What it's really like to be a teacher on the front line, by Telegraph readers

Anew report released this week by the Policy Exchange think tank found that two thirds of teachers are currently, or have previously, considered quitting the profession due to poor pupil behaviour.

The report, which has raised a number of questions regarding the state of the UK education system, warned that 'low-level' disruption needed to be taken 'far more seriously' with bad behaviour eroding teacher authority. 

Telegraph readers reacted strongly to the report's findings, sharing their experiences of the UK education system. From retired teachers to worried school parents, some of the concerns expressed supported the findings of the report, while others pointed to a range of external factors, from home life and parenting to technology, to explain why teachers are feeling the strain. 

Read on to see what your fellow Telegraph readers have to say and then share your view in the comment section below. 

To join the conversation, simply log in to your Telegraph account or register for free, here. 

'There are far too many eggshells you have to walk on'

@Laura Bentz:

''I used to be a teacher and always struggled with discipline problems. Finally I quit and become a sub. As a sub, 30 years ago, the kids were okay but now they are awful. It started in college when they failed to train you about these things and it went downhill from there.

"If I was a kid today, there would be no way I would ever be a teacher. There are far too many eggshells you would have to walk on to please everybody - and with the cell phones, you are competing with all kinds of distractions. I would ban these during the school day entirely to give the teachers at least a fighting chance to get their lessons across.

"Oh, for the good old days before all the technology and government interference messed everything up.''

'Too often in teaching it is the professional who is held to account'

@J Brownhill: 

"Teachers leave because too many children are very disruptive and school managements often push the blame onto them because they know they are almost powerless to influence the behaviour of poorly socialised children from bad homes.

"If a doctor, nurse, police officer, paramedic or firefighter is attacked or abused it is assumed that the professional is blameless and that the miscreant needs dealing with.

"Too often in teaching it is the professional who is held to account, and that's one reason it is very hard to recruit and retain staff, with the government begging people to do the job with adverts on the TV, radio and in the press."

'Schools and teachers are not supported by the government'

@Diane Farnden:

''I am a retired secondary school teacher and poor pupil behaviour was certainly on the increase.  Schools prepared to adopt a no-tolerance policy were penalised. Managed moves were the order of the day so the disruptive were replaced with others.

''My neighbour teaches in the primary sector and says that behavioural problems are on the increase - that is in reception and year 1/2 classes. Schools and teachers are not supported by the government or some parents. The attitude towards education needs to change in the UK and parents have to be made aware that it's their duty to ensure that their children are ready, and willing, to start formal education.

Children start formal education far too early in the UK. There is an increasing number of primary school age children who become very disaffected way before they move on to secondary school. Constant low-level disruption is robbing those children who exercise self-discipline and respect of the education that they deserve.    

''It isn't only poor pupil behaviour that is causing recruitment and retention problems in teaching and the government is failing to address the problems.''

'A major part of the problem is a failure to accept responsibility for behaviour'

@Brian Reay:

''I became a teacher as a second career. Prior to becoming a teacher, I would have agreed with corporal punishment. However, I soon discovered there were few, if any, cases it would have helped. I was considered a strict teacher, known for having control of his classroom and so on.

''The solution is ‘expectations’ - making sure pupils know what is expected in terms of behaviour, completing work, even uniform standards, and enforcing them. Isolate the core trouble makers - they generally are no more than attention seekers. Show them bad behaviour results is less attention- not more.

''A major part of the problem, which stretches beyond schools into adulthood and parents, is a failure to accept responsibility for behaviour. Some pupils and even parents, refuse to accept that misbehaving should have consequences and those who misbehave are responsible for them.''

'We no longer teach personal responsibility to children'

@Paul Thompson:

''A friend of mine recently quit the teaching profession for this very reason.

''But it's not just the disruptive nature of her inner city London school, it's the lack of controls she has on disciplining them. She told me that she could not tell the pupils that they were the problem, that they were at fault. Nothing can be seen to be the pupils fault - you cannot blame them directly for their actions.

''On one occasion she told a pupil that her attitude was the problem, and she got reported and had to explain her actions!

''We no longer teach personal responsibility to children as an utterly stupid policy, so no wonder they are all lacking in self confidence with ever increasing mental health issues. We need to teach children the consequences of their actions, and with a little common sense this can be done to their benefit.''

'Placing students in mixed ability classes sacrifices the prospects of the more able'

@Michael Evans:

''I left the profession in England for this reason, and was lucky enough to be taken on in Singapore. I never had to raise my voice in a couple of decades teaching there. Students see their role as coming to school to learn, and the pressure points occur when students feel that the teacher is inadequate and cannot take them further on their learning journey, not when the teacher is trying to insist on a calm learning environment.

''Here instead we have 'child-centred' education which actually betrays children's long term interests. We also have the egalitarianism which still places students in mixed ability classes, sacrificing the prospects of the more able students.

''A drive to better discipline would probably pay off quite quickly, but you can see the kind of kick-back that it would cause when you consider how strong the concern is that exclusions have risen. Exclusions take out the highly disruptive children. Just a few of them can lower the life prospects.''

'I left the teaching profession over student behaviour'

@Carl Sanderson:

''I left the profession last July after 26 years - and I left over behaviour, pure and simple. Teaching is the best job in the world, if you’re in a good school. If not, it is awful. Bad behaviour, unreasonable parents and weak leadership combined to disillusion me and one day I simply thought, “Why am I doing this? I’ve had enough.” And I know lots of colleagues who are thinking similarly.''