Dance class cruelty

[Cocojai]

Am I unreasonable to complain about my son's dance class teacher??
My 9 yr old was 10 minutes late for his class. Teacher said that he could come into the class. She didn't say that she would make him sit in a corner on the floor in silence for 2HOURS!!
I was told that 'it's all on the website', that if a child is late that they will not participate. This was a double class today and had I known that he would be excluded for the duration I'd have never left him there. We would've just suffered the consequence and gone home. I was on site but didn't know this was happening behind the locked door.
I can't think of a reasonable rationale for the 10 mins vs 2 hours.
I can't think of any other situation whereby a child is excluded for that duration when he hadn't done wrong.
I've been late for uni when they had the 10 minute rule, however, we were allowed back in during break and had to submit work for what was missed but come on...he's 9!!
So...I'm emotional but am I unreasonable??

I am a dance teacher. It's a compete pain when kids come in late, but there's no way I would have done this, it was completely unacceptable. Besides, I assume you take him to his class so it was YOUR fault he was late. The day I find a way to punish I'll-mannered parents without affecting the children I'd be on to a winner!

That should be 'ill-mannered'.

Who does this woman think she is? It's a children's dance class, not open heart surgery or a funeral.

If you complain enough and emphasise that you would seriously take this further, I would hope you'd get a refund.

She sounds very cruel.

Are you willing to name the school?

Definitely leave reviews/feedback anywhere you can.

Your poor DS. Hope this doesn't put him off & that you can find somewhere else for him.

I don't think it's as rare as you think this taken from our local dance school.
"For their safety, your child may not be able to participate in class if they arrive more than 10 minutes late. This decision is strictly at the discretion of individual class teachers. If it is deemed unsafe for your child to participate, they will be asked to observe class and take notes."

Its annoying when people are late,but it would hardly be acceptable for me to stick my client in the corner if they were late.
It seems very unfair to do that to a child who has little or no control over being late.

YANBU - that is an absolutely ridiculous rule and no benefit to anyone.

If my dd is late for her dance class, she is allowed to join in with the lesson as soon as teacher is satisfied she has warmed up (if she's missed the warm up exercise)

Sorry, but your DS's teacher is right. In a dance class children are taught stuff like punctuality and respect. When they become more strenuous & technical, being 10 minutes late can be dangerous. And pupils shuld be at least 10 minutes early (if not more)to warm up. Being late is disrespectful to the teacher &uncurteous to the rest of the class.Dance class discipline is part of he training

He was on time for the second class so it's ridiculous that he missed both.

Astonishing! I'm amazed that she has any pupils left tbh. I would be ensuring that I complained loudly and clearly in front of as many other parents as possible!

Dance classes might be to teach discipline but making a 9 year old sit in the corner for 2 hours is absolutely ridiculous and will have taught him nothing

It sounds like the only interest she has in the school is kerching and sounds similar to one my dd went to.
Tell her unless she refunds you the lesson you will take her to court for it as he didn't receive any teching and was present.
Take her to court anyway for psychological abuse.

Hedges

Sorry, but what a load of bollocks. My friends dd goes to JA and here they aren't treated like this.
To me its a two bit dance teacher with too much importance.

It was this sort of stuff that made me take my DCs out of dance. Hair up in wrongly placed bun? Can't join in. Child sniffs in lesson? Sent out for rest of lesson. Hair grips wrong colour for hair? Mummy gets told off in front of all other parents. One item of costume missing for dress rehearsal? A dad nearly kills himself driving at mad speed to get it as DC is almost sibilant with fear that she won't be allowed on stage.

They were 5.

Madness. I wouldn't advise anyone to get into dance. it's bonkers.

Sick not sibilant.

hedge

anyone who thinks it is reasonable to make a 9yo sit in the corner for 2 hours for something they had no control over should not be teaching.

Humiliating young children in this way is something they often never forget and can ruin their confidence.

Oh my goodness that is awful, unacceptable. If that was the case she should have not let him in and explained to you that latecomers don't get to do,class. What is it the Royal Ballet! Ds should not be going back and make a complaint to a professional body (sorry don't know which one)

So hedge don't let him in! Not te a 9 year od sit at the side for 2 hours! How dangerous can dancing be, it's hardly fencing!

Must be Abbey Bloody Lee.

Hideous woman.

That's not rules or procedures, it's a disproportionate response that constitutes abuse of authority and humiliation of the child.

The teacher needs to remember that without students she wouldn't have a teaching job. That means instilling a LOVE for the subject, not a fear. Discipline is important in many walks of life, and should be achieved through respect to be meaningful in any way.

If she treats kids like that they will never want to go and it won't have gone unnoticed by the other children, all of whom will have felt uncomfortable and sad. They know how it feels to be left out.

Personally I would have no qualms in publicly humiliating her the way she tried to publicly humiliate your son. She doesn't have a leg to stand on (no pun intended!).

Also, Op are you someone who is naturally assertive or who avoids confrontation?

I know it's not easy for everyone to address these things sometimes so I would say the best way to deal with it is formally rather than personally.

Suggestion below about complaining to a professional body or a director is excellent. That way when you tell other parents you can say you have lodged a formal complaint, it has more gravity and becomes less gossipy that way.

It also demands a response from the organisation and gives you time to get some great feedback on here and gather all your key points.

If students are late at my school, they have to join in at the back, quietly with no fuss, when the next exercise starts. They then have to come and apologise to the teacher during the break. If it happens persistently, we would have a word with the parent.

At very least he should have been included in the second class, earlier if there was a suitable point . However maybe he missed the warm up in which case there may be an injury risk.

This would annoy me enough to try and claim a refund of those two lessons at the small claims court. The clause is unreasonable. She shouldn't have admitted him or at least have let him join the second lesson, he wasn't late for that one.

Wasn't there some research a few years back about warm-ups being of little value? Not particularly relevant, the point is the measure was disproportionate to the offence and humiliating for the child. Why just sit in the corner and take notes? What happens if they miss the class altogether and can't observe and take notes? The intention was to embarrass, not to educate from a safe distance. Awful.