Ds expected to “help” another pupil with work in class

[LostFrog]

Ds is 9 years old, just started Year 5, first year of new school (middle school system here).

He tells me that when he has finished his own work in class, he is required to help a boy who sits next to him. This happens every single lesson, and he says that the boy is reluctant to work, won’t write anything, gives up quickly and mutters all the time that he doesn’t get it, etc. From asking around, this seems to be the standard on every table in the class - there is one or two pupils who are “learning mentors” who have to teach the less able ones.

Is this a) normal, and b) reasonable? It’s not like ds volunteered for this role. If he has finished, Shouldn’t he be offered an extension task whilst the teacher or TA (there is one, I checked) help the ones who are struggling? I have emailed the teacher to ask them to clarify what’s expected, but has anyone else come across this?

And if they lack the ability and motivation (which is part of being intelligent) to self-extend then they really aren’t that bright, they are in the middle, like the other people the teacher is aiming at.

Why not stay home and learn off the internet if self extending is that obvious? I mean who needs teachers, right?😏

This question always bores me. If the child really is that bright they will self-extend.

Not really. Bright children and motivated children aren't the same thing. There are plenty of reasons why a child might not self-extend. It is part of a teacher's job to provide extension for brighter children.

Tell them this then. Tell them they should be working at home if they want to get on and tell the parents too. Many non teachers are simply not aware that their kids won't be stretched in school.

It's a common teaching strategy. You call it "helping". To the child so they feel important But both benefit. They lesser able one has a "peer" way of being taught which is different to the way the teacher has explained and also the more able one gets the knowledge embedded by exoaining it in a different way. Consolidating their understanding.

I believe there has been alot if research done which shows this is one of the reasons mixed ability classes are more beneficial than setting classes - it actually benefits both pupils in this scenario as your son is reinforcing his own learning too. Maybe look it up and see what you think. This is common practice in teaching and unfortunately one teacher and one TA isn’t enough to help a struggling student on every table in a class of 30. An extension task potentially wouldn’t get marked as the teacher wouldn’t have time and can’t mark it as a class exercise when only one or two students have done it and if your child was doing an extension task no one would be helping the other student who may then misbehave out of boredom which would later have a detrimental effect on your son and the other pupils in the class. There’s a whole host of reasons this is a good learning activity for your son and the other pupil, and as mentioned, can’t really be avoided in classes of 30 such is the state of our education system!

It’s quite possible that your ds is completing the extension work and still has time left over at the end of the lesson.

A skill isn’t really consolidated until it can be explained properly to someone else, so there’s nothing wrong with more able children helping the less able ones, it’s good for them.

It should be explained to your ds that he’s not going to get in trouble if the other child won’t work, but other than that, this teacher is doing nothing wrong.

And if they lack the ability and motivation (which is part of being intelligent) to self-extend then they really aren’t that bright

That is utter, utter horseshit and massively biased towards children from middle-class families who prioritise education and support good study habits in their children. Teaching is about realising potential in students, including those who may not be very motivated for a variety of reasons. Writing off children who can't (yet) self-motivate as 'not being that bright really' is outrageous. The OP's child is... what... 9 years old?

I really hope you're not a teacher.

It's surprisingly common. I was really peeved when my DD kept getting moved around the class to sit next to anyone who was struggling to help them. When I moaned to a friend, she said her daughter and another friend had said the same thing. I raised it with the teacher and she said it was good for the helper-child, to embed their learning, as well as for the struggling child, and that it's a very common method. I was still a bit annoyed to be honest because I did kind of think she was being used as a free TA!

Totally unacceptable. I remember having the same conversation re DD many years ago. Your child is there to learn. Not to teach.

I'm a teacher. Getting students to teach each other is pretty much gold standard if done correctly. Your child's teacher isn't doing it correctly because:
it's always one way;
it's always the same child;
the students aren't engaged or on board;
and it's always the same, boring routine which is too general ("help Ben finish" is a crap instruction)

It's a lazy application of a very valuable and useful concept. And your child's teacher should ensure your ds knows he is not responsible for this other child's work or behaviour!

A skill isn’t really consolidated until it can be explained properly to someone else, so there’s nothing wrong with more able children helping the less able ones, it’s good for them

If teachers haven't managed to do that in a way all children can understand How's a 9 year old supoosed to?

It's a lazy application of a very valuable and useful concept. And your child's teacher should ensure your ds knows he is not responsible for this other child's work or behaviour!

Yes, exactly this!

@lazylinguist

And if they lack the ability and motivation (which is part of being intelligent) to self-extend then they really aren’t that bright

That is utter, utter horseshit and massively biased towards children from middle-class families who prioritise education and support good study habits in their children. Teaching is about realising potential in students, including those who may not be very motivated for a variety of reasons. Writing off children who can't (yet) self-motivate as 'not being that bright really' is outrageous. The OP's child is... what... 9 years old?

I really hope you're not a teacher.

Can't be a teacher, surely. The confidence with which that ignorant argument was asserted is embarrassing. A teacher would know better.

It's a way of saving the school money, as they appear to need another TA in the class.
Unfortunately some schools believe that their job is teaching all children the basics, rather than stretching all children to achieve what they as individuals are capable of achieving.

@LostFrog

Ds is 9 years old, just started Year 5, first year of new school (middle school system here).

He tells me that when he has finished his own work in class, he is required to help a boy who sits next to him. This happens every single lesson, and he says that the boy is reluctant to work, won’t write anything, gives up quickly and mutters all the time that he doesn’t get it, etc. From asking around, this seems to be the standard on every table in the class - there is one or two pupils who are “learning mentors” who have to teach the less able ones.

Is this a) normal, and b) reasonable? It’s not like ds volunteered for this role. If he has finished, Shouldn’t he be offered an extension task whilst the teacher or TA (there is one, I checked) help the ones who are struggling? I have emailed the teacher to ask them to clarify what’s expected, but has anyone else come across this?

Oh wow, seriously? It's so important to help others and how lovely of your child to offer to help another student. First, explaining to others is a real skill - and takes more understanding of a topic than just answering questions about it, so it'll stretch your son, second, it teaches him to care about others. So third, this IS the extension activity.

Honestly I think there's such a stress on targets but we have to remember to raise kind helpful kids too, and that we're not just always to focus on ourselves. This kind of focus on helping others should be a regular thing for all kids.

RTFT?

@TheSandgroper

Collaborative learning.

How exactly is this happening here?

@AGreenerShadeofKale

Should he be encouraged to complain and improve his assertiveness skills Lweji?😉

Certainly.

Sounds like lazy teaching requiring a child to do this regularly.

Teachers must use all their spare time thinking up ways to do even less!

Would love to hear the teacher’s thought process here… because I think it’s poorly thought out.

Surely doing this every lesson is a drain on OPs son??

I was used as an unpaid teaching assistant at school

Likewise. Let me say that it contributed to a gang beating that fractured my skull and ribs. It turns out that older boys didn't like a younger girl being allocated to help them.

Who knew.

It is too much if it's all the time. He should be given stretching work instead and it certainly shouldnt stress him out.

My DS and the other bright ones helped one child each once a week with reading in the final year of primary. My DS and the little girl he helped gain value from it. It taught my DS patience and the little girls reading improved so much.

He's in school to learn the subject being taught. If he is finished early, he should be given extension work.

I would get your son to repeat "Ask the teacher.", "I'm not the teacher". And if he gets into trouble for that, then he needs to tell you so that you can clarify this with school.

Teaching what you have learnt to someone else is one of the best ways to embed your own understanding of something!