Letters July 9: Teachers can’t be expected to play detective

From: David Craggs, Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire.

THIS was a comment made by a teacher friend of mine some years ago: “Well, this morning I’ve been a policeman, a social worker, a judge, a shoulder to cry on, a peacemaker... Oh, and by the way, I managed to do a bit of teaching as well.”

This is now the norm for our teachers, and the Secretary of State for Education now expects them to sort out the radicalisation problem as well.

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Children, by their very nature, have mood swings and are very good at hiding their inner thoughts. Sometimes they are happy, cheerful, co-operative. Sometimes they are sad, quiet and unresponsive. And occasionally they are downright nasty and aggressive.

How many times have both teachers and parents admitted that they spotted nothing unusual about the behaviour of a child who later went on to take their own life? “It came completely out of the blue,” being a common quote.

So how the devil are our teachers expected to detect that one or more of their 30 or more students are being radicalised?

No, the task has to fall fairly and squarely on the shoulders of the parents and family, whether they like it or not.

How to stop abuse of NHS

From: Susan Dennis, Ripon.

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WITH regard to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s suggestion (The Yorkshire Post, July 3) of a “fine” if a patient doesn’t keep an appointment, which could be difficult to administer, there is an alternative.

The patient could receive a letter informing them that as a result of their failure to keep the appointment they would now drop to the bottom of the waiting list, or even be “discharged”.

Something quite drastic needs to be done, otherwise people will continue to abuse the wonderful NHS service which is provided to us all, “free” at the point of delivery. Of course it is not actually “free”, as it is paid for by taxpayers.

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

AT last a sensible suggestion from the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt that the cost of prescribed drugs should be put on the front of the container.

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As a GP (now retired), I often had to field complaints from patients about the prescription charge for the drugs I prescribed. I never argued but produced the MIMS manual which gave the cost of all the drugs that the NHS had to pay the drug company for their prescription. It stopped most patients in their tirade as they realised how lucky they were to be treated by the NHS.

Funerals cash call for organs

From: Andrew Suter, Station Road, Ampleforth, York.

I REFER to your recent report on the shortage of organs both locally and nationally (The Yorkshire Post, July 3). I realise it is illegal to sell organs. However, would it not be a good idea for the Government to pay reasonable funeral costs for any person from whom organs are donated?

In many cases next of kin find it difficult to cover the cost of, in particular an unexpected funeral. Grieving relatives will feel some good has come out of the death of a loved one.

Keep your car off pavement

From: Julie Limeburn, Pudsey.

CARS that are parked irresponsibly on pavements can cause a potentially dangerous obstruction for pedestrians as it can force them onto the road and into the path of vehicles.

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Newly-released research by YouGov has shown that 74 per cent of people are affected by vehicles parked on the pavement.

Some groups – including people living with sight loss, older people or those with buggies – are at greater risk. Some 91 per cent of respondents living with sight loss who responded to a Guide Dogs survey said parked cars on the pavement regularly obstruct them. I am urging the public to ensure they don’t park on the pavement.

BBC’s woe at Wimbledon

From: Louise Cooper, Hull.

WITH reference to Tom Richmond’s column (The Yorkshire Post, July 6), I agree absolutely, the Wimbledon 2 Day highlights programme is rubbish. I emailed BBC Sport a couple of days ago. The best highlights programme is on ITV after the French Open with John Inverdale, when ex-players pop in for a chat informally.

Clare Balding was great at the Olympics but she is too intense, and on too many programmes.

Take brakes off Yorkshire

From: Nat Wendel, Hull.

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THE lasting legacy of the Tour de France is the way the whole of Yorkshire pulled together to put on a fantastic show (The Yorkshire Post, July 4).

It wasn’t just about the large cities, it was also about the towns, villages and countryside.

Given the right tools, we here can do things – very successfully – for ourselves.

If only the dead hands of Westminster and Whitehall would realise that and let us unleash the great potential we have here.