Like Mother Like Daughter

Yesterday, I had my first run in with a German parent.  It was my 'bad' class and a pupil who has been playing up a lot recently.  In fact, the last two lessons, I had to kick her out for repeatedly shouting 'penis' across the classroom despite repeated warnings. 

So, at the beginning of yesterday's lesson (well, I say beginning, they come to me from science so are always five minutes late anyway), the said pupil comes up to me while I am writing on the board (I was writing what is going to be on the test tomorrow in case your interested, they weren't) and asks if she and a friend can go to the toilet.  I said no, they couldn't go together.  At this point, she flipped out and started shouting about how unreasonable I was.  Eventually she went to sat down and quietened down.  

A few minutes later, there were already a few names on the board when I caught her talking over me again and wrote her name on the board.  At this point she flipped out completely and started screaming across the room, so I asked her to leave.  She refused so I had to send for her class teacher to come and remove her.  I don't know whether he sent her back in or she chose to come back in but she did, and proceeded to sprawl across the table and cry at full volume.  Eventually her friend, after telling me what a mean teacher I was for ignoring this behaviour (even though I had kicked her out at this point so she could technically go to the toilet), took her outside and called her mother. 

So the end of the lesson comes around and I am faced with said girl, her mother and the parents' representative for the class.  I let her give her side of the story first.  Unfortunately, they weren't so gracious in giving me the same respect.  When I explained her screaming fits, the mother was a little disappointed but when I explained that it's a school rule that pupils don't go to the toilet during lessons, and that while I am prepared to bend that rule if pupils are unwell, I still don't feel it requires letting two pupils out of lessons at the same time, she couldn't understand.  Apparently the school toilets have no locks or toilet paper, and while I have sympathy over this, it doesn't change the rules.  Because I admitted that I wouldn't relish the prospect of going to these toilets either, they felt that proved I was wrong, even though I never leave lessons to go to the toilet even when I'm ill, never mind asking a colleague to accompany me!

In the end, when the mother started shouting at me too, and I realised where the pupil gets it from in the first place, I told her she could make an appointment to see me with the class teacher or head present but I was going for my lunch.  She marched off to the class teacher who told her every teacher had the right to have their own rules in the classroom and sent her packing.  I was really shaken and upset at the time, but I think I'll handle my next run in when it does happen.