Teacher Tatics

"Consequences????' WTF. Encourage, yes - punish - no.
I wasn't a 'runner' at school, couldn't do even 200 yards in one go, I wasn't overweight at all - but did tennis, gymnastics & swimming (represented the school, with awards) - this teacher appears to be a bit of a bully with a weird mindset. Maybe have a chat with someone higher up about your child's abilities, and how the 'teacher's' attitude may be affecting her?? FFS, she is only 7. Encourage, NOT punish.

Consequences shouldn't be punitive. As a teacher I'd have let them have a rest and then asked them to run the rest when they felt ready. How does the teacher know whether they had a genuine stitch or not? What are the rest of the class learning PEwise by watching children do star jumps in front of them?
I wouldn't have punished children for stopping running as I'm teaching a PE lesson not running a fitness bootcamp (which is full of paying consenting adults).

I guess the point is couldn't they run or didn't they want to run? The teacher was in the best position to decide that and decide if it warranted a slight consequence.

More broadly isn't the whole point of school that you do new and difficult things? If it was Maths or English and they just decided they weren't doing this bit and would only do something easier how would they ever learn or get better at things. Do they get 'humiliating' extra work if they slack off doing class orientated work or get a 'humiliating' detention. What are teachers allowed to do? Perhaps next time the children in question will run with everyone else, I assume PE is not optional?

If I were you I'd listen to the teachers on this thread OP who all this there isn't something right with this. I'm glad you spoke to the teacher but if something like this happens again I would escalate it (and I'm usually one for not being "that parent"!).

That would be inappropriate.

Taller and a larger frame would absolutely have an impact on her ability to run. She will have a much greater weight on bones which can’t cope. It is really hard for tall kids to keep up at a young age; in the early years all the fast kids are also the smallest; they can fly as there is such little weight on same age bones!

And the OP has been very clear that her dd is not overweight; if you’re taller you are larger in proportion; everything is scaled up. My anorexic, severely underweight, 6 foot daughter looked massive compared to her 5 foot friends; literally her frame was bigger. Please upgrade your understanding. It’s harmful.

I’d be a bit wary about going in too strong as children can be unreliable narrators . Is it feasible that the teacher said run up and down , these two children claim they can’t run for whatever reason so teacher says well you stand here and do x amount of star jumps instead ? This sounds more likely and perfectly acceptable as what is the point of a PE lesson if the kids just say ‘ I’m not doing that so I will sit down here for 30 minutes’ .

Sounds like the PE teacher has aspirations as a CrossFit instructor? 😆

I think it depends how in was phrased…..

”if anyone can’t run or finds it too difficult you can do star jumps instead” - ok

”if anyone stops running you must do star jumps as punishment for being lazy” - not ok

And what we need to do to fix that is make sure all but the most athletic children come to hate exercise by the age of 10.

Bit melodramatic. Star jumps are a pretty standard activity in PE

Good grief. Any other kind of ritual humiliation in front of their peers you’re okay with?

The teachers actions weren't great. Maybe your DD was being a bit lazy, but embarrassing her isn't helpful.

It's also depressing that she can't run a few lengths of a playground at 7. Her build shouldn't affect this, you can be tall and able to run. I'd do some critical reflection on her size and exercise level now. I'm saying this because I have a friend who's always saying to her child "don't worry you can't keep up" when he plays with other children. She should be worried.

Year 3 teacher here. That is totally unacceptable! It sounds like this teacher has no idea how to teach PE. If I were in your position I would be complaining. Hope your daughter is ok…that must have been very humiliating for her!

I’d be pretty cross about this. It could put your daughter off PE/sport completely which is the opposite of what the teacher should be doing. I would make a note of it and then see how it goes. If this is a one off then I would leave it. If the teacher does more like this then I would speak to the school.

As a teacher myself, I agreee that it's unacceptable to punish a child in this way. As others have pointed out, it creates negative feelings around PEabd ultimately singles out the less sporty children.

However, I'd firstly want to check if the PE lesson was taught by the class teacher or other cover staff.

It was inappropriate. A calm and brief email to the Head should see it dealt with.

You won’t know until you ask. It may not be exactly as it seems. And if it is as it seems, the teacher will need to know the impact it had on DD so they can rethink for the next PE lesson. Sometimes you try things out as a teacher and it doesn’t work. I’d ask for a chat and just find out.

The exact tone of the situation would decide it for me.

I can see a fine task where everyone runs, and whoever is lazy and walk, you does 10 star jumps after, stood in a group, no humiliation etc. as being absolutely fine.

On the other hand I can see a situation where the teacher calls out students, makes them stand in front of the class, and humiliates them with the punishment.. obviously not fine.

What is the truth? Did your daughter really have a stitch? Or was she being a bit lazy and chatting to her friend? Was she brought to stand in front of the class and humiliated with the punishment, or was it done in a relaxed way with them stood in random places etc.

I know we love and trust our kids, but we should also be skeptical of what they say - I've been the teacher having to explain to parents that how their child described the class is absolutely not what happened (normally drama between two children). Sometimes it is a lie, but often it is just the way the child interpreted the situation, and as little emotional children, they often interpret things wrong.

So yes, your daughters account does sound unreasonable, but there is a decent change that actually it wasn't that bad, and if you have a chat with the teacher, you'd get another more rounded account of what happened.

That sounds like a terrible way to get ‘cooperation’ out of children. All lessons- and PE is a lesson- are supposed to be inclusive. This means that teachers have a responsibility to vary the activities to ensure that all pupils have equal access to learning & enjoyment. Forcing a child who is in pain (stitches are painful!) to do very vigorous activity as a ‘consequence’ for being unable to complete a ‘one size must fit all’ whole-class task goes against the principles of inclusion.

If you meet with the teacher, ask, in the meeting, what he or she does to ensure that all pupils are able to access all parts of the lesson. There should be evidence in the lesson plans of differentiation- adjustments within the lesson plan that enable success and progress for pupils who are less conditioned for the activity & skills being taught, as well as offering extension for more able pupils.

Have you seen the size of this particular playground tk make this judgement?

I don't see the big deal with star jumps in a PE lesson. Everything they do in PE is in front of the entire class.

In front of the entire class?

No but I would find something in the lesson that they could do. Like the maths equivalent of a star jump.

Would you force a child who found maths difficult to stand in front of the class and recite their times tables?