to not really get why worksheets are so bad?

[butterbeansinsoup]

DS is in P1 (in Scotland) and obviously they're learning their letters. They do everything on whiteboards with a pen, they never sit at their tables and write on paper.

I asked the teacher why and it's as if I asked her why she didn't use the belt.

Surely practising the letter y on a whiteboard is exactly like practising it on a sheet of paper?

The environment?

Surely practicing on a sheet of paper is better?

My daughter's preschool gave each child a laminated sheet to practice letters on, with a dry erase marker. I don't really see why a whiteboard is an issue though. It's probably more cost effective than buying paper.

What was her answer when you asked her that?

She said they didn't believe it was developmentally appropriate for young children.

Now I agree that it's inappropriate for them to do worksheets all day long, but it feels different writing on those whiteboards and writing pen and pencil.

Have him practice at home with pencil and paper if you're concerned. Maybe they're correct that it's not developmentally appropriate.

As a teacher in Scotland who taught P1 for the last few years, there has been a huge shift towards play-based learning. Also eco schools and sustainable education play a part. Why does using whiteboards cause you concern? If a student does something noteworthy on a white board and I want to keep the evidence I photocopy or photograph it. Whiteboards are great for reducing paper consumption

I would’ve thought that writing ‘upright’ on a whiteboard (is that what they’re doing?) would be developmentally a very different movement that writing on paper on a desk.

I can’t understand why they would want to teach that.

Why does using whiteboards cause you concern?

I just don't see why it can only be whiteboards. I think it's important for him to practise his writing on paper with pencil and I genuinely don't see why the same activity is appropriate on a whiteboard but not on a sheet of paper.

Writing on a vertical surface improves shoulder girdle strength which makes writing easier.

I doubt they are though. Each child will have a mini whiteboard in their lap. It will be a horizontal surface.

I would’ve thought that writing ‘upright’ on a whiteboard

I would think that they're using mini whiteboards on desks (correct me if I'm wrong OP).

Maybe because printing several worksheets a day for 30 children per class costs money?

My DD liked whiteboards because mistakes weren't kept forever more, instead they could be erased and try again. This made her more willing to try because if she went wrong it mattered less.

Plus whiteboard pens are chunkier and movements larger, which could be easier for small people with less good fine motor skills whilst they learn the shape of letters.

I assume the op is referring to individual mini whiteboards not the teachers board. In all P1 classrooms I have been in children have always had access to a writing/mark making area so they still have experiences of using pencil and paper in school but for core learning whiteboards a pens are far more flexible and easier for the children to use

I teach (secondary) students and a majority have some kind of sensory issue. They say that writing on a whiteboard "feels" less painful than writing on paper. Also, with reluctant writers the novelty or the temporary nature of the board is encouraging for them.

Also, they can turn their whiteboards around and the teacher can easily see who has / hasn't managed the letter (or got the right answer for maths) without having to go around the whole class.

I would think that they're using mini whiteboards on desks (correct me if I'm wrong OP

I think most of the time they're sitting on the floor with the whiteboards. Sometimes they sit at their desks *according to DS.

I suspect lots of people my dads age learnt to write on a slate with chalk, my dads generation have beautiful handwriting.

I don't see a problem.

I learned with slate and chalk, then whiteboards when we were older (and I'm in my 30s) This was in France, and I'm pretty sure they still use them.

It’s mainly to save money on photocopying. School budgets are being cut so every penny counts.

Is it the only writing they are doing or is it part of a mix of methods. I discussed this with dd1's teachers in year 1 (in England) as there are a lot of adults myself included who struggle to write legibly on whiteboards and it turned out it was only part of their writing and for when they were doing non table based learning.
In year 2 they are doing a lot more writing on paper and a lot more sitting at tables. Dd1 preferred year 1 but her writing is better in year 2!

The downside of using whiteboards is that the children come home covered in ink, whereas pre-whiteboards they wrote in pencil.
I don't care about the ink, the school don't care about the ink, but I know that very many parents at my DCs school get very upset about ink stains on uniform.

I'd be fine with it. I know they use wipe clean sheets for practicing and at home DS often practices on his magnadoodle or on the whiteboard side of his easel.

I'm just glad he's excited to be learning to write and enjoys practicing!

He also gets through reams of paper at home.

Agree its mostly environmental - i teach f1 and we use an online observation recorder so if they write something noteworthy i photograph it.

Having said that there are pencils etc and paper in the mark making area

It's convenient to use a wipe-clean board so they don't need to have lots of bits of paper. However, a good school will give them lots of experience making marks and writing in different media on different materials. In my experience a whiteboard pen can be quite tricky to negotiate as they can be bulky for little fingers to grip correctly and are quite slippy on the surface when writing as the shiny surface and ink don't provide the same resistance as a pencil on paper making hard for children to write neatly. Definitely shouldn't be their only writing medium.