to think that school plays and other non curricular activities should be inclusive?

[PosieComeHereMyPreciousParker]

DS1 has just come home with the four lines he has to learn for an assembly. He said he wanted to be one of the four soldiers, but he's a narrator instead. Before he named the four soldiers I could have listed them myself, the four most able boys in the class. Am I unreasonable to think that a good teacher would use instances like this to include pupils that aren't top of the class? It wouldn't have mattered if DS1 hadn't been picked if it was four other boys, but the same four as always just seems a bit lazy.

The teacher has asked to borrow DS1's coat for one of the soldiers....talk about insult to injury.

I had short hair so was always a shepherd. I never got to be an angel. I am scarred for life.

Chill.

At least he gets to be narrator - that's a huge role, I'd have been dancing in the streets if one of mine got that.

Mine were always in the back row of a group of shepherds where they could not be seen or heard. None of them ever had a 'line' in a Christmas play.

Christmas plays are not a democracy - don't make a big deal of it or your son will feel bad - celebrate narration! The most important part of the play!! (and wink at your son when the soldiers muff their lines ).

Surely being a narrator is a main part. The ones doing it for ds's school play are the most able reader. Ds is a cat and has to sing a solo (he's a very able singer so I assume this is why he was chosen). He wanted to be a donkey.

My DCs primary school was the other way round, particularly for DD2.
In her yr 6 play the plump (being kind) and er less academic/less sporty girls were princesses in pretty dresses whilst my poor DD and her fellow skinnies (who all happened to be academic and sporty) were forced to wear cushions up their fronts as comic monks. Felt a bit as if they were being targeted to be honest. You can have equal access to roles without making the more able kids feel like figures of fun. Wouldn't be acceptable the other way round and being bright doesn't make you immune to embarrassment - plus there were LOTS of boys who would have loved the monks role.
Same at the inter schools rounders matches - the plumper non sporty kids were given the jobs of bowling and key fielding positions whilst the more sporty kids were stuck out where no 11 year old had a chance of hitting a ball. No rotation of roles, no giving everyone a chance, just no ball after no ball, dropped catch after dropped catch.
The kids weren't stupid. They agreed that everyone should have a turn - just wondered why it was never them.

I am a very active member of the PTA at my DD's school and she never gets picked for major roles. In fact, some of the staff look at me as if I smell of poo! It is always the same children year after bloody year who get selected for things and I never understand why. I am a believer in competition, but I also think they should spread it around a bit so that everyone gets a chance to improve/shine.

I didnt even get to be a shepherd. I only got to be a sheep.I'm totally over it now though.......

..........baa

to give you the other side of the coin - my DS is the most able reader in the class so he is always the narrator. He gets long parts to read and remember and gets upset every time as he never gets an acting part or a proper costume.

School plays are not supposed to be good. Children shouldn't always be getting parts over and over because they are good readers, or because they can act. Everyone should get a trun at some point in their school life and they should all be involved some how. It's not about putting on a performance worthy of the Academy, it doesn't really matter if a child forgets a few lines if they get a chance that they wouldn't normally, does it?

But your DS does have lines to read - so he is included.

I would expect that a school play would detail the parts and have auditions and choose the best person.
School assemblies are a bit similar-you have a whole roomful of DCs and you have to catch their attention and keep them interested. If the narrator hasn't got a clear voice they will start to shuffle and fidget.
DCs are often surprising and unlikely ones can be stars but I think this gets picked up at the audition stage.

How many children in your Ds's class OP?

I think a 4 lines narator role is a good one myself. My dcs have hardly got more than one word (or even silence role) in any play so far.

As well, I am invested in PTA stuff I work in the school and volunteer to run their toddler group but my dcs still do not get picked for "big parts" so now I think I have just two solutions left, resign from everything or marry the HT

@ BaggedandTagged

I think a school play (not the Christmas play) should hold auditions and get the best people - they might be hiring costumes, paying for scripts and rehearsal CD's and if people are going to come to a special play, they want to be able to hear the words and find that drama is being developed at the school.

It's different for a Christmas play or a class assembly. Teachers should spread out the chances to shine but it can be difficult if children are persistently quiet and shy (they do practice for absolutely ages for these things and still shuffle and mumble into their shoes). Narrators are usually quite high profile parts to have. One of mine was cast as a "bush" for a Christmas play once - just had to kneel down holding a pretend set of twigs drawn on some cardboard. It hasn't put them off being in all the secondary school plays or being a key person in the town youth drama club.

Once they get to secondary school, drama opportunities for performance will only come if children learn at primary how to speak up and be bolder in their acting, and they have to audition and be picked on their actual talent/potential.

I still remember really, really wanting to be Miss Trunchbull in our school's production of Matilda.

I was a bit of a wallflower and didn't put myself forward but really felt that I could do it and would do a good job.

I wasn't even allowed to audition.

Instead, I was the "girl with plaits's friend".

I agree with you OP. My DS was always quite quiet and the loud confident children tended to get picked - always the same 3 or 4 kids - but he really wanted to get on stage and sort of knew in himself that he could do it. So I did take the bull by the horns at one parents evening and mentioned to his class teacher that he'd love to have more of a part at some stage and I pointed out that in some ways it's the quieter ones who need to have the encouragement and experience of being on stage rather than the ones that are already confident. She did give him a bigger part in the next assembly they did and after that he seemed to get picked a bit more - did a big part in the yr 6 play.

Pore ol teachers

It's difficult if there is only one play a year, the pressure to make it work is huge. At my dc's school, they have one a term and they are all different, musicals, drama, er, something else, which means that different children get to shine at different stuff. And they have little concerts for the musical kids to play.

I would be delighted if DS was chosen to do anything at all in a play or assembly. He is always put in the 'choir' ie, sat at the back where no-one can see him. He was quite badly behaved back in nursery/reception and now even though he's in year 4 and improved dramatically he still seems to be labelled as such and therefore not trusted to do anything.

fishtankneedscleaning Wed 10-Nov-10 23:14:15
Parents at our primary school complained that it was the same confident and able pupils picked for the main roles every year and wanted to see their own unconfident yet spoilt children in the lead roles.

We did this to see what would happen. What a laugh catastrophe! Most of the "audience" left before half time in a fit of giggles!

So sad for the performers but a great big comeuppence for the parents of the most unpopular pupils of the school

I don't believe parents would be so wankish as to leave.

Truly this is not about DS, there are some children in his class that's parents never get invited to anything and nor f=do they, because in our very middle class school they are rather poor.

It's shit teaching that Johnnie master on the piano, reading, writing, alter boy Jones also gets to be the lead in the play.

One thing that really made me laugh was when I was leaving a school one day as the secretary had just taken a phone call. The man said 'I have a complaint to make-a really serious complaint' (the secretary was really worried as to what was coming). He continued 'I have a 5 yr old beside me in floods of tears-she is distraught-she wanted to be Mary in the Christmas play and they picked someone else'! He had actually phoned the wrong school, he needed the next door infants, so the secretary was able to pass the buck!
The poor, poor, DC -her father seriously thought that the part should have been taken away from the DC who had it and given it to his DD. Talk about little princess!! A parent's job is to help them deal with disappointments.

pisces, we're not talking about children being disappointed are we? WE're talking about the children who are never invited to shine. My DS was totally fine about being a narrator, he's very proud that he knows his lines already.

At my DDs school they have regular assemblies etc with musical performances at the beginning. They always have auditions for all the parts and seem to try to rotate the parts around to make sure everyone gets a turn.

DD is very musical and good at drama so was moaning one day that she did not get a singing spot and it went to someone who has not got as good a voice as her.

Pointed out to her that she got the spot last term and these shows are not about picking the most talented person every time, it is about making sure everyone is included. She understood and was happy with that.

Hers is a very academic school and they do make a big effort to include everyone rather than picking the stars every time to get the best technical performance.

If they did pick the most talented every time DD would get big parts each time but I am glad they do share it around as it teaches DD a good lesson about sharing and including everyone.

"That means the same kids get picked each year."

Really tired - it doesn't seem to work out that way. Children chance as they get older and how they relate to different teachers. Also, the school do know who had main roles the previous year and take note. We are infants only, so only 3 years worth - but it is worked out very well.

DD's school is pretty good overall but on a much smaller scale, so more children get more big roles, as there is less of them. DD has been Mary as she was able to sing the solo in the "right way" and was confident enough to do it. She has had lesser roles in other assemblies or plays too though.

Riven - how practical is that?

Would it be so difficult for schools to just rotate things out a bit? Some of them have lost sight of what these events are all about. They are not putting on a West End production after all.

I'm a primary teacher, used to have the year group year after year that led the nativity. After a few fews I started randomly picking names to go with parts. Still got the odd accusation of favouritism but at least I didn't waste more time than I had to auditioning/ picking carefully tbh I still seemed to have the same proportion of mumblers/ sheep looking lost/ baby jesuses being held upside down etc