Speak up. This is a terrible classroom management technique that leaves shy children isolated from opportunities to make friends, affects their learning and leaves them in a position where they feel responsible for the behaviour of someone else. It reinforces complaint behaviour, particularly in girls, rather than allowing them to form normal classroom relationships. Listen to the people on those thread who have experienced this and still remember the impact it had on them in adulthood. I am very wary of the narrative that this teaches children resilience and life skills. Children learn when they feel safe and nurtured, when they feel listened to and that their needs matter. The collective is important but so is the individual. We should not sacrifice the needs of the mild, the weak, those not able to advocate for themselves, those who are more likely to comply with authority.
There are other ways of managing seating plans that are better for this situation, it is up to the teacher to find create solutions but some suggestions include changing positions every week or for different subjects, using larger tables, keeping disruptive children close to the teacher, bringing in extra classroom support for specific subjects.
My daughter did whatever her teacher praised her for and she got on with her own work easily. Without fail, teacher after teacher put her with noisy children who needed help in class. She spent her time managing their behaviour and helping them with their work. She hates noise and fidgeting. Even in secondary school, this carries on. When group work comes up, they mix up the groups so they put conscientious kids with those less diligent so the work gets done and all kids share the grade. It is infuriating for her and this is not how final outcomes are assessed so all that does is harm her grades in the meantime and hinder her learning. Many teachers have used the lazy answers..
'it tests the brighter children if they have to explain the work to others'... I agree up to a point, but for 80% of the time, it stops them cracking on with their own understanding and challenging themselves.
'It helps them develop life skills and builds build resilience'.. they fare so much better when they are in a group of like minded people or failing that, people they like! We wouldn't expect a bookish librarian to be thrown into a trading floor to build resilience. When we are adults we have more freedom to choose the culture of the places we work in and who we choose to spend time with.
I am ranting now... but speak up for her, she has asked you to. If the teacher provides reasons as to why she has made this choice, challenge them from the point of view of the experience of your child. It is not about putting another child in her place, it is about finding better solutions.