To complain to the class teacher?

[Whatisthisfuckery]

For the last few weeks DS has been complaining that in a certain lesson he has been seated next to a student who, quite frankly, is a pain in the arse. According to DS he’s always talking, messing around and drawing attention to himself, and the poor behaviour is preventing DS from concentrating on his own work. DS is a good student, he gets good marks, always does his work and I’ve never had a bad word from school about his conduct.

I’ve been telling DS that if he wants to be moved then he needs to tell the teacher. DS is a bit short on confidence so needs a lot of encouragement and reassurance in order to speak up for himself. Today he’s come home and told me he told the teacher that this kid was preventing him from being able to concentrate and he’d asked her if he could be moved. The teacher refused, her response was, ‘I’ve sat x there because I know you two (DS and another female student) are sensible.’

I am bloody annoyed about this. Well behaved students aren’t there to help teachers manage the behaviour of more challenging students, and why should my DS suffer because the teacher wants him to act as a buffer for someone elses disruptive behaviour? Should DS start playing up in lessons so he can get moved next to some less disruptive kids? Not only that, the teacher has refused to listen to DS’s POV and refused his request because it’s inconvenient for her to do so.

AIBU to complain to the teacher about this?

@Feministicon

Yes that’s clearly all I said *@Wheresmykimchi* 😁 Just quoting a tiny part of what I said and constantly pretending to be confused by what I’ve said presumably to make me feel inferior or stupid only reflects badly on you. Sorry to derail OP, I hope you get it sorted.

No pretention here - I'm quite a blunt poster. I genuinely don't understand what role you do if you don't know how a classroom works but are in the classroom with students. Not trying to make anyone feel inferior or stupid I am just aware there are more roles than teachers and trying to work out what yours is so I can understand . Genuinely.

Not RTFT but YANBU. This happens to DD all the time. She's only Yr3 but is the confident, well behaved, grown up sort and always gets sat/partnered with the 'naughty boys.' I did complain once and the teacher openly admitted that it was to help manage the boys behaviour DD was moved, but next to an even worse one!

Now I just see it as a lesson that you're always going to come across idiots in your life, especially in the workplace and this is a good lesson, learnt early, in how to manage them.

Not trying to make anyone feel inferior or stupid I am just aware there are more roles than teachers and trying to work out what yours is so I can understand . Genuinely.

Some kind of support/THRIVE unit?

@ComeOnBabyHauntMyBubble

Not trying to make anyone feel inferior or stupid I am just aware there are more roles than teachers and trying to work out what yours is so I can understand . Genuinely.

Some kind of support/THRIVE unit?

That's what I was asking but even though every time one of these threads comes up about what do we hate on MN I cite faux confusion, I've been accused of that so I won't ask further

Oh, ok Wheresmykimchi this thread has become so bonkers that it’s hard to keep up with who is accusing who of what.

@Wheresmykimchi I'm just going to report you as you seem to have some sort of personal issues not related to this at all

@Whatisthisfuckery

Oh, ok Wheresmykimchi this thread has become so bonkers that it’s hard to keep up with who is accusing who of what.

I agree.

But please know I'd never be faux confusion to look down on anyone in a million years. If you knew me IRL I could never be accused of that in a month of Sundays

Wheresmykimchi I have no idea what you’re on about because I CBA to read through all the silly arguing.

@Whatisthisfuckery

Wheresmykimchi I have no idea what you’re on about because I CBA to read through all the silly arguing.

Can I come with you ducks

I’ve told my daughter (yr 9) to speak out everytime the person sitting next to her gets too annoying ( she is in the same position as your ds) it’s his education that is going to be affected, and the teacher should have some handle on making the seating plan work, after all, isn’t that what isolation is for?

I think you’ve handled it well. You gave your son a strategy to try and now you are reinforcing his point of view with an email go the teacher. Your job is to equip your child with the tools to advocate for himself as much as he can but then as a parent your job is to advocate for him on his behalf as and when it’s needed. Sitting next to this student is not conducive to your child’s wellbeing or learning needs.

Lots of teachers rotate the seating plan on a half termly or termly basis to make situations like this fairer for children such as yours.

@ILoveAllRainbowsx I can't see how grammar schools and technical colleges would help with poor behaviour? Poor behaviour happens at all levels of intelligence!

It would be like asking a surgeon to do a stint cleaning up in A and E.

Wow.

I don't think it is illegal to suspend children, is it? If it is, that needs addressing pdq!

You can exclude them for a brief period of time. If you permanently exclude a child, what happens is they go to another school. It is not legal to just send a hild home for the foreseeable future, no. There are a lot of things in the education system that do 'need addressing pdq'. No sign of it ever happening though.

It would be like asking a surgeon to do a stint cleaning up in A and E.

Wow.

Why wow? In other sectors, are highly experienced and senior employees routinely expected to be farmed out to do jobs way below their pay grade against their will, taking them away from their usual responsibilities?

I think those children would deserve far better than inexperienced PGCE trainees that would change every 5 minutes...

They would have a mix of teachers, including teachers who were very experienced.

At the end of the day, very disruptive children are destroying the educations of other children who are not disruptive. In my opinion, they need a different solution. It would not be okay to just say ‘give them supply teachers’ (from my perspective), and actually, all teachers should have the opportunity to develop the skills to work with them. So yes, I think it should be part of the PGCE. Not a big part, but definitely in there.

In other sectors, are highly experienced and senior employees routinely expected to be farmed out to do jobs way below their pay grade against their will, taking them away from their usual responsibilities?

In what way is working with children with behavioural problems ‘below their pay grade’? Are you mad?

The alternative is to set in motion a chain of events that would lead to her being fired, which I don't want on my conscience.

So instead you let her disrupt the education of the children in her care? That’s on your conscience?

Covering the remove room is not 'working' with children with behavioural problems . There are schools and units that do that. It requires additional training and a pay scale to match - it is a highly specialised job that requires a very specific skill set. Sitting in the remove room is not 'working; with behavioural issues - it is having an adult in the room to watch over students who have decided not to behave in their lesson. So, yes it is not appropriate to expect teachers with years of experience to do this. They would be far better being employed to do the job appropriate to their pay scale - actually teaching.

Covering the remove room is not 'working' with children with behavioural problems

I have no idea why you think my suggestion that trained teachers should rotate in teaching (not covering) classes of children with behavioural problems (whether you like the suggestion or not) is anything to do with a “remove room”.

And in my opinion, all teachers should have the experience of doing this. It is absolutely not a lesser job. It is probably a more skilled job.

@flaviaritt because you were quoting part of my post. If you read the whole of my original post you will see that the comparison I was drawing was in ref to teachers covering the remove room on a rota.

And I had experience of the remove room - many times. I did more than my fair share of covering it, and I agree it is a skilled job that requires training and a certain skill set. And, again, to use a medical analogy, it makes sense to place staff with appropriate skills in the the positions that best meet their skill set. Doctors are specialists for good reason. When you train you discover and develop those skills. I would be utterly useless as a year 1 teacher but I am bloody good teaching exam classes. Just as it would be counterproductive to put me on a rota to teach in a primary it would be counterproductive to rota me for the remove room.

singsingbluesilver

Your attitude seems to be that teachers teaching children with behavioural issues aren’t teaching. Look at your language: ‘sitting’, ‘remove room’ (not class?). It is not very nice to read. Children with behavioural problems - guess what - are also exam classes.

To clarify. In my school remove is where children who are not behaving in class are sent for the remainder of the day. No, they are not taught in there - it is supposed to be a sanction and it is supposed to be a deterrent. The thinking is that a couple of hours in there will modify their behaviour. It works for most, but not all. Those who go in there multiple times are placed on other behaviour strategies. There is a team who work with them.

I do think that students with behaviour problems deserve to be taught, and believe me I am well aware that they are in exam classes!!

Teaching and supporting students with behavioural problems requires skill, patience, time and training. I do not have those skills. I can manage my classroom, I can manage low and moderate behaviour issues. I have been trained to do so, and I have many years of experience. I know that I could not work in a PRU and that is why I choose not to apply for jobs in that sector. I am full of admiration for colleagues who do.

Teaching and supporting students with behavioural problems requires skill, patience, time and training. I do not have those skills.

Then you should try to develop them, with urgency.