My entitled boss tells me to follow the school handbook, so I send my entire class to his office.

A few years ago, I retired from teaching in the UK, and I particularly love the stories of

malicious compliance from schools and colleges. The recent thread of malicious compliance by students

which teachers had to take on the chin brought back many memories. So I thought I'd share one that

involved me and my students that happened my first year of teaching in 1981. I was fresh out of

college and went to teach science in a secondary school in a rural town in which a lot of the

students were the children of farmers and could be quite a challenge. I was only a few years older

than some of them, and I was walking a very fine line between wanting to be liked and having

a level of respect or authority. Something which every new teacher will remember. I had replaced

a popular teacher and had been given his tutor group, home group, and they weren't making it easy

for me. To be fair, I probably deserved it. One of the main protagonists was a boy whose father

was a successful farmer, who happened to be the chair of governors, and who was always keen to

protest when he wasn't happy with something. We'll call him S.H. as those were his initials,

and this was 40 years ago. The person involved in this story is head of year. I'll call him Gordy.

He was an old-timer who had been unsuccessful when applying for deputy headship, and so there

was a fair amount of resentment bubbling away, which he tended to take out on children,

and occasionally staff. Our school had a uniform policy, and I didn't have a problem with it,

as it acts as a bit of a leveler, especially when families can't afford the latest fashion,

and as a tutor, it was my job to make sure my children were appropriately dressed,

which I was doing to the best of my ability. Anyway, many of the children were in basic uniform,

but they sometimes pushed the limits of what was acceptable. A common problem was whether

footwear was trainers or shoes, but as long as their appearance was within the spirit of the

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