THE continued problems of recruiting and retaining teachers reminds me of an incident when I was still teaching.

A new member of staff joined us in our comprehensive. He was a well-qualified engineer. Despite a large drop in salary, he “wanted to help people”.

He had made the right choice: the pupils in his science classes learned well, he had good discipline, and fitted well into school life

We were surprised when after his first year he resigned. Why? “Because I am sick of people looking over my shoulder. Having to account for and fill in forms about ever move I make. I just want to teach children!”

We lost a specialist teacher because politicians continue to think they know better about subjects, such as policing and the NHS, than the professionals.

The latest example is the report calling for there to be fewer exclusions from school (Echo, May 8).

I would love to put education secretary Damian Hinds or Edward Timpson, who wrote the report, in front of a class of 30, two or three of whom were intent on causing as much disruption as possible. These troublemakers could not care less about their exam results, or anybody else’s.

These two ‘experts’ would then find that they spend 50 per cent or more of their time trying to cope with the few. The other 28 have to fend for themselves – what about the "path to a successful future they deserve" as well?

I wonder how quickly they would use "the last resort" of excluding those being disruptive.

Bill Bartle, Barnard Castle