand where he's coming from. I disagree, but that's not the point. If you can't do your job, you shouldn't get paid for it. Though I do think it's acceptable to take time off for bereavement, which they do here in Canadian schools, last I checked, by law. I don't think one should expect handouts, but if they need to take some time off, they should.

 

[FalloutJack]

-Snip!-

I believe the proper term for this man is "Arsehole", in your case. The man obviously has no sensibilities AND failed Psychology. Loss of family or a close friend is, in fact, one of the ONLY excuses one can make that are viable!

 

[Phantomess]

The house system sounds especially cool. Just another excuse to go around yelling "TEN POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

It worries me that my friends and I used to do that in high school ANYWAY. Thankfully, I was actually IN the red house, so could lay legitimate claim to being in Gryffindor (though I was heartily convinced I should have been in Ravenclaw).

As to not having an excuse for grades falling, well, yeah, I kinda get that. But the trick is to not word like you're engaging in a-holian behaviour. The trick is to word it to the effect of "if you have lost someone close to you, I understand that the grieving period will be difficult for you. But try to use their belief in you to motivate you to achieve more and make them proud of you." That's what I would do.

 

[MoNKeyYy]

Uhh, it's common sense really. Just because something bad happened to you it doesn't mean you should start destroying your life even worse. Think how your dead family members would feel if they knew that because they're not there any more you started failing school, wouldn't they be very sad and guilty? You need to honor the memory of those that have died through honoring their will and I'm sure every family member would not want their offspring failing school.

I don't think the OP talking about destroying your life, I think it's more an issue of say, temporarily losing focus, becoming slightly socially withdrawn, or randomly bursting into tears in the middle of class. A couple weeks ago I was working with a buddy of mine and he was doing really crappy and being really withdrawn. I didn't pry too much, but it turned out one of his oldest friends was being pulled off child support that night. I say that's fair. He didn't suddenly decide to jump off a bridge or flip shit at the managers or become an alcoholic, he was just struck with grief that one night because his friend died. I think that's fair.

Slightly more but at the same time less on topic: Wow if I lost a family member and the headmaster told me to get the fuck over it I would probably break his arm. Seriously, criminal charges be damned, he deserves every bit and more. What do you mean it's harder to administrate with a broken arm? Get the fuck over it.

 

[Daveman]

Tell him that the government disagrees with him because exam results get marked up all the time due to grief etc. So they clearly think it is an excuse to do poorly.

And what do you mean by "class system"?