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I got this from my mom, who got it from my niece's mother, so it's...about...third or fourth hand at this point. But I thought it worth sharing anyway.
D - my niece
T - her teacher
B - another boy in D's class
T is pregnant and due in December, so my niece's mom thinks that a lot of this is due to hormones.
Story #1:
T has this weird rule for her students. At the end of the day, when they're lining up to go outside to get on the bus/meet their parents, they have to fold their hands in front of them (like they're praying) and have a big smile on their face. If they don't do this, they're not allowed to leave the classroom.
This rule got put to the test recently when a boy decided not to smile while he was getting in line. T told him he had to smile, that was the rule. The boy didn't make any reply, but also didn't smile. T then told the entire class that none of them were going to be allowed to leave because this boy was breaking the rule.
Of course, the kids got pretty upset with this. It was the end of the day and many of them had buses to catch, or else parents to meet outside. T threatened to keep all the kids in the class and make them miss their bus/parents because this one boy wouldn't smile. Of course, it was an empty threat, she would have been in big trouble if she had really caused 25 kids to not get home on time, so she did eventually let the rest of the class go. But she did keep the boy behind and had a "talk" with him about rules and how they have to be followed.
I think the rule itself is a little weird, but to make a threat like that to a bunch of 8 and 9 years olds -- what is that going to teach them? I always hated how when one or two kids would do something wrong, the rest of the class -- who were generally well behaved -- would get punished for it.
Story #2:
A couple days later, during worktime in class, another boy, B, came up to T and said that one of the kids was calling him "Mitchell." His name is not "Mitchell" and he told this kid that, but the kid kept calling him "Mitchell" and now he was upset. T asked him who it was, and B said it was D. So T took D out into the hallway and the following conversation took place:
T: D, why are you calling B "Mitchell?" That is not his name.
D: I wasn't even talking to B.
T: He said you were calling him "Mitchell."
D: I was not, I wasn't even talking to him.
T: D, are you lying to me? You had better not be lying to me.
D: I'm not lying to you! I wasn't talking to B!
T: We'll see about that!
So T went back into the classroom and got B and brought him out into the hallway with D.
T: B, is this the girl who was calling you "Mitchell?" You said it was D.
B: No, it's not THIS D, it's the OTHER D.
Yeah, apparently there are two students with the same name in the classroom, and T didn't bother to ask the boy which one was bothering him. Plus, she never apologized to D for the mistake or accusing her of lying.
D - my niece
T - her teacher
B - another boy in D's class
T is pregnant and due in December, so my niece's mom thinks that a lot of this is due to hormones.
Story #1:
T has this weird rule for her students. At the end of the day, when they're lining up to go outside to get on the bus/meet their parents, they have to fold their hands in front of them (like they're praying) and have a big smile on their face. If they don't do this, they're not allowed to leave the classroom.
This rule got put to the test recently when a boy decided not to smile while he was getting in line. T told him he had to smile, that was the rule. The boy didn't make any reply, but also didn't smile. T then told the entire class that none of them were going to be allowed to leave because this boy was breaking the rule.
Of course, the kids got pretty upset with this. It was the end of the day and many of them had buses to catch, or else parents to meet outside. T threatened to keep all the kids in the class and make them miss their bus/parents because this one boy wouldn't smile. Of course, it was an empty threat, she would have been in big trouble if she had really caused 25 kids to not get home on time, so she did eventually let the rest of the class go. But she did keep the boy behind and had a "talk" with him about rules and how they have to be followed.
I think the rule itself is a little weird, but to make a threat like that to a bunch of 8 and 9 years olds -- what is that going to teach them? I always hated how when one or two kids would do something wrong, the rest of the class -- who were generally well behaved -- would get punished for it.
Story #2:
A couple days later, during worktime in class, another boy, B, came up to T and said that one of the kids was calling him "Mitchell." His name is not "Mitchell" and he told this kid that, but the kid kept calling him "Mitchell" and now he was upset. T asked him who it was, and B said it was D. So T took D out into the hallway and the following conversation took place:
T: D, why are you calling B "Mitchell?" That is not his name.
D: I wasn't even talking to B.
T: He said you were calling him "Mitchell."
D: I was not, I wasn't even talking to him.
T: D, are you lying to me? You had better not be lying to me.
D: I'm not lying to you! I wasn't talking to B!
T: We'll see about that!
So T went back into the classroom and got B and brought him out into the hallway with D.
T: B, is this the girl who was calling you "Mitchell?" You said it was D.
B: No, it's not THIS D, it's the OTHER D.
Yeah, apparently there are two students with the same name in the classroom, and T didn't bother to ask the boy which one was bothering him. Plus, she never apologized to D for the mistake or accusing her of lying.
)
Each teacher is unique. Some handle "problem" children exceptionally well and others only work well with perfect beings. 
Sorry for the threadjack. 
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