To think a teacher should answer questions

[onlythedaze]

Teacher at DDs school has refused to answer questions? AIBU to think this is going against a huge part of what the teacher does?

[AnaG1ypta]

What questions?

Which age group?

Lots more detail needed!

[longdiling]

Who told you this?! Your dd?

[FinallyHere]

Any questions, or the repeated / off-subject questions? I think the answer might be that 'it depends'.

[Meadows76]

Much more info required

[chickenowner]

Um... what?

[onlythedaze]

DDs teacher has said they can't ask questions in the lesson, she's 11.

[CostaBrava]

ever?!

[BossWitch]

You need to know more details! I do this sometimes with very needy year 7 groups. It's because they are so busy asking stupid fucking daft questions that they can't actually get anything done. Questions such as:

Should I turn over, I've run out of room on this page
Do I need to write the title?
Should I write in pen?
My blue pen ran out can I write in black pen?
Will we be doing this next lesson too?
James flipped my water bottle at break and now I don't have one and now I'm thirsty what should I do?

Eventually I will crack, tell them they aren't allowed to ask ANY questions for the next 10-15 minutes (or however long they need to complete the task). It works.

[chickenowner]

Which lesson? When? Every lesson? Every day? Just your DD or all the children?

I still need more information to judge whether the teacher is being unreasonable or not!

[CostaBrava]

One particular lesson or every?

[onlythedaze]

That sounds like it could be the case then, Boss

[Strictly1]

I am sure there is much more to it. It amazes me how some parents take their child's word as completely truthful and don't consider there may be a back story. If you're concerned ask the teacher.

[chickenowner]

I sometimes have to say 'no more questions' to my class (KS1) or we would never get anything done!

[ilovesooty]

I agree. There simply isn't sufficient context to make a judgement. Perhaps if you're concerned you could contact the teacher for clarification?

[BackforGood]

hmmm. I'd find the other side of this story before going any further.

When my dd2 moved to Yr7, she had to be stopped asking questions because she got into a nervous habit of leaping in as the teacher was staring the introduction, rather than letting things unfurl a bit and giving it some thought. There are all sorts of logical reasons why they might not be able to ask something at any given time. We'd need to know more.

[onlythedaze]

No, that's fine. I admit I was thinking of intelligent questions re the work and not the 'should I turn the page?' Which, having thought about it, I can WELL imagine :) thank god for Mumsnet hey!

[BossWitch]

Oh I also once rationed a girl to 3 questions per lesson (or 1 and a half questions for a "single" lesson, half hour session). It was hilarious.

She was very, very bright but had real issues with trusting in her ability and taking a risk on her work. She wanted to check everything before putting pen to paper. The 3 questions rule was brilliant, she had to assess if the query was 'worth' one of her three, or if she really already knew that and could take a risk. When I told her dad about it at parents evening he thought it was genius and was planning on adapting it for home!

So, upshot is you need to know loads more detail, and that it isn't as simple as 'answering questions is the teachers job'.

[Roseformeplease]

I do this. I begin with, "Right, now I am going to explain.....and then we will....and then..."

Immediately, before I have got the first word out, 3 hands will shoot up (How long? Why...? When is it due? Can I go to the toilet?). So, I refuse to answer questions until after I have given the instructions. Then I take questions. I will ask others in the class to answer any questions already covered in my introduction, then answer those that are worth answering.

Younger pupils in secondary are very needy. Part of the transition process is learning that their need for reassurance is only met once everyone has something to work on. Otherwise 29 others are waiting while they tell me they don't have a pen, or they have a new puppy or they can't do any writing because they have hurt their finger. Or they ask things that are part of my introduction but end up being delivered out of order.

For example, "How long does the writing have to be?" The short answer is, "It depends..." but actually part of the task is them determining their own challenging target for a piece of work.. Something they will be asked to as part of the task.

[youarenotkiddingme]

Passes Boss obviously well deserved

That is my DS to a t. he's year 8 and has ASD and is very likely to ask a question having interpreted the instruction literally! Probably drives his teachers nuts!

however if you said no questions for 10 minutes he would literally ask you a million questions after 10 minutes!

[Dahlietta]

It's also the thing when you are explaining some faintly complicated bit of Latin grammar and a child puts his hand up to ask, "Did the Romans have pet rabbits, Miss?" It rather spoils the flow of the explanation ;)

[timelytess]

I had a lot of 'how to' posters on the classroom wall because a move in teaching (about five years ago?) was to get pupils to ask and answer their own questions. That's actually a really effective way of promoting independent (ie 'real') learning.

[YokoUhOh]

Before asking a question, our kids have to first ask their:

Brain
Book
Buddy
(then they ask the)
Boss

[ChocolateWombat]

AS everyone has said, it is highly unlikely that you will find the kids are never ever allowed to ask any questions, but that sometimes they are told they can't or have to wait until a specified time. There are times when questions interrupt the flow of an explanation or could go on forever and stop anyone beginning a task. Being clear about when children should ask questions and when they should decide things for themesleves, or wait for an appropriate time is part of good teaching.

Children do need to learn to regulate their questions and their information given, for their own benefit and for that of a whole class. So for example, when I am starting a lesson, I tell children who might be putting up their hand to tell me something (and there can be more than 10 in a class wanting to do this) that unless it is something that I absolutely must know that relates to the whole class and need to know right at that point, they must hold the information and wait. Once everyone is working and on task, I am happy to hear individually from a pupil telling just me about their piano lesson, or that they haven't got a pen or haven't got their homework etc. Children often only consider themselves and don't think about delaying the progress of the lesson....or sometimes actively want to do this. Part of growing up is learning to wait for the right time and also to working out which things need asking and which don't.

One of our school golden rules for lessons, along with the obvious things such as don't shout out, bring the right equipment is to try not to interrupt the flow of the lesson....at the start of the year children have 'the flow of the lesson' explained to them and how it can be interrupted and with what effect. This helps a lot of them 'get' it but they are still prone to want to leap in with random thoughts and questions at pretty random times, so sometimes a 'no comments' or 'no questions' phase of the lesson is entirely appropriate. It won't usually last a while lesson!

[Redsrule]

Think this might be about me...I told my Y7 today I did not want one more question about highlighters or pens in general!

[PopFizz]

I get students complain I don't answer questions.

What they mean is I don't give them the answer.

If they ask me a question I ask them one back to lead them to finding the answer themselves. Sometimes students get so annoyed with this!