AIBU to think YouTube videos in Year 3 lessons are inappropriate?

[SlB09]

Son is in yr3 at a v good state primary school.l. just want a sense check as they seem to watch videos on YouTube as part of normal schooling. Is this the norm?!!! So today they got a treat of a 'satisfying video' basically one of those shite asmr type things that kids like. But he's mentioned this a few times and I'm getting to the point where I feel like speaking to the head. We get all these emails from school around internet use including you tube etc and it seems hipocritical that they then use it as part of the normal day!!

Aibu to think this is just a bit crap? Or is it pretty normal now?

What does 'asmr' stand for?

It may be a YouTube video that is linked to what they are learning.

It may be 5 minutes of downtime with something fun, or a 10 minutes at a wet play.

They will also be selected because they are safe.

Nope, wouldn’t be at all happy with that! Youtube absolutely has it’s uses (I have learned many a thing from a YT tutorial) but I’d be really cross about school showing those stupid videos where people squash plasticine etc

It is the last day before half term break around here and the OP did say it was a 'treat' . In my day we just got to play Hangman on the last day of term. Are these videos really any more or less of a time filler than that was?

I should add, it was a treat today (the ASMR video) but YT has been mentioned at various points through the terms so it's not just a treat thing.

No child needs to watch mindless drivel on YouTube, especially at school.
I really despair.

But what is ASMR?

There are a lot of educational videos on YouTube, are you sure he hasn’t been shown some of them?

Autonomous sensory meridian response

basically those videos with sounds in like squishing crinkly material, it’s supposed to be relaxing

I agree. I watched a couple of YT video this afternoon to get both sides of a historical incident. I am now far better informed on the matter than I was earlier. Not all YT videos are rubbish and drivel. As the OP hasn't explained what the videos her son has seen are, we cannot really judge the merit of her argument.

This is a tricky one OP. I’m a teacher. YouTube has the most amazing range of short, educational videos that can really enhance a unit of work and engage students. However, it’s also full of so much slop, so videos need to be properly vetted, and linked to an educational outcome.

A 2-min ‘brain break’ dance, or Line Riders video to give students a break between lessons or to bring down the temperature a little bit is fine. The issue is when it’s used too often. Ive definitely seen it used as a crutch to keep students quiet and in their seats.

I’m becoming more anti-screen (for students and teachers alike) the longer I teach.

Thank you for the explanation.I will give those videos a pass...

If the kids are watching video after video and not getting taught anything then yeah it’s an issue

if it’s 3 minutes at the end of a successful lesson as a treat, no big deal.

which is it?

Danny go videos are brilliant for getting wriggles out of children so they are ready to focus!

Slow Mo Guys was a huge hit in school in years 3 and 4. If a lesson finishes and everyone has been really great, you don't necessarily have time for a game such as corners, so something like this is a treat.

They also use Youtube to teach them times tables songs, French vocab again usually songs and sometimes maths which the children can then look at when at home too.

Don't you want school to be a fun place to be? Clearly kids love it as you said "shite asmr type things that kids like."

@WildMauveReader Some of those videos really help people relax and get sleepy. I personally like watching all the head spa ones from Japan where they wash the hair of the client. It isn't all crinkly, tapping stuff. You are meant to wear headphones. Some people are immune to it, DH and Ds2, some of us are more sensitive to it, me and Ds1. It feels like when you listen to music and you get a bodily reaction like goosebumps.

I use YouTube to show the children short videos of all sorts of things. Things I cannot show them from the inside of a primary classroom. This week we watched time lapse videos of seeds germinating and looked at some of the world’s most unusual plants. I don’t show them asmr videos though. Ok as a one off end of half term reward for 5 minutes.

@WildMauveReader I'm not really making an argument more trying to judge if my thoughts are representative of the mass or I'm wildly outdated/need to reevaluate my perspective.

The videos were described as 'satisfying videos' and one was where a man basically peels layers of a balloon off a frozen middle, it really is mindless but kids seem to be right into it. Other examples of this type of video would be squishing things/mixing textures/cutting up soap bars, things some people may find satisfying to do or watch.

As a teacher, I show loads of YouTube videos. The other day in year 6 we watched clips from Tony Robinson’s worst jobs programme in history. We’re due to watch some really well explained science videos about electricity next half term. There’s also loads of great learning times tables/continents/planets/months/days/phonics song video on YouTube, and some really good explanations of different religious stories or topics. I try to stick to content from the BBC (bitesize etc) where possible and always look there first but I find it a bit infantilising sometimes or not content heavy enough. Sometimes we watch draw along videos, or just dance videos for a brain break.

Youtube is a really useful classroom tool. Used best teachers will: watch it first before the kids, watch it through once with the kids, watch it through again while pausing to talk about different bits. I wouldn’t be worried about YouTube in general.

One of the kids may have been going on and on about watching the video you mentioned and the teacher possibly put it on at the end of half term as a fun thing. If that type of content is shown more regularly please go and speak to the teacher first, before escalating to the head. The teacher may be able to explain to you their reasoning and what is watched in class. All the head will do is probably ask you to speak to the teacher in the first instance.

@movinghomeadvice thank you it's good to have teacher perspective. They definitely have brain breaks. I suppose the irony is would I be so bothered if it wasn't on YouTube?!! I'm not sure tbh but the frequent use of videos just somehow doesn't seem to sit well with me. They watch newsround every day, then have brain breaks in-between plus any educational videos, I'd be interested to know exactly how much time on screens is.

@RobertBobsee of course I want school to be fun but I absolutely believe that fun doesn't just = screens/YouTube/videos. There are soooo many ways for kids to have fun and school to be engaging without the use of screens! But to be clear I'm not against showing short videos, the pp explanation of watching seeds germinate for instance, but maybe alongside growing some actual seeds to bring the real life element to it.

I use some educational videos and stuff like newsround. And I might put a film on at the end of term. However I don't like the idea of short videos as a 'treat'. It's easy to have a bit of a slow creep towards using videos to teach more and more rather than children needing to have the attention span to listen to a real life human being talking to them. Why can't they have a bit more time outdoors or time to play a game without a screen as a treat?

@fruitpastille 100% agree

I just find the irony of being told as a parent re screen time, short videos/reels for attention span/get them outdoors/outdoor learning etc etc kind of then is contradicted through school.

But again, if it was through a different platform and not YouTube would I feel more comfortable? Maybe its the cascade it could lead to that I'm mindful of.

Interesting pov though thank you everyone

I use You Tube clips regularly in my lessons. So many brilliant resources on there and it really helps if the children can see. It breaks up the lesson too. Lots of children can’t concentrate for long periods of time and this helps. They’re only ever a few minutes long. Please just trust the teacher is a professional and knows what they’re doing.

@SlB09 did you yourself not have a tv wheeled into your classroom to watch things like BBC Schools Words and Pictures? The Way We Used to Live? I certainly did.

Look I get what you are saying about it but it is just a great resource for things you cannot recreate in a classroom especially science experiments. You can show them Roman forts and Viking Longships alongside the making of shields and the mock battles they had. It is a teaching tool. If there is a wet playtime then the younger ones watch CBeebies or CBBC.

I agree it can be overused but in the grand scheme of the school day, the curriculum targets that have to be met there isn't a huge amount of spare time.

@fruitpastille My DCs' school was a 3 form entry so 630 children and the school playground had scheduled times for break times. It was also used for games with PE taking place in the school hall. There is nowhere for the children to play out unless it is scheduled into the school day. So as much as we would have liked them to run around they couldn't. There were of course quick star jumps or running on the spot especially for year 3's who were used to having an afternoon playtime in KS1.

Part of this is modelling behaviour at home too, how many parents are on their phones constantly? We are all using screens now to write on MN. The difference is my son is out at the park, but he is early 20s