This story happened back in the late 90s when I was in Primary School. One week, I had been out of school for a couple of days due to illness. On the bus home from school, my friend told me that the next day we had a school trip. Immediately, I was worried as my teacher hadn’t mentioned this, and I had no idea about it.
My friend didn’t seem to know anything about what the trip was for, so my parents ended up calling different parents around our neighbourhood. Finally, my best friend’s mother told me about what the trip was for and said she would be one of the chaperones for the trip and would take me to it.
The day of the trip, my teacher started asking for permission letters. I realized that she hadn’t given me one, but when I pointed this out, she got frustrated and said I needed a letter. There was a lot of fuss about it, but my teacher seemed to realize she had messed up, and I was allowed to go.
When I was walking to the car with my best friend and his mother, the headmistress appeared with a stern look on her face. For reasons I never fully understood, this woman took a dislike to me and would frequently tell me off or single me out for things. She was already glaring and wagging her finger at me.
Headmistress: “[My Name], you’re very lucky you’re going on this trip! You’re supposed to have a letter signed by your parents; you know this!”
Me: “But Mrs. [Headmistress]—”
Headmistress: “—Letters have to be signed, or in the future you won’t get to go! I’m very disappointed—”
Friend’s Mother: “[Headmistress], sorry to interrupt, but [My Name] didn’t actually know about this trip until he was on the bus home yesterday! He wasn’t given a letter by [Teacher’s Name].”
Headmistress: “Regardless, letters need to be signed.”
Friend’s Mother: “But he wasn’t told about the trip until he was nearly home; how was he supposed to get a letter signed?”
Headmistress: “It is [My Name]’s responsibility to find out about the trip and get a letter.”
Friend’s Mother: “Sorry, [Headmistress], but isn’t that the teacher’s responsibility? How was he supposed to know about the trip if he wasn’t told about it? He was ill for two days this week, remember?”
Headmistress: “He needed to have the letter signed to go on the trip, that’s—”
Friend’s Mother: “—How could he get a letter if he wasn’t told about the trip? Sorry [Headmistress], but this doesn’t make sense! [My Name] was not informed by [Teacher], who also didn’t give him a letter. Explain how he was supposed to get it signed if he wasn’t given it?”
The headmistress suddenly went quiet, and it dawned on her that her foolproof argument had some major flaws in it. Her face went red, and she looked annoyed.
Headmistress: “Well, in the future, make sure the letter is signed.”
Friend’s Mother: “Well, also in the future, make sure teachers TELL HIM about any trips, maybe that will avoid this problem!”
Headmistress stomped off in a huff and got into her car. It was fun watching her try to speed away in her old and slow car. The trip itself was a waste of time; we just went to the local secondary school to watch some GCSE dances. It was little more than an excuse to miss school.
I never had that issue again, though weirdly, not long after the headmistress announced she would be leaving the school at Christmas that year. She claimed it was because she had ‘achieved everything she needed to’, but most of all felt there were likely some complaints about her, and she jumped before she was pushed.
