Teachers drawing on children?

[Talktomyselfforhours]

I might be totally overthinking this so hoping for a good sounding board with fellow mumsnetters!

DD is in Year 3 at school and has quite often come home with smiley faces drawn on her hand, she told me the teacher draws smiley faces when they've done good work or behaved well.

AIBU to think this isn't right and teachers shouldn't be 'marking' the kids? I'm probably over thinking it but surely there are other ways of doing this that doesn't mean I've got to scrub these off each night? And yes she would have a wash etc but pen marks take a little more work and she does have quite sensitive skin. It's a biro pen that's being used. Quite happy to be told to get over it!

I didn't think there would be so much debate about DD lying 🙄other parents in the class confirmed the same, smiley face looks well drawn and not by a child but I get it, the argument is, it's a smiley face - how hard can it be!

Regardless, if it is the teacher, it just seemed an odd way to recognise good behaviour so wanted to understand if it's normal and common practice.

Our school is quite backwards in some ways (kids aren't allowed footballs in playground at break or lunch time, no play equipment or use of trim trail, Head is risk adverse for anything like this!), so this is just a part of a bigger picture of practice's at the school that irk me, albeit very small!

The circles on the knees, in particular, sound a bit odd. I would think that an initial conversation with the classroom teacher would be of use, taking it further if you're still concerned.
Did your daughter say why she got the circles drawn on her knees?

Ooooo - I did not know you could do that!

Also struggling to believe it was a teacher and not another child but if indeed it was, absolutely not on.

Maybe the teacher just doesn’t want to / can’t afford to buy stickers (which anyway get lost/lose their stick/cause distractions). I can imagine the kids would absolutely love it too.

This wouldn’t bother me in the slightest. You also don’t have to scrub it off…if your dc is washing their hands it will be gone in a day or so.

This is not the hill I’d choose to die on.

Sorry, I've just seen that you've indicated it was for swinging on a chair?
There seems to be a lot of parents/playground chat about this, so it's really important to talk to the teacher now.

Realised I'd misheard knee and name, seeing a circle mark on her knee and with history of smiley faces it added to my issues and why I'd posted. I'd edited the post within seconds but it was already live and I didn't realise you could see previous edits!

The smile face on the hand is a thing at one if my dc's school. I'm happy the (lovely and adored) teacher did it, my dc was having an extremely challenging time and I'm sure he would have got emotional and physical comfort from it.
Dc is a total soap dodger and it's probably still there, I hadn't thought to was it off.

Oh I see, that's the confusion!
I definitely think that a conversation with the teacher is needed, just to clear all this up.

Really if you are getting irked by this type of thing then reflect - either the school is actually doing a lot of things very well & therefore stick with it, or everything is rubbish and then just go and find a different school. Or find some bigger things in your life to get bothered by. Is your dd learning? Is she happy at school? Do the adults at school keep her safe? These are the things to worry about.

It’s very weird op. I wouldn’t dream of doing this. Teachers may put a smiley face on children’s work or a smiley sticker on their jumper. Would not be acceptable to draw on a child.

I find it hard to believe that a teacher would do this. The teacher shouldn't be doing unnecessary touching of a child. They could lay themselves open to all sorts of allegations - hurting the child being one of them. Plus what if the child has allergies?
Yes I always assumed drawing on the skin was to be discouraged not encouraged.
I can't believe attitudes can be so relaxed that this could in any way be seen as a normal thing that a teacher should be doing to a child in their care.
I hope the child in question is making it up to cover a silly thing her and her friends are doing to themselves.

Your daughter is lying.

So, who did draw the circle you saw on her knee?

No one’s drawing on kid’s knees except the child themselves

I don't know why people are losing their minds about the edited post. OP has explained the miscommunication.

OP your daughter gets a smiley face drawn on her hand for good behaviour and the children get circles drawn on the board for bad behaviour.

Yes I've seen both of these working in various schools, except it was a stamp on the hand rather than a smiley face.

If parents don't like it then I'd ask the teacher to give out stickers instead.

In my daughters old nursery the workers drew smiley faces and spiders on the toddlers hands. They loved it! The cynical part of me thinks it's a good way for the teacher to check if the kids are washing their hands

Already answered

Honestly this wouldn't bother me. I think its a nice way to reward positive behaviour.

The OP has said there was a circle on her child’s knee. Has she asked her child who drew it?

No it’s not nice, really not appropriate and I find it hard to believe. With all of the awareness and training we have now this would be really frowned upon in any school I’ve worked in. So unnecessary and an abuse of power.
Far more appropriate to give encouragement via nods and smiles and words. Smiley faces on work and /or stickers depending on age. We use house points as rewards or marbles in jars . Nobody draws on children, what sort of double standard is that?!

Are you referring to the smiley faces or the circle on the knee which has been explained multiple times was not drawn by the teacher? I don’t think a smiley face on a hand as a positive Celebration could possibly be described as an abuse of power.

This thread is weird.

This thread is a total mess 😂 bet you wish you hadn't bothered OP.

Yes circles on the board as sorts of "de-merits" are normal. I usually see them from teachers on days when the class are on particularly bad form, rather than something used every day.

And yes a "good work" stamp or smiley face stamp on the hand is often used as a reward for good behaviour. Also knew a few teachers who would put a dot on the pupils' hands for each lap of the playground they'd ran so that they could keep track of their "daily mile".

If you don't like it, just speak to the teacher.

It is an abuse of power because it’s a physical encroachment from a position of power in that teacher/child relationship . Any physical contact with a child must be child led.
The Op posts are not clear. Drawing a smile with a pen on a child’s hand is not nice. A stamp is less intrusive.

Skin is naturally a pretty imprenetrable barrier. It's why, for infection to occur, you usually have to be injured first. It's also the reason why most creams don't work beyond a very superficial level.

Oh, looks like MN glitched and caused a repeat post.