To have judged about half of my daughters class

[fernie3]

Or their parents that is. They are 6 and they came home with a letter saying could we cut the labels off foods so that the children wouod make a map of where the food they eat came from....with the implication being that they needed to bring a little bunch each as they were going to have their own maps.

So i spent a week peeling labels off things which looked interesting for her to take, she came home that day and she had only had one label to stick on her map because the teacher had had to share her labels out to people that didn't bring any - so that means at least 10 children hadn't brought any at all.

Now I know it's stupid and petty and maybe i just have label rage from spending so long trying to peel labels off jars without ripping them or making the writing hard to read but it's not that hard is it just cut out a label or two and drop it in the book bag...

The teacher couldn't have done the original plan without the labels and the children get the message that it's optional to do these things.

AIBU to feel a bit judgey?

Again fernie - I don't get letters because my DC go to after school club. But that might not be the case in your school. Meh. We do ace projects, they have fab costumes for world book day and homework is done on time. We miss the odd activity like this, because we don't know about it. It's no big deal I think.

Oh, and we now post requests on the class section of our beloved Moodle, along with homework.

mollieo - some parents do genuinly have a reason like you just gave an example of op did point this out.

anyhow why aren't the kids doing their own peeling of labels? better to let them go in empty handed one time and face up to the consequences than scurry round after them doing it all for them. six year olds quite capable of getting the odd label off some food. yawn to all these joint 'parent-child' homework experiences.

Goblinchild - I know to expect homework every Friday. Occasional stuff is the problem. And that includes party invitations. But usually there is someone who knows how to get in touch with us to tell us what's going on.

'YABU. Where on earth are you supposed to put all these labels when you are collecting them?'

Haha
That sounds like an excuse an 8yo might give

In an envelope?
A plastic wallet?

Pull yourself together, it's peeling a few labels and sending them to school
Hardly a big ask

i bet i would of been one of the parents that forgot.

it just 2nd nature for me to put recycle material straight into the right places.

sanfairy- at 6, i would expect to have to supervise or help with my child's homework. i agree they should be peeling themselves but at this age i expect to have to remind them. and i ahve no problem being involved in my child's education.

I think its really important to make an effort. Its horrible to be the kid that always turns up without costumes, homework, tins of spagetti hoops etc.

I know, for I WAS that child

BUT my DS2 was also that child because his stupid bloody school refused to make reasonable adjustments to ensure his letters actually got home.

Giving it to him and telling him to put it in his bag was not enough.
Once, after missing yet another non school uniform day I politely remonstrated. His teacher was incredibly patronising and insisted the letter was sent home and even took the book bag off me to show me how wrong I was. No letter. He then admitted he wasnt in the classroom when the letter was given out. On questioning the TAs said 'no we just told them'. Great. Thanks. DS in tears.

DS now in SEN school where incredibly they manage to make sure all the kids and parents know what is going on.

my son is 4 years old, and has homework everynight so even though it just a few labels it all takes up time

3 labels? would 3 labels really use up a huge chunk of time to peel off an put in an envelope? you could have that doen while teh kettle is boiling in the morning.

yep,label of the milk / tea bags / sugar even

' yawn to all these joint 'parent-child' homework experiences.'

Lots of parents at the school I work at have that attitude, sadly
Shame they don't get to see how upset and embarrassed their children are when they turn up homework-less

I have a girl in my class who never does her reading homework, as her mum doesn't 'have time' to listen to her read
The little girl dragged her over to me at hometime and said 'please tell her about the reading, Miss'
'yes Mrs X, your dd should be reading every night and writing in her reading diary'

'not my job, is it?' was the response
Poor kid

Gobinchild no they don't subscribe to parentmail. We are trying to get them to have a better system.

Usually I find out from other parents by email. Sometimes letters do make their way home. Party invites are rarely sent via the classroom thank heavens as there are many of us whose dcs do the same day as my ds.

We get a list of dates at the beginning of term and a weekly newsletter (in the book bag but also on the school website).

But that might be a shorthand, no? I have students (secondary, not primary), whose parents can't read well. I can see how they would have struggled with being asked to listen to their child read. And of course ideally they would be trying to make sure that doesn't happen with their own children, but I would think that the fear of demonstrating your own poor skills to a child would be quite significant.

Yes - some parents forget/can't be bothered/don't care - but that isn't always the case.

My lovely friend's ds got a right bollocking from the teacher for forgetting to bring something in to school that his mum was supposed to help him with.

His father was seriously ill and dying at home, his mother (my friend) had had to give up her job to look after him, they were on the point of losing their house. She had a few more important things on her mind than whatever hadto be collected/prepared that week.

Sometimes there are valid reasons why parents forget.

Perhaps
Although she would have to be almost completely illiterate not to be able to read the books her daughter brings home (1b)

She never has swimming kit, PE stuff or reply slips either, so my guess is her dd's education is not a priority

I've never blamed or criticised a child for lack of parental input, that would be unreasonable.
In the same way as it's not their fault if they are late to school, or don't have pe kit or a decent lunch.

harlem - judging by your posts tonight I would defintely be judged as a BAD parent as I don't always write in my daughters reading diary and occasionally we might forget to take things in for topics - not often but sometimes.

However, I do read with my dds every night and we do lots of fun home based learning - maths round the supermarket etc. You can't always judge parents attitudes with bits of paper.

That's true for a lot of our parents. They had horrible school experiences, or just really inadequate ones, and they are disillusioned and hostile. It's hard, but it isn't as simple as them not caring about their children's education. Things are rarely that simple really I think.

It is so sad being the child who never has the right things. :(

'My lovely friend's ds got a right bollocking from the teacher for forgetting to bring something in to school that his mum was supposed to help him with.'

That is awful
Absolutely not the child's fault, and very cruel of the teacher not to take his circumstances into account

The children that I know have very little support at home would never be penalised
I read every afternoon with the little girl I mentioned upthread, and make a comment in her diary where her Mum should be signing

Really glad you do Harlem, was about to suggest it. Bless her.

this is silly homework for a six year old

nothing will be learned

Totally disagree Appletrees, sounds like a great lesson if done properly.

Geography - tick
Literacy - tick
Citizenship - tick
Numeracy - possibly