I had a great day with the staff of Burlington Junior School in Bridlington at the beginning of September. The Headteacher, Cheryle Adams had invited me to lead some PD on inquiry-led learning, and the staff were really up for it. I left the school thinking what a great place to work.

Pity then that this wonderful, enthusiastic and dedictaed group of staff have fallen foul of Daily Mail readers! Apparently one of the parents had complained to the paper because he didn't like the 'thumbs up' idea I had recommended as one of the strategies for ensuring more children participate in class discussions.

A quick check of the DM website revealed 214 comments in response to the article, many of which call for the Head's head! Here's a sample of the comments, with the number of votes each one has received from other like-minded readers in brackets:

• More nonsense from the "lunatic" liberal teaching fraternity. I'm surprised they didn't think of instructing the kids to give the middle finger as a sign of non conformity (575 votes)
• if a child shoots up their hand they are saying 'choose me! I want to be the one to answer!" obviously far to competitive an attitude for trendy teachers. They think they are experts but really they are fools. Children love to compete. (358 votes)
• Oh, for goodness sake!! The people who came up with this ludicrous idea shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a classroom - ye gods!! (61)
• School children throughout the world have 'put their hands up' for centuries. But lo and behold some (British - obviously) dumb cow has found an improvement to what has gone before! (48)
• Yet more rubbish,lets get back to tradional methods and everyone sitting behind a desk, calling teacher "sir or madam." Teachers made to dress correctly men wearing a shirt and tie ladies in a skirt or trousers. No jeans trainers etc.. Discipline and respect at the top of the agenda that way the kids know where they stand and what will and will not be accepted. Then start on the three "R's" It worked in the past. (41)
• "This is the result of women going to university. There heads fill up with cotton wool ideas. They should spend more time at home doing the house work and cooking for the bread winners. This would ensure far fewer silly ideas, force down the extortionate price of houses, and provide more employment opportunities for the male population. (40)
• Why aren't they teaching Britishness instead of this EU nonsense? (24)

To read more comments, click here

And here's a few of the least popular comments, with the number of negative votes they each attracted in brackets afterwards.

• If someone were ever to suggest that doctors should return to the practices of fifty years ago, or that soldiers should be trained to fight as their predecessors fought in Korea, the idea would be howled at. Yet teachers are expected to hold rigidly onto the methods and ideals of a system that ceased to exist half a century ago. To all those who harp on about 'traditional ways of teaching' and that nonsense, you can't have it both ways - either you keep your cancer drugs, or we go back to the blackboards (minus 88 votes)
• I'd strongly suggest you stop reading this sorry excuse of a newspaper. Anyone who takes it seriously and actually believes the endless disinformative, misinformative bile it produces is not fit to be a teacher anyway (minus 25 votes)
• Nice try Andy, but I'm afraid you're wasting your time. D M readers don't like facts which challenge their own opinions. That's why they buy the D M, it's an easy read which doesn't require them to think because it simply reinforces their own prejudices (minus 25 votes)
    

Update, 13th Oct: It seems the DM's article has now made it into the Metro (hardly surprising seeing as they are part of the Daily Mail group); the Huffington Post; The Week; The Sun; various parenting websites; and countless overseas newspapers. In fact, doing a search of "Burlington Junior School thumbs up" gives 31,000 results. Talk about a storm in an ever-growing teacup!