How can you justify this view-point?

[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"?

 

[KarlMonster]

He is also adding.

.An indoor cricket field
.An academy for pretty much every sport you can think off (sadly no cheese rolling)
.Making a brand new school and sports uniform compulsory to everyone who's not in sixth form
.Adding a house system, thus compeletly changing the whole staff system
.A thing where kids can make the cafeteria food.

Yeah, when I read the OP, that's where I thought this was going.

Now I can't speak for your particular school, but I happen to know; British institutions of higher learning that used to be state subsidized are changing how that works. They still get a little bit, but colleges were told they could charge students fees "within a certain range" to cover the difference in funding. And every single school started charging the maximum possible. From Oxford & Cambridge all the way down.

That tells me that the writing is probably on the wall for education at lower levels too. This means that the future of British schools is cut-to-the-bone efficiency - whether you want it or not. Higher test scores and illustrious sports complexes are a boost for marketing, and drawing future students. Better efficiency makes the school look like an attractive alternative to other schools. I presume that the students cooking the food in the cafeteria will get yet more uniforms for that - more efficiency from savings on not having dedicated cafeteria staff.

So how does he justify it? He doesn't care. He's got one eye on the bottom line, and the other on damage control. Anybody that might have personal problems gets shuffled off before they can affect the test scores.

On the other hand, here in America-land we have this zany stereotype for an English School Headmaster. He's some yutz that spent 40 years of his life in India with the Royal Army, where he mostly did latrine duty - but somehow has a shocking number of totally dull and nonsensical stories. Somehow he was awarded the rank of Major or Colonel when he retired. Then this puffed-up Martinet decides he needs to do something with his life, so he uses some mysterious favours to get chosen as headmaster at a boy's school.

So how does this guy justify it? He doesn't care. He's got one eye on his second retirement, and the other on damage control. Anybody that might have personal problems gets shuffled off before they can affect his precious reputation.

Edit: I do have some admiration for the UK, but lets face it; there's a lot of fine literature that prominently features a really horrible Headmaster. Hard to believe that its all imagined by the authors.

 

[InfiniteSingularity]

School is not your life. That's my viewpoint. School is merely a small aspect of your life. Everything else should take priority to a certain extent.

Leave the school. Don't let a dick like that run your life

To me it sounds like he's coming into this new teaching gig in an attempt to boost exam results rather than improve the quality of education. This seems to be happening in schools all over the country, but this dude seems to be especially douchey about it.

Most schools are like this. It's fucked. Education is fucked.

 

[RobCoxxy]

Aside from the obvious weirdness of replacing trained teachers with businessmen(?!?!?!) to say a life-affecting tragedy doesn't affect your life is fucking stupid.

Report the crazy to OFSTED or something.

 

[SonicKoala]

As some people have already pointed out, this isn't necessarily a viewpoint which is easily justifiable. In fact, I'd argue that it's the total opposite - although I can't name any off the top of my head, I have no doubt that there are a number of studies out there which show that cognitive function can be seriously disrupted by traumatic emotional experiences, including the loss of loved ones. So yeah, there isn't even any logic behind this guy's viewpoint - he's just a total dick.