To say I can't handle this class

[Daisychain97]

I'm a trainee teacher working as a teaching assistant. I'm doing a subject specialism in maths and hope to teach year 6.

This term, I've been moved from my usual year 6 class to year 1 because the year 1 TA has left at short notice. I've gone from targeted maths 1-1s and SATs preparation to spending the entire just trying to keep the class quiet enough for the teacher to speak. It is the teacher's first year teaching and I've only been a TA for a year before this.

I can't handle the class. There are multiple children who aren't toilet trained and have accidents. Out of a class of 25, only 8 of them are actually capable of sitting quietly, listening and putting their hand up. The rest just shout out at you constantly, roll and crawl all over the floor. Some will cry and scream if they're told off and others will throw things if they're told no. It's chaotic. We have a huge amount of SEN boys in the class, but I think it's a step further than that. It seems some of these children have never been told no in their lives. I have to repeat a simple instruction 5 times for anyone to listen even when I'm speaking directly to a child. For example 'please put your pencils down'
Turns into at least 15 children shouting 'BUT IM NOT DONE,' refusing, some straight up crying at the instruction, others running around or throwing their pencil. It's unbelievable.

It was my second day in the class today and I was on the edge of tears I was so overwhelmed. I have ADHD so a lot of constant screaming and sudden noises really gets to me and every single shout and scream and thrown toy felt like a dagger in my ears. I eventually just zoned out and asked the teacher how I should be dealing with the behaviour. She was just as stuck as I am.

So what am I meant to do? Just continue being miserable? I earn basically less than minimum wage and not sure it's worth it to be honest. It's day 2 and I'm already dreading to go back tomorrow.

I can't exactly talk to the headteacher and asked to be moved because they need a TA in that class...

Bit of a rant but I'm so upset. I loved my job, I loved working with year 6. Now I'm just so overwhelmed and upset. Last year I worked with year 2,3, and 5 and loved every second. I know that a teacher should be able to handle all classes but as a TA I don't have much control or say in how this class is run so I can't change things like how I would if it was my class...

I just think back to the classrooms of my youth. There were certainly other problems in those days but children actually behaved. We were strapped or caned for misbehaving and most parents were prepared to spank children. They didn't reason with children and consequences were immediately apparent and they certainly didn't think they were our friends rather than our parents. We were toilet trained - I didn't know of a single new entrant who wasn't, neurotypical or not - and and we sat quietly at our desks listening to the teacher. The idea that we would be running round with a cardboard box on our heads would never even have occurred to us. If we had thought of it we'd have been punished - first by the teacher and then by our parents. We certainly heard the word "no" on a frequent basis. Report cards had our place in class so our parents absolutely knew whether their child was trailing or leading or in the middle or whatever. There were no waffling reports about working towards things. I just wonder how children learn in the classrooms you hear about on mumsnet.

Not everything was rosy though in that school garden of 50/60 years ago. Special needs went unacknowledged, unless severe enough to warrant the awfully named special schools.. The word dunce was used for the less academically bright. Some teachers shouted and threw things around, causing real distress for some pupils. Children who were caned or slippered went home in physical pain. Inappropriate behaviour by male teachers wasn't dealt with (a cheery wave here to the teacher at my middle school who undid girls' bras as they stood in the dinner queue).

I wish we had the Scandinavian system of 100% play based learning before age 7 (usually outdoors), everyone would be so much happier.

As the godmother of three Swedes (now grown up), I do too. What's also noticeable is that the staff working with small children are respected, trained and remunerated in a way that gives them status. Pay in the UK is shockingly low for something so important.

Our class teacher wasn't in today and we had a highly experienced teaching assistant leading the class. She is one of the oldest members of staff and was very commanding and took no nonsense. The difference in the childrens' behaviour was stark and I actually had a great day and we accomplished a lot. At the end of the day, the other TA asked me to take over for half an hour and I was able to continue what she'd been doing. During 'tidy up time' (which is usually a nightmare and they don't tidy up) I put our class dojos on the screen and gave dojos to children who were tidying up. The 'ding' sound when I handed them out and praised their names seemed to motivate the rest of the class and it was a breeze. During the time when children usually get their bags ready for home time, I put on a 3 minute mission impossible theme tune for them. I told them the mission was to get their things and be sat on the carpet by the end of the timer. They were so quick and worked together, helping eachother find their things. They got back on the carpet in 2 minutes and 15 seconds! This ordeal usually takes 10 minutes and I've got to help them all find their things. I couldn't believe the difference that a little music and fun adds to it and I challenged them to beat their time tomorrow. They got ready so quickly that we were able to do show and tell!

Well done, OP. This is brilliant. Now you know that you can get good behaviour from this class by yourself. You will always be able to tell them that you know they can behave well. Still work to be done by the class teacher to get to this nirvana!

Apparently, the early school starting age in the UK is because English is such a difficult language to learn.

Just thinking back to the thread where OP shouted at her naughty 4 year old and numerous posters accused her of verbal abuse aaaaaaaaand here we are.

Half them behave like they've never heard the word no because they probably haven't.

A lot of this going to be with the new teacher though and not their fault.
I work in a school and the difference between classes coming to sit in a room who have experienced teachers vs those with NQTs is always very pronounced.

In the meantime
Hands on top (hands on head) that means stop.
Visual timers
Visual signs of expectations
Transition time allowance
Movement breaks
Consequences

Going from year 6 121 support to a room full of 6 year olds is always going to be a huge difference but as a trainee teacher it will be invaluable experience.

Off topic, but half of AIBU is threads by teachers and TAs today. Is something in the air?

Surely it can’t be that difficult, as many European children learn it with consummate ease at school as a second language?

where is said school? Is it in a disadvantaged area wherein parenting might not be the best?

Very leafy green rural village in an expensive area with many privileged children

It is difficult to learn thoroughly - phonetic system, tenses, irregular verbs, exceptions, a vocabularly much larger than that of any other European language.

Great for you to see what they are capable of - keep your expectations of them high. It sounds like they just have a new/weak teacher who isn't being clear enough. She might benefit from observing the TA in action.

I don't know if I buy that though, when you look at the primary English curriculum it is full of learning stuff that is functionally useless to children (and most adults) like the names of clause types etc. It's not about being able to master a functional use of the language (spoken or written), if that makes sense?

It does make sense. The curriculum is a reflection of political imperatives, though, not necessarily a reflection on the difficulty of the language. Even without the clause naming (fronted adverbial 🙄), at school pupils are listening to the spoken language all day long, reading it, speaking it and writing it, all of which contribute to eventual fluency.

Well done. My final teaching practice was in an inner city nursery school where the behaviour was feral. You wouldn't believe the violence from 4 year olds. I learned a lot, particularly from a TA who had grown up in the area herself and had been a young single parent. After this experience I knew I could cope with anything - and I did for the next 30 years. Sometimes it's helpful to have this kind of start rather than having it easy at the beginning then being faced with your own class and not knowing what to do.

That’s shocking.
I was expecting you to say an impoverished inner City area with many dysfunctional families.

However the best “Managers” of very “volatile” people I know honed his skills at a Children’s Home in a deprived London borough in the 1970’s
He lived in , as a very young staff member, for three years- He radiated calm authority.

But he says it was an invaluable experience- he learned more there about managing “challenging “ people there, than anywhere else.

@HamptonPlace do you actually believe that only children who live in deprived areas misbehave? What a miserable stereotypical

Sounds like a much better day OP, hopefully you and the teacher can use these strategies to move forward.

@Daisychain97 Order and discipline as you found today works well!
The unruly chaos of before can surely be improved on.
The teacher who was off sick probably isn’t cut out for managing difficult behaviour, and lets the reins slip through her fingers, as she gives the class their head.

Literally , by the sound of it- The child with a box 📦 on his head , not once, but three times, allowing others to punch it?

That’s absolutely ridiculous.

It's really difficult. I'm the opposite to you, I.love the littlies but can't cope with the older ones.

I'm on supply, so not the same situation, but I do sympathise. EYFS/year1 can be brutal if you don't enjoy it.

I'd give it a little time so it doesn't look as though you haven't tried, then talk to your seniors. Who is covering your TA position in year 6. Could they swap?

Danish children start preschool at 6 yo. It's not an outside setting but a classroom at the school.
It's writing letters, clunting and crafts. It's psying attention and follow rules.
Nurseries prepare children for school the year befoe around 5 yo. Teaching letters/numbers/sittng on a chair/waiting for turns/dress themselves/go to restroom/eat lunch independent..
I think Scandinavian is a bit misunderstood sometimes. It's not all play. A lot has changed over the years.

Sorry I didn’t mean to imply that, one of my own DC (8) made an awful comment yesterday to.a child of gay parents. Children will be children and that can happen with any child.. but in this instance it would appear to parenting overall (on average, per OP) is sub par….

Sounds then like helicopter parenting who’s kids can do no wrong or just a bad teacher) sorry.. it’s not right to have a ‘rookie’ teacher and TA assigned to a class of 5/6 yo. Not fair ton anyone in that situation… good luck OP!

I think it really sad and a real sign of the times when the comments are all about how the teacher needs to manage the badly behaved children rather than a discussion about how parents need to parent.

I don’t have any magic answers but would to be a teacher in this environment.