to think that the shortest child in the class should not be sat at the back

[ReallyTired]

It is understandable when SEN chidlren are sat at front. My daughter is lucky in that she is well behaved, intelligent and has no disablities. However she is the shortest child in the class. Some of the SEN children are very tall and obsecure the view of the whiteboard of the other children when they all sit on the carpet.

Surely there must be way round this problem as all children need to be able to see the teacher and see the whiteboard. There needs to be a balance between the needs of the SEN children and everyone else. Every child deserves an education.

Do you think I would be unreasonable to ask my daughter's teacher to let the children who are seated at the back of the carpet sit on chairs or cushions. My daughter is on the 2nd centile for height and can't see anything as there are lots of bigger children are sat in front of her. I have already spoken to my daughter's teacher and my daughter has been told to kneel. However kneeling for long periods is not comfortable.

I do have sympathy with the SEN children as my son had hearing aids years ago. The school spent thousands on a soundfield system to help him. I feel that needs of short arse non SEN children are important as well. I am sure that the school could afford a couple of booster cushions for the kids at the back.

As a very short person that is constantly having their view blocked in the cinema and ballet etc and spent the whole of my school life not able to see anything because kids are tits and some teachers pay no attention to the needs of the quieter children that behave and don't cause a fuss, I say YANBU.

Phew, long sentence.

Her solution is for her to kneel? Every lesson? That is ridiculous, it will cause joint damage long term. Couldn't she just be put nearer the front, at an angle where she can see round some other pupils even if they are taller?

Unless the taller children are enormously tall, it won't make much difference to their view if they are at the back. One or two inches does not make a clear view through heads!

Children on the back row should have chairs or benches so everyone has the opportunity to see fully what is going on at the front.

My daughter is exceptionally small, rather than the rest of the class being exceptionally tall. One of the SEN children is exceptionally tall because of his medical condition. I feel he should be sat at the front, but to the side so that other children can see.

I wish that schools had tiered seating like Victorian times.

YANBU, and it only gets worse as you get older. The lad I used to sit next to in Maths at secondary school was nearly a foot and a half taller than me.

I don't think mentioning the SEN makes the OP sound like an arse hole. It puts it into context why it wouldn't be suitable to suggest to the teacher that the OP's DD cant just be swapped with one of the taller kids in the front seats.

Nor has the OP said anything that would make me mark the out as an asshole.

I have already had it explained by dd's teacher why she can't be sat at the front. I want to find a solution that works for every child in the class including the SEN children.

Surely suggesting that dd has a chair or a booster cushion is better than the bridage who wants all SEN children locked away from sight in special schools.

I was the short kid at school.

I not only survived but also managed to get an education... and amazingly I did this whilst also hiding my short sightedness until I was 15!

I also have managed to go to lots of events where I am the shortest in the crowd.

I think you are being ridiculous.

I don't think you sound an arsehole! Why can't she mention that? I agree with you. I would be speaking with the teacher about it.

Wow, Redtoothbrush is QUITE the superwoman.

I'd think not being able to see properly is a valid reason for wanting to do something about your daughter's seating position. I also don't think kneeling is a good thing.

Easiest solution, can the teacher put the whiteboard higher so all the kids are sat on the carpet as usual, but all looking up at it instead of through the gaps in the crowd?

Next easiest solution, use cushions for the back row. Give your daughter two

As the shortest person over 10 that I know. I just don't see the problem, managed fine throughout school despite being tiny. Would have hated my parents referring to me as a short arse, or making a huge deal of it though.

So - certain people sit near the front due to their particular needs - so why can't this also apply to the tiniest person in the class, since she also has a particular need (a different one, but a need all the same).

It has honestly never occurred to me to factor in height of children when doing a seating plan (and I'm a 5'1" woman who stands on a chair to reach the top of the whiteboard!)

When all the children are sitting down they can all see from anywhere in the room I would have thought. Or at least nobody's told me any different in the 8 years I've been sitting children of all heights in all areas.

YANBU with the booster seat if it would help your daughter though. Depending on her age however, she may be a bit embarrassed by it?

manicinsomniac
If a particularly short student complained that she couldn't see then would you look at your seating plan?

I was thinking of asking the teacher if he would like a couple of cushions for the children who have to sit at the back. Then my daughter would not feel on her own.

zzzzz Surely not seating a very large boy infront of a shorter child is not SEN. It hardly requires an IEP, just a bit of common sense.

FFS how is your daughter going to cope with being a shortarse in the rest of the world. Its one of those things that you have to adapt and cope with somehow.

Yes, of course I would reallytired I wouldn't be able to put them right at the front because Ed psychs seem to write 'would progress best at the front of the class' on their reports with a cheerful abandon that suggests they clearly have no regard for the fact that classrooms only have 4-6ish seats on the front row!

But I would seat her somewhere nearer the middle behind a child who needed to be at the front and wasn't tall.

I'm thinking of all my small kids now (including my own 2 children!) and wondering whether they're all sitting there afraid to say they can't see. I don't think so though, they have no qualms about telling me anything else they don't like!

Your DD needs to move herself to a position where she can see.

It would be a nightmare to have cushions - all the children would want them and you don't want the easily distracted ones trying to get to the back so they can fiddle about with the cushions!

Surely the board is up on the wall so heads can't block the view. I was a tiny child (under 5 ft as an adult) but I could see everything from the carpet. My peers were over a foot taller than me. I was mini.

This is an absolute daft moan. You / your child don't seem to have even explained the problem to the teacher. You mention it to teacher, teacher moves your child, problem solved in less time than it took to make your post. I'm a teacher so I know this isn't a biggie. She probably has no idea your child can't see properly. We don't go round sitting in every child's seat, at their height, to test

Can your DD just say she can't see?

I am under 5 foot and also refused to wear glasses until I got contact lenses at 16. I was also quiet. I have a good education but think I could have done so much better if I could see to pay attention.

That being said, I hated reference to my height and still do.

Since the children no longer sit all day in a bank of chairs all facing the same direction, but instead move around the room, sitting in different configurations and the teacher speaking from different locations, any given child should have sightlines at some point. But, I think your problem is with carpet time specifically? Which probably is a seating free-for-all for everyone except the SEN kids, and the teacher is unwilling to create a sort of unofficial special need requirement to remember to arrange for your daughter to be up front, yes?

The best action might be to teach your daughter to take charge of her problem, and ask/tell her classmates that she really needs to take this spot, please, because she cant see over people, thank you. It is never too early to adopt the habit of politely, stating what you need. She is going to be amongst these same children for years, and is unlikely to grow out of her percentile for size.

My petite daughter just took to daydreaming.