To ask you not to buy fidget spinners or any other shit and let your DCs take them to school?

[StrongerThanIThought76]

I'm a teacher. The current fad for Things To Piss The Teacher Off In Class is fidget spinners.

Before anyone jumps on me I recognise and accept that for some SEN kids they are a godsend. I know that. I really really do.

But there are so many kids that are now telling anyone in their vicinity that they are to help them focus etc etc.

NO THEY FUCKING DON'T!

They're a distraction not only to the kid in question, to the kids around you and to the poor sod at the front of the room trying to teach.

If your kid has SEN speak to the SENCO at school who will advise you if your kid would be allowed to have one. Even then (as it is in my school) they should only be used when appropriate.

If your kid is 'normal' then please don't send the damn TOYS into school. The only thing most kids should have in their hand during lessons is a pen or pencil!

And don't call in demanding that your kid gets their TOY back immediately - they've had it confiscated because they're pissing about in class. We wouldn't be happy with them playing with an Action Man or remote control car in class, and neither would you be.

Rant over. We have a hard enough time as it is in schools, keep the extra distraction out of the classroom please?

Thankyou

Hmm. Well I am just thinking how I'd feel if it were about my child. Save the rants for the staffroom or for friends. I do re my work. I would not feel comfortable with a customer reading one of mine and it would only start a bunfight anyway

I just find it inappropriate and, dare i say it, unprofessional. We have guidelines at work re social media and what we say on there and it can potentially be a sackable offence

Discussing a trend is not the same as AIBU to think little Max is a little shit! relax!

And frankly, given that several ZILLION kids attempted to take fidget spinners to schools up and down the country this week, if you think this might be your teacher talking about YOU, you're beyond paranoid!

gandalf456

There is no way you would know from this who it was about.

I just caved and bought my kids (and husband) one. Non of my kids are allowed to take them to school. If I was a teacher that would piss me right off! They're bored of them already and it's been one day.

Yes!

Yanbu.

And just for information in case you need more evidence for your case my ds has ASD and SPD with some spld. He actually is discouraged from having digit toys because they distract him and he can't focus - he has them for when he needs to disconnect and he can go to a quiet room and use them there.

So digit toys DO NOT aid concentration in all students and certainly not all students with SN!

Maudlinmaud my cheapest one was £5

These appeals from anonymous teachers on a public forum are starting not to sit well qith me. What will it achieve?

Let's not have threads about MIL, friends, relationships, work colleagues.

Or let people post whatever they want. You can chose to read it or not.

Anyway, gandalf456, I think if you did suspect it was about your child, it should only make you uncomfortable because you know your child isn't focusing on his:her learning. Hopefully it would give you the motivation to take the toys off them before school!

My children are the ONLY kids in the WHOLE school who don't have them apparently. Tears every day. I can't believe they are allowed in school at all apart from SN kids. Whole conversations on WhatsApp about where to buy them.

Meanwhile Because I am so MEAN am determined not to cave in.

This leads to all kinds of paranoia with me wondering if it were my son's teacher.

Would it really matter if it were?

FanjoForTheMammaries

I would agree with you, if it weren't for the fact that the accommodation that helps one child is a direct distraction to 29 others. We need to develop strategies that are helpful to students with SEND that don't cause serious issues for other children and their learning.

I have to say, I remember when I as a teen, people were spinning their pen in their hand. Similar thing/effect I would think but it was never an issue re concentration fir the child or distracting the others. We were never told off for that too.
So in some ways, I can understand the 'it's helping me concentrate'. I know it would do that to me.

HOWEVER, from what both dcs are saying, the issue isn't the spinning as such. It's the noise, it's the fact they are arguing about them, trying to out do each other etc... it's the fact they are using it as a TOY rather than a fidget thingy.

Good side to it: as any fad, it will just go away :)

Not allowed in class here but fine for playtime. I think that's a good balance.

There are small cushions with zips and buttons/tassles on that would do a similar job without the noise and competitive element. I would suggest something like that as a security/distraction you.

They're prayer beads! I'd be more concerned with a class of 30 kids all fervently bead counting.

*toy

Gandalf Your paranoia is no reason for others to stop posting, irrespective of whether they're teachers or not.

I don't think it's 'unprofessional' at all for teachers to have a rant about general stuff that's pissing them off, probably because I see them as 'people'.

Btw, I am not stopping my dcs to buy one of they want. Their money, their choice.
And also upmtomthem to know when to use said toy and behave responsibly.
If they dont and get told off, toy confiscated, get detention, whatever. Then they will have a learnt a very important thing (tbf, I would be surprised if they did end up in such a situation). Thatbthere are rules for anreason and no you can't decide to just not follow them.