Angry teachers are to discuss how the comments of Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith have “fuelled the negative characterisation” of the public school system.Teachers are getting together at the end of this month to debate Dame Jennifer’s accusations of principals being too quick to suspend students at the first sign of trouble.The Bermuda Union of Teachers has also requested a meeting with Dame Jennifer to stress how teachers work tirelessly to address the problem of disruptive behaviour.Teachers have denied that they suspend too many students, saying they always act knowing that a child’s education is on the line.They say they are tolerant of rude, disruptive and disrespectful behaviour, but they have limited resources to cope with the Island’s increasing number of badly behaved children.As reported in The Royal Gazette, Dame Jennifer said in the House of Assembly that principals were breaking the law by suspending pupils for relatively minor matters such as disrupting class or using profane language. She said students should only be suspended as a last resort when all other means of discipline had been exhausted.Dame Jennifer, who formerly worked as a teacher, said yesterday her Ministerial statement to the House had simply “stated the law.”One teacher, with more than 20 years experience, said “teachers and principals were up in arms” about the Minister’s comments.The teacher, who did not want to be named, said: “Parents should be outraged at the amount of wasted time that is lost in the classroom setting, dealing with students who disrupt the learning of those who want to learn. That should be the conversation here.“I categorically deny at my school that students are just suspended for the heck of it.“I read with great care the Minister’s comments and I noticed while she did not ‘condone’ bad behaviour, she offered nothing tangible to address the problem of disruptive behaviour.”Teachers say they follow a Code of Conduct, which is vetted by the Ministry of Education. It outlines disciplinary actions such as warnings, student conferences, parent conferences, detentions, behaviour plans, contracts, in-school suspensions and out-of-school suspensions. They insist: “That is a lot of time spent on several students in our care.”They also say that for every student suspended they have to provide evidence of the previous discipline measures taken which they say begs the question: “How can the Minister say that principals are issuing suspensions illegally?”The teacher said schools had to try to cope with discipline with limited resources with student services simply “acting as a temporary hold until the next disruptive incident.”She said: “If the Minister wants a solution to the problem she should allocate more funding for resources to assist these students in our care.“I would be the last person to want to turn my back on a young person getting a quality education. “With the public system constantly under the microscope we certainly don’t need the Minister making blanket statements…Those statements only serve to fuel the negative characterisation of our public system.”She added: “I would suggest the Minister dig below the surface because she may not like what she finds.“The issues educators are dealing with in schools are a microcosm of the bigger picture. We need a little bit more than the limited tools we have been given to address this.“The issue of suspensions are on the agenda of a BUT general membership meeting at The Berkeley Institute on Monday, May 30. All public school teachers have been invited.That week union bosses are also hoping to meet face-to-face with Dame Jennifer to voice their concerns. They want the Minister to “hear the other side of the spectrum.”A spokeswoman for Dame Jennifer questioned whether The Royal Gazette’s story accurately reflected the Minister’s comments, adding that she was only stating the law.She added: “Beyond that there will be no further comment from the Ministry on this matter at this time. “However, Carlton Simmons, president of Youth on the Move, praised Dame Jennifer for being “spot on” with her comments. He remains grateful that his teachers at Northlands recognised his potential instead of expelling him after he’d got into numerous fights.Mr Simmons said: “I agree that teachers should think twice before they kick children out of school.“I had been suspended a couple of times and I can’t imagine what my life would be like today if I hadn’t been given another chance.“I didn’t care as a kid, I didn’t know the full consequences of my actions, but now I thank my teachers for making me who I am today.“There’s all sorts of other options available like peer mediation. Someone’s education should only be taken from them in extremely serious circumstances.”