Another day, another note from a disgruntled teacher that has parents up in arms. This time the war isn't over healthy lunches, but it's about standards of cleanliness. With 'dirty' preschoolers routinely attending New York's BUILD Academy, their teacher finally decided to take action, sending the following 'urgent' note home to parents:
"Several children aged 3-4 are coming to school (sometimes daily) with soiled, stained, or dirty clothes. Some give off unpleasant smells and some appear unclean and unkept. It is a health and safety concern. It also makes it difficult for me to be close to them or even want to touch them. Enough said."
According to an article in the Mirror, more than 30% of the school's community lives below the poverty line. Parents were not only insulted by the teacher's lack of tact and compassion, but by her formal approach.
"She could have called the parent on the phone. She could have had a meeting at the school face-to-face," said one parent. "I did try to talk to the teacher about this and she didn’t want to hear anything I had to say."
The teacher’s note—sent without the head teacher’s permission—requested that parents sign by way of acknowledgment. It's not the first time a teacher has taken drastic measures to deal with a 'stinky' student. In this case, the school has chosen not to reprimand the teacher.
Was this teacher within her rights to issue the hygiene warning, or did she overstep the mark?
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