To think this was a bit tactless of the teacher

[callherwillow]

The teacher in question referred to friends daughter (Year 4) as 'bonny'. I realise that there are areas of the country where this is just a compliment without any other connotations but here it essentially means 'fat.'

The friends DD was a few minutes late due to helping set up the assembly and upon entering had gone to sit with her friends and was stopped by the teacher who tried to steer her to the year 6s and when she politely explained she was in year 4 the teacher commented (in a whole school assembly where the children could all hear her) 'well, you are a very bonny girl for year 4, aren't you?'

Not the teachers finest hour, I don't think?

OK op you have said that she meant 'big' but this can only refer to her height. Otherwise please tell me how a child can be big (fat) for year 4? There will be roughly equal numbers of overweight kids in years 4 and 6 I imagine. The year 6's will be a lot taller though.
It seems you are determined to put a nasty spin on what has been said. Do you have other reasons to dislike the teacher?

To me, 'bonny' means healthy and vital, so is quite a versatile word.

Bonny would be a teacher cover up for so tall I thought you were Yr 6 or possibly well developed. It just means happy and healthy, opposite of small and weedy.

OMG!! And still they come!!

OP, you are spot on about this being a veritable gathering of the obtuse.

for you. What a shambles of a thread.

And YANBU, of course.

minifingerz If she's saying that the child is big as in fat it could make the child feel self conscious. Not nice for a teacher to do, especially in assembly. If they are concerned about health etc it could be addressed without calling a child something that is apparently a euphemism for fat in that area.

Wind up

It's all very well to say if the child is big why not point it out? But children can be shy about being different, the last thing they need is a teacher calling them a rude name in reference to their size!

I actually think the op is being deliberately obtuse. There's no way the teacher thought 'that child's chubby they must be a year 6' regardless of her misuse of a word - she was clearly referring to her being tall for her age. Which is why I asked if the op has had other problems with this teacher. Would also love to know if the child or their actual mother are half as bothered about the incident.

I can't help wondering why this was posted to AIBU when despite the near overwhelming YABU consensus you continue to be so. Perhaps we need an "I am right" area instead where you go for immediate unqualified support.

Narkyknockers ,
Totally agree with you.
My ex husband is Scottish, he was born in Glasgow and raised in Troon.
I remember the first time I met his brother and his brothers wife and I always remember them saying "she's a bonnie lass , bonnie lass."
I didn't know what that meant , but in Scotland and surrounding areas it means only complimentary things.
Believe me, this teacher meant the girl is tall for her age/class year and not FAT.
It's outrageous to think he was saying she is Fat.

Mobile-friendly - ... or beautiful:. Meaning, pronunciation and example sentences, English to English reference content. ... 1Attractive or beautiful: a bonny lass ...

I'm a northerner myself and never heard of Bobby meaning fat but then just look at "chuffed" and you know how messed up our slang is.

I once had a teacher tell me "they're gonna be interviewing you for your sons crime documentary in 20 years, you know that, right?" By a teacher. I love some of the things they come out with

I was brought up in NW and for us Bonnie was definitely used to imply chubby. I remember being called bonnie by an elderly aunt and it really upset me. I feel for the child in question.

That's nothing. On my first day of middle school (years 5-8) one of my teachers called me a 'drip' for being 1 minute late to her class as I got lost in the big old Victorian school. Never liked that teacher from that day on.

We don't generally use bonny here but I've always assumed it meant pretty

BalloonSlayers prediction on page 1 has turned out quite correct

Any idea what's going to happen in the referendum, Balloon?

I was a teacher. Its so demoralizing having parents pick at innocent misunderstood comments.
In the west midlands bonny just means healthy and happy. She may be from the area, but how she defines the word may depend also on whether her parents are from the area.
Did calling the child bonny affect that child? Or did they not understand it?
If the child picked up on it then perhaps its worth saying something. But it sounds like you're being a bit ott.
Do you also notice and point out good things this teacher does btw? When I taught I put in a 70 hour week and really cared. We are all human. No wonder so many people are leaving the profession.

The child in question is obviously morbidly obese. No other good reason for the unwaveringly uncharitable interpretation of bonny.

Is she fat though?

'You're a healthy and happy child for year 4!' Seems unlikely,

I really feel for you OP - all you are saying is that it's 'a bit tactless' and all but the most obtuse would have to agree that, potentially, it is. We should be careful what we say to young girls at this age about their bodies.

callherwillow As one professional (teacher) to another (teacher), regardless of whether you work together, you should quietly advise this teacher that "bonny" is interpreted as fat in your locality. I am sure you will find her grateful for you telling her this.
I feel a little worried that there may be other issues here, have you heard her insulting children before? Is this why you are really concerned?

As Will said "Much ado about nothing".

I agree with narky And whilst I don't often agree with her, I think ego has had a bit of a hard time on here.

It's been shown just on this thread that 'bonny' can have several different meanings and connotations and that's just within a 20 mile radius of one part of the country. So I don't know how the OP knows that that is exactly what the teacher meant. Unless the child is grossly overweight, a question that the OP has been asked several times and has so far chosen to ignore.

The op has said the child is tall and sturdy. But from the context of what she said the teacher can only have been referring to height. Maybe the op could let the teacher know what 'bonny' means in her area. Though I doubt anyone who heard what she said would be in any doubt as to what was meant other than the op.

People have said a thread on exactly the same subject was on only a few weeks ago. Could the Mumsnet people be making threads up to get people to check in and read. Hmmm? And up their reader numbers? Hmmm? Hmmmmmmm?

Think I might share this on Google, Twitter and possibly Facebook