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?

You beat me to it.

My late husband was an English teacher. He would help pupils learn poetry (often for exams) by taking in his guitar and using poems which had been set to music.

It's parents like you who've made me glad I retired at the earliest opportunity!

Maybe the teacher could shout and whack a big stick across the desk to get them to sit down!!

Sitting on the floor is good for your core strength by the way. We should all do more of this.

Some of the earliest BBC radio channels were ones created to be played in factories during the second world war to keep the workers entertained and focused.
I expect a few sang along.
The armed forces still have music to keep the pace when doing drills (I think they are called) and parades.
Music and rhythm is good to keep people focused. Even 8 year olds.

You might have the right to complain but you don't have the right to expect other people to take you seriously when you do.

Oh, you have the right to complain. Go for it.

Believe me, the staffroom will appreciate the laugh.

The question is - does it work, @Someonehelpmeagain?

I would assume that it does, otherwise the teacher would be trying different classroom management strategies.

Are the children happy, behaving well, and learning - if so, why fix something that isn’t broken?

And you haven’t said what is wrong with a book advent.

I teach secondary music and when we are doing a show with 100+ kids, I sing: "are you listening" and make them sing back "yes we are". They are 11-16. It's a joke - they get it. I also sing at them to make a circle if I need them to...

There's no age limit on being sung to. Frankly the majority of children like it and the rest put up with it without moaning.

Also my voice is really good and I should really go on x factor

You don't but you need something worth complaining about really, and you've got nothing apart from a judgy opinion that school won't give a crap about. It's not up to you how the teacher teaches.

Don't worry OP - most studies show that a fair proportion of kids this age are already watching hard-core porn on their smartphones, so the whole age appropriate thing should even out.

Let them be taught like kids! Once they get into secondary school, there are no fun activities, it's so serious and full on.

What a fantastic idea! I bet the students loved it.

😂

How dare they be a kind and fun teacher! Go and complain to the headteacher about such awful behaviour!

You should!

Years ago, one of the books that I used with S1/Y8 was the Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler. Whenever one of the characters in the book sang, I sang the song instead of just reading.

The kids used to beg for mercy.

This is a joke, right? 😂

When DH was at Uni he found the Biochemical Song Book a really useful revision tool - nearly 40 years later, several different degrees and jobs later, he can still sing several of the songs that he learnt (eg the Krebs cycle to the tune of Waltzing Matilda) and remember all the words and pathways of the cycle (well as much as they were back in early 80s when he learnt them!). There's no way that he would still remember even half the details if they hadn't been turned into a song!

Oh God. Please don't. Cringe.

@EmpressOfTheThread They did. It made it much easier to memorise the poetry for exam purposes. (The lit essay question was not open book.)

I used to have a class that was quite “lively” shall we say. Tidying up time was accompanied by “ Give me hope Joanna” by Eddy Grant. It was agreed they could sing along very quietly so not to disturb adjoining classrooms. Worked like a dream and their behaviour at lunch/ break whatever followed was much improved. So sometimes the things that seem weird work.

Poor teacher. If you complain it might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, it’s a long hard term. So awful that you would think to do this - who do you think you are?
I would hope if you do complain about the singing/sitting/books ( not really clear on what your actual problem is) the teacher will just think you are a complete moron and crack on, you’ll be forever thought of in the school as an idiot though, teachers talk.

Book advent is an amazing idea.

And as others have said, a song or rhyme can provide a cue for a child without seeming like an order.

Have you tried asking your child if they have a problem with it? If they don't, why is it a problem for you?

Teacher here…it’s a great technique to use, the children often find it fun and are more inclined to co operate than when using negative reinforcement.
7 and 8 is still young…! She sounds great.

You should DEFINITELY complain!

It’s the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard!

Please report back on what the HT says!