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?

Are you going to complain @Someonehelpmeagain

Book advents? Like a book swap? If so that's amazing!

Christ, sap all the fucking joy out of lessons for 8 year olds why don't you. I bloody loved teachers that would get me to engage at school in creative ways when I was a kid, I always did so much better because I loved learning and I believe its an incredibly effective teaching tool if you have the talent for it. Are you jealous OP?

Speak to the head AND call Ofsted urgently. This teacher must be stopped.

I remember when I was doing O level Chemistry the teacher playing thiat Periodic Table somg by Tom Lehrer. I still remember it, 50 years on!

Is this a wind up?

DfE, and also log it with 101.

Surely you don't think you know better tthe teacher? Do you?

Don't be that fucking parent. Honestly as a teacher I don't know why we bother.

This is serious, it's Sunday evening and the children will have endure the trauma again tomorrow if OP doesn't call the police and have him arrested right now.

Since Covid, children are about 2 years behind in their maturity levels so in actual fact it's like teaching a year 1 class at times.

Quite right. Mustn't be singing to those 8 year olds. They should be down the pit or up chimneys by that age.

I have such lovely memories of my year 6 teacher getting his guitar out and singing to us to do thing, he used to make up funny songs and pepper our names through the song. He was my absolute favourite teacher. Your being ridiculous OP, aged 8 children are still children and learn best when engaged in playful learning. And what’s your problem with book advents????

When you write your letter of complaint do be sure to get the grammar right.

You don't want the entire staff room in hysterics over your ignorance.

University lecturer? I think not.

@EmpressOfTheThread I would like to think that’s unbelievable but I can totally believe it. I worked in Early Years for a while and had a parent complain that the children were in her words just ‘pissing about with sand and water’.

That is not what commenters are saying. They are saying your complaint is ludicrous. They are 7 (some only just 7) and 8 year olds. They are happy, and learning. This is entirely age appropriate -- especially given the big academic step up in year 3. They are still really young.

If this is all you have to complain about then it seems like they are a good teacher.

7 and 8 is still young! What’s wrong with a book advent? Any age group could have a book advent.

OP I agree with this. This teacher sounds like an absolute monster. Can you imagine a teacher feeling like they want to actively engage in an age appropriate way with children in a fun way to get their attention to do something? Does anyone have the phone number for the head? Better yet, should probs go straight to Ofsted.

It's so crazy isn't it? I cannot tell you how much I respect and admire primary school teachers. I could not do it. It's such valuable work, setting the foundations for lifelong learning. Yet ignorant, uninformed, arrogant people pick on trivia just to appear superior and waste valuable time.
My sympathies. I doff my cap 🎓

Are you, now? You misspelt ‘presumptuous’, seem to think ‘of’ and ‘have’ are interchangeable, and used ‘moreover’ incorrectly. On what do you lecture?

Treating children like children in a society desperate to propel them prematurely into adulthood whatever the cost. Sounds like a refreshing change to me.

There are lots of teachers that do 'call and response' type behaviours.. and try to be 'down with the kids' .. the teaching of Smithy's curry order comes to mind (from Gavin and Stacey) .. makes me feel blurgh - not age appropriate either!

Shame that singing is - seen as such a bad thing!

My goodness you have too much time on your hands to be writing a thread on MN about this.

How about you do your job, and let the teacher do their job.

I’d log it with 111 too. Just in case.

I'm a university lecturer too and I'm seriously considering doing book advent, what a great idea. So what (as a professional educator) precisely do you hate about children being excited to read a new book every day...?

Also, singing on the carpet to get them to sit down is fine. They're 8, not 18.