Being kept in at playtime to finish work (yr1)

[OhHowMarvellous]

Just been told by ds that he was ticked off today for not finishing his work. Apparently he was crying when he came out of school (my mother got him today) and said the teacher was cross and I asked him what happened.

He said he was drawing a dot-to-dot thing for his friend, and she was drawing him one, insted of doing their set work, which was to write a bit and draw a picture (not sure what about/of, he has forgotten!)

So he said the teacher and the TA both told him off and said he would have to finish the work tomorrow instead of going out to play.

I just wondered if this is usual, he is 5 and if ever a little boy needed playtimes it's this one

He's like a puppy. He'll go nuts and be very upset if he can't go out and wreak havoc - he's just started there too and building friendships. I don't think he realises what it'll be like being stuck in while his friends go out to play.

[OhHowMarvellous]

Oh and he finds writing extremely difficult still, and is behind on it - which I imagine makes it hard to complete tasks such as this. I worry about him too much I think

[battyhatty]

Yep, this happens at our school too - if they don't finish their work, they have to miss playtime on Friday afternoon, when they get the bikes out. I think it's so unfair - and it obviously doesn't work as dd2 stayed in more than she's gone out! I have complained and a few times they've sent the work home instead, which I'd much rather they do. Arguing over bikes is so important when you're 5!

[OhHowMarvellous]

Thanks Batty, yes I do feel sorry for him. It seems a bit harsh for a tiny boy like him, who doesn't give a sh*t if he has written one sentence or two, and in fact doesn't even know what a sentence is...!

[OhHowMarvellous]

I'll ask them to send it home next time I think.

[wheresthehamster]

But he wasn't even attempting to finish it he was doing something else. In this situation - fair enough don't you think?

[OhHowMarvellous]

I understand he ought to finish it but maybe during choosing time or something? I'm just upset at the thought of him sat there alone, indoors, while everyone else is out playing.

[OhHowMarvellous]

I think what also bothers me is that he doesn't understand the concept of doing something deathly boring when there are better things on offer...ie lickle Beatrice drawing dots on his paper

He told me about it and sounded so happy about their game, it went right over his head that he was meant to be doing something else entirely.

I'm not sure if he will grasp why he is being punished.

[wheresthehamster]

But he won't be on his own surely his friend will be there as well?

It probably won't be the whole playtime - teachers need a break as well

[AMumInScotland]

Well, I think it's quite a fair choice of punishment TBH. He was playing when he should have been doing the work, so he'll have to do the work when he could have been playing. My view would be different if he was strugging to complete the work in the available time, but he wasn't!

[OhHowMarvellous]

Thanks,

I aksed him if anyone else was staying in and he didn't think so. (prob she had already finished hers, he is very slow indeed)

I just wonder if a child ought to be punished in a way which doesn't make sense to them. If I know him he'll not realise he's got to stay in, then when it's enforced he'll break down and cry with shame and sadness. That's what usually happens if I try and lay something on him when he's forgotten what happened and moved on. It's not like he will understand.

[wheresthehamster]

He'll understand - the teacher will show him the blank/unfinished paper and explain why he's there. If she knows he is slow she won't expect him to finish it, just apply himself and write a line or two.

[Mspontipine]

As a one off yes but not a regular thing - surely any primary teacher worth their salt realises it's counter productive not to give them chance to charge around like little maniacs for 20 minutes! Just asking for more trouble to keep them in.

[cupofteaplease]

He will need to learn- if you mess around in a lesson and do not do as you are asked, you will be asked to do it at another time. Why should he be allowed to mess around in lessons when other children are doing the set task, and then be allowed out to play too?

Sorry, this sounds harsh as he is only in year one, but there are rules in school time for everyone.

Also, if the TA and the teacher both told hime off then it seems clear that he was given a couple of chances, and encouragement to get on with the task.

Bringing the work home is hardly the same- he will get to complete the task at his own convenience, and possibly with adult 'help' (ie. some parents, I'm not saying you, will just do it for their child.) The teacher will also have to mark it a day later than s/he has marked everyone else's- another inconvenience.

Further still, you and your son may consider the work set, 'boring', but it would have had a purpose!

Sorry, I'm being devil's advocate. I realise he is only 5 and it probably seems unfair right now

[cupofteaplease]

Oh I agree, MPP- as a one off. Hopefully this will be all the encouragement he needs for the future! Also, I doubt they will keep him for more than 5 mins.

[roisin]

When ds2 went into yr1 he really didn't understand for over a term that the work wasn't optional! If he didn't think the task was interesting, or if he thought he knew it already and didn't need to 'prove' anything, he just wouldn't bother with it, and would do something else instead.

It took a few drastic steps and draconian measures for him to realise that actually he didn't have a choice in the matter. Completing school work to the best of his ability is compulsory.
(He's 9 now and has been a model pupil since )

[Littlefish]

I'm a year 2 teacher and very, very occasionally I keep children in with me to finish something.

I think in this case, it sounds like your ds was given the opportunity to finish, but chose not to. Presumably the teacher wants him to finish it when there are fewer distractions. If he finished it during choosing time, then all the other children would be in the room and it would be very hard for him to concentrate.

If I keep a child in, I try and do it on the same day so that it's relevant to them. If that's not possible, I do it the next day. I also make sure that I only keep them in for part of the playtime so that they still get a chance to run around.

You said "I don't think he realises what it'll be like being stuck in while his friends go out to play".

Hopefully, therefore, this one episode is all that it will take to help him gain a little more focus at the appropriate time.

[dottoressa]

I don't think any 5-y-o should miss his playtime. Surely he could miss, say, Assembly?

[Stayingsunnygirl]

Isn't the point of a sanction that the child misses something pleasant, like playtime, rather than assembly, which they may well consider less interesting than the bikes?

Cupofteaplease is right, and your ds does have to learn that he should concentrate on his work and not mess around in class. If he doesn't start learning this now, when is he going to learn it?

[dottoressa]

I can see your point, cat64 - but I still think that the one thing 5-y-os need more than anything is time to run around outside. The less time they spend doing this, the more time they spend messing around in the classroom when they're supposed to be concentrating!

BTW, Ohhow, why didn't his teacher or TA notice sooner that he wasn't doing what he'd been asked to do? (Don't jump down my throat, teachers - I'm just interested). If a better eye were kept on him (especially given that he's only just getting the hang of writing), maybe it wouldn't need to come to this...

[piscesmoon]

The work needs to be finished, so something has to be missed. He might be young but he has to realise that he has a set time to do work-if he doesn't bother it can't just be left!

[Littlefish]

Maybe the teacher and TA were both working with other groups of children? Perhaps they had spent time ensuring that the piece of work was achievable without adult support, and therefore, expected it to be done independently. Perhaps they had good, high expectations of the behaviour of the children in the class.

(Not jumping down your throat dottoressa

[wheresthehamster]

lol at missing assembly. They'd all be doing dot-to-dots if that was the case

[Stayingsunnygirl]

As others have said on this thread, the fact that both the TA and the teacher had told the boy off does suggest to me that they had noticed what he was doing. It would seem highly unlikely to me that they would both go straight to telling him off without giving him some form of warnings prior to this.

My son's primary school has Golden Time each week - time at the end of the day on Friday where the children get to chose (within limits) what to do. They can lose all or part of their Golden Time for misbehaving, not finishing work, failing to hand in homework etc.

In this case, though, loss of Golden Time would put off the punishment even further than the loss of playtime, as the latter would be the next day and the former would have to wait 'til Friday.

Unless a punishment is either draconian or undeserved, I think that parents have a duty to back the school up on matters of discipline - otherwise their children learn the lesson that they can get away with anything because Mum or Dad will make a fuss at the school if they are punished.

Also, I believe that a parent who is generally supportive of their school's discipline policy, is far more likely to recieve a reasonable hearing if they do have to raise an issue about it.

[dottoressa]

I know, I know - I'm just trying to think of an alternative to missing playtime!

If that's what the teachers thought, Littlefish, they may need to revise their expectations in the case of particular children.

There is a child in my DS's class who is something of a handful. The academic and behavioural expectations at his school are extremely high; this particular child is kept 'on task' (ugh) at all times by their superb teacher. Admittedly, there are only ten in the class, but surely it's possible in a bigger class, too? It doesn't even seem that the OP's child is disruptive or troublesome; just that he was doing dot-to-dot instead of writing. Hardly the crime of the century, and worth a word with his mother at worst, IMO...