Our thanks to Nigel for this. He writes:

“And so it begins. Having made “toxic masculinity” a thing to be rooted out of schools we see it being used to get troublesome boys “cancelled”. Now I’m not surprised teenage boys present “challenges” and find ways to annoy teachers. I can recall exactly that in my secondary modern (boys) in the first half of the 70s. Student and supply teachers coming in for some “testing” as we sensed their nervousness. Of course the experienced teachers (of both sexes) knew exactly how to stamp their authority on their classroom and school. And no one was going to seriously challenge the Headmaster, despite his usual benign gaze over half moon glasses, because when he had to he soon put boys in their place.

Read this article and it does have a whiff of a “Principal” who isn’t respected in a school where discipline has broken down. And this reminds me of some of resistance by teachers to the idea of showing Adolescence in schools. Not because of its ideological content but because it depicts teachers as ineffectual and the school out of control! An aspect of the drama ignored by those calling it a “documentary” and basing a whole policy of demonising boys on a TV drama. The parents are probably right, the experienced teachers don’t report these boys being “toxic” but what it does show is the Principal’s failure to exercise authority, indicating a long term failure in her role. “Toxic masculinity” just becomes a buzzword excuse for a failure in authority.”

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