Britain’s’strictest headteacher” said that schoolkids’ bad behavior is due to parents and that adults should be ‘afraid of pupils’.
Barry Smith has in the past been under fire for hardline tactics such as branding children in detention ‘detainees’ and issuing out 80 detentions a day.
However, the controversial disciplinarian is now the Regional Direct at Community Schools Trust in London and he urged that parents teach children ‘common grace’ so that teachers don’t have the opportunity to confront their bad behavior.
Barry Smith, pictured: He believes we should be more active in instilling manners among children, as he believes they will often act out in an effort to fit in.
According to The Sun, he stated that he did not believe all parents are doing the right thing.
“Some parents are. If you don’t support the school, you won’t support your child in many instances.
In February 2012 Hackney New School, inner-city east London, hired the controversial disciplinarian. He had issued more 7,500 detentions since the beginning of the last school year.
On one day last year, more than 150 pupils were given detentions – half the school.
Mr Smith was labelled the country’s toughest headteacher in 2017 for his methods of teaching at a school in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Teachers at the secondary complained about excessive discipline and were encouraged to keep children behind for minor infractions like not smiling or moving as they walked.
Mr Smith stated that he believes we are too accommodating to children, and that we should promote good behaviour rather than accommodating them.
“We live within a society that believes that stricter is worse. Teachers are often abused every day. Adults are often afraid of children.
He also stated that he believes we should be more active in instilling manners in our children, who he believes will often act out in an effort to fit in.
Last month, Mr Smith tweeted that he believed there should be more recognition that children often try to avoid work.
The headteacher explained to the students that they rarely reply to him when he greets them by saying “good morning” and that they will argue with educators “over very reasonable requests”.
Adolescent psychologist and parenting teenagers expert Angela Karanja also told The Sun that there is a way to discipline children which empowers them.
She said, “There is discipline that seeks connection. We were stricter in earlier generations.
“So many of our traumas are discussed. We also let it loose for our children by doing this.
She also said that tactics such as detentions should be taken from a productive location and be ‘linked directly back to the problem.
Mr Smith was labelled the country’s toughest headteacher in 2017 for his methods of teaching at a school in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
The trust hired Mr Smith as a consultant to help with poor behaviour in February 2013.
The Dalston secondary was taken over by the Community Schools Trust in November 2019 after a damning Ofsted report which raised ‘concerns about behaviour and safety’
Mr Smith had previously come under fire for hardline tactics such as branding children in detention ‘detainees’ and issuing out 80 detentions a day
Parents there criticised his ‘army-like policies’, which included pupils being warned they would be given buckets in class if they needed to be sick.
He tweeted last month, “I became teacher at 29.” It was amazing to see how much surveys were in fashion. Find out what your kids enjoy doing.
“Find out what they love to learn. This was 24 years ago. I was often lazy as a kid. My teachers weren’t always great. My lackluster effort was actually my fault.
He added: ‘Whether it’s swinging on chairs/doodling/tapping pens/toilet requests/claims of feeling ill/tantrums, invariably attempts at work avoidance.
“We used recognize that as a normal part of life.” Today, it seems that less is being said about children who try to avoid work.