BBC News report that a teacher who stripped in front of his classroom in order to regain control of it (that definitely is a new technique...) got reprimanded. Other minor incidents are reported in the article.
Beyond the amusing oddness of this story are two much more interesting points, which the BBC fails to analyse.

  • A video of the teacher's exploits was reportedly posted on YouTube. Don't try to find it - typing "stripping teacher" in its search engine will presumably yield professional videos. The existence of such a video suggests that a student was filming it (either that or the even more shocking presence of cctv in the classroom). This is an indication that the teacher was struggling to maintain control over his class. I have had a student in my class once trying to take pictures; it did not go well for her in the end.
  • The teacher was only reprimanded when resorting to such techniques denotes a lack of expertise (if not worse). Reading on, we find that he was actually sent to the school by a supply teacher agency. This is one major problem in England's education system: there are barely any requirements to be a supply teacher. It is enough to have a blank criminal record. You may even be asked to cover for a French lesson when you don't speak the language. This is the truly shocking element in the news report, yet it is a situation that seems generally accepted. Worse, France seems to be heading in a similar direction.


No, you don't need discipline specialists to teach - but a minimal amount of knowledge seems indicated. In any case, a complete lack of checks and balances seems harmful, as the story illustrates.