Teacher treating children too young

[Someonehelpmeagain]

My child is in a year 3 class, the teacher now sings a song to get them to sit on the carpet and has organised a book advent for this week. The children are 7 and 8, I feel they are far too old to be sung to sit on the carpet. Aibu to talk to the headteacher?

I think that sounds lovely! Childhood flies by so quickly, how wonderful to hold on to some of the magic.

Wtf is wrong with a book advent and if the children respond to a song who cares? Nicer than being shouted over.

I help at Guides, they sing a song at the start of the meeting and again at the end, many of the girls join in, none of them hate it as far as I know. They're aged 10-14.

They sing in Rangers (the oldest section) to!

I don't understand what's wrong with singing to 7 and 8 year olds... I sing to hush the chat in a large lecture theatre before starting, the adult students love it, it works a dream.
What exactly is wrong with a book advent? Please explain. Genuinely baffled by your post. I too am a university lecturer so please do explain your issues with both these methods clearly

you're never too old for books.

(My answer would be the same if the teacher was male, female, young, old, black, white or in fact Mr Blobby - it’s not for you as a parent to micromanage classroom management.)

I think finding out your kids are being taught by Mr Blobby might be one of the few cases which justifies querying classroom management. 😉

YABU OP. And I say that as a former (abroad) teacher whose curriculum recommended the removal of songs and sitting on floor at age 7. It’d still be inappropriate for me to decide that I know how to run the classroom better than the teacher.

Reason 3567543 why I’d never teach in the UK…

What's wrong with 8 year olds singing? What a miserable thought that children of that age shouldn't be singing in class. By all means speak to the head but I think at best they will see it as you wasting their time and there's a good chance there will be a few jokes about it in the staff room

I think the teacher sounds lovely and I wish all teachers were like this and allowed children to hang onto their innocence a bit longer before forcing things like SATS on them. My child (8yo) definitely responds much better to this kind of teacher. Luckily her teacher is very much like this, and she's enjoying her time in Y3 very much as a result, and is learning lots.

That was one of the best parts of Guides and Rangers for me! I loved those campfire songs.

You do realise that there will be a significant amount of your fellow parents who will have spent the last few years telling the school that "do you know, in Scandinavia, they wouldn't even have started school yet?!' in response to their child hitting, not being able to sit still or listen or share...

Teachers should put you all in a room with prompt cards and sell popcorn.

kind of irrelevant, but I thought it might amuse you.
at some point in the nineties, the poem given to discuss in a GCSE essay was William Blakes The Poison Tree.
at that time, it had recently been done to music as a B side to Blurs Parklife. so I remember hearing about loads of people sitting down to their exam and thinking, hey I know this one.
their version is called Magpie.

I play the Henry hill theme tune when I want my classes to tidy up 🤣

Poor teacher! They are having to appeal to a lot of children with varying degrees of maturity, compliance, preferences.

My child's teacher still sings songs. She loves them. I don't know about to sit down, but grammar and maths are still taught by song sometimes. I don't see the problem, it's just a medium and children respond to variations of media throughout the day.

I don't know that one - who is Henry Hill?

YABU. And a dick. It's totally fine.
I say that as someone who does have a masters in education.

I wonder if the OP will return......🤔

This view is shocking coming from someone who is supposedly educated. Why be judgemental about how another professional does their job if it’s effective? Also, even more bizarrely, taking issue with book advent?! Have you even considered that some children don’t have the luxury of a huge selection of books at home??? Have a word with yourself. Seriously

Where do you work OP? I want to email your boss as you’re clearly not fit for your post if you can’t differentiate between would have and would of. Absolutely bonkers.

I didn't know about that! Thank you for sharing this.

FFS As you seem to think you are better than the qualified teacher why don’t you teach?

I used to play mission impossible at tidy up time!! When I had y3. We had various times for different activities. They were great motivators

I am 65 and would love to be sung to on a carpet.

For voice management in a noisy ish classroom, singing is better for the voice than shouting instructions on repeat. Choice of song needs to be age appropriate. Some teachers are confident to use their own voice to sing so will, others might pop on a recorded song for the same purpose.

I remember in y5 back in the 80s we had a male teacher who played the guitar. It was a treat when he got his guitar out at the end of the day. We would sit on the floor (not carpet) and sing along to various songs like ‘football crazy’.

There’s no age limit on singing. And singing instructions is a lovely calm way to get the kids to listen and respond. They’ll join in and do what is being asked. Some schools use singing to transition around corridors as it keeps them calmer than making them walk in silence and keeping on with the shh shh.

I would of thought an experienced teacher would have more age appropriate strategies.

(And I would've thought a university lecturer uses good grammar.)

Do you also not allow your KS2 child toys because that would be treating him young?

This is clearly a joke, otherwise I would be bemused/laighing about this.