Blackboard Jungle

News is normally slow in the week between Christmas and New Year.

So it's a favourite time of year for trade unions to put out press releases - full of empty words - which make meaningless demands.

My favourite so far is the one today from some of Scotland's teaching trade unions - which claims that children's education is being affected - and staff safety compromised - by the failure of some schools to exclude badly behaved pupils.

One union spokesperson claims that in the schools concerned this indiscipline is 'spreading fear and alarm throughout the school community' before going on to add that:

"Fortunately, these cases are relatively rare but this is of no comfort to pupils and staff terrorised in the workplace."

Strong words I thought to myself - apparently people are being terrorised in a place of learning - this can't go on, something has to be done - call out the riot police.

Which schools are involved?

How many schools are involved?

What kind of incidents have taken place?

What do the school's parents think of the situation?

But of course none of this information is available - no hard information or examples are provided to back up these wildly exaggerated claims - it's blown up out of all proportion and for that reason doesn't deserve to be taken remotely seriously.

In fact official figures confirm that school exclusions showed an 11% reduction in 2010/11 - and a whopping 40% reduction since 2006/07.

In other words many fewer young people are now being suspended or expelled - which is a good news story for Scottish education - and all the schools that work hard to tackle disruptive and anti-social behaviour.

Yet the trade unions use the language of propaganda - claiming that in parts of Scotland people are being terrorised and live in a state of 'fear and alarm'.

Which is hardly thoughtful or constructive - especially when there are no facts or figures to back up their claims.

To my mind it's shameful that the trade unions behave in this over-the-top way - as if it's 'hell out there' - that some of our schools are little more than battlegrounds..

Because they're the ones trying to spread fear and alarm - with their ill-judged, half-baked propagandist claims.