Page 3 | Do you think teachers know how hard it is to motivate young children at home?

Witchend · 28/01/2021 00:46

If you'd tried to teach my ds you'd have found that children can be hard to motivate in school too.

SleepingStandingUp · 28/01/2021 00:52

I don't think the teacher who keeps sending 25-30 minute videos of not very exciting slide shows does. I know she's trying her best, I do. But it's a killer Friday afternoon...

SleepingStandingUp · 28/01/2021 00:52

For year 1 I should add

SleepingStandingUp · 28/01/2021 00:58

@ahola

Do you think parents now know how hard it is to motivate children in school?

Yes but they're qualified and don't have 1 year old twins climbing the furniture. Literally climbing the furniture. And they're a teacher and I'm just a bloody useless Mom

Ricepops · 28/01/2021 01:07

Does anyone find that their DC don't put their best effort into their work? I have a 6 year old, and he is motivated to work in so far as he wants it to be over, but he does the least possible. Eg. He won't show his working out in Maths, and any writing is very messy, and he is making basic mistakes like missing capital letters etc. But it feels like such a battle to get him to complete all the work as it is, that I feel like I don't want to rock the boat by challenging him on his effort and presentation.

purpleme12 · 28/01/2021 01:19

@Ricepops

Does anyone find that their DC don't put their best effort into their work? I have a 6 year old, and he is motivated to work in so far as he wants it to be over, but he does the least possible. Eg. He won't show his working out in Maths, and any writing is very messy, and he is making basic mistakes like missing capital letters etc. But it feels like such a battle to get him to complete all the work as it is, that I feel like I don't want to rock the boat by challenging him on his effort and presentation.

Yes I'm sure mine puts more effort in at school But to me, I'd rather she do less work and try properly than do loads but can't be bothered

YerAWizardHarry · 28/01/2021 01:26

I'm 3 months shy of finishing the 4th year of my primary teaching degree. My 8 year old literally makes me second guess my abilities as a (future) teacher

frozendaisy · 28/01/2021 01:53

Every parents chat before lockdown I thought they were talking about a totally different child.

I really don't know how teachers do it. I am assuming "magic".

frozendaisy · 28/01/2021 01:54

@YerAWizardHarry

I'm 3 months shy of finishing the 4th year of my primary teaching degree. My 8 year old literally makes me second guess my abilities as a (future) teacher

You will be a super teacher to other children!

Original poster

SonnetForSpring · 28/01/2021 07:30

@Ricepops

Does anyone find that their DC don't put their best effort into their work? I have a 6 year old, and he is motivated to work in so far as he wants it to be over, but he does the least possible. Eg. He won't show his working out in Maths, and any writing is very messy, and he is making basic mistakes like missing capital letters etc. But it feels like such a battle to get him to complete all the work as it is, that I feel like I don't want to rock the boat by challenging him on his effort and presentation.

Yes, exactly this :)

OP posts:

3littlewords · 28/01/2021 11:41

I'm struggling with my ds today hes 5 in y1. He has around 4-5 short live zoom sessions a day he will run off from every one of them, if I do manage to hold him down and watch the lesson he isn't listening to the teacher hes fidgeting with anything he can get his hands on, hes pulling faces at the camera. Hes already so far behind with his reading and writing he can't afford to fall behind even further. His teacher has already previously spoken to me about his attention and even in school is hard to engage. I think there's other possible SEN issues going on tbh. That doesn't help me in the here and now though he just simply will not do it flat out refuses to read or pick up a pen. Im at a loss and stressed and crying about it every day

RosesAndLemonade · 28/01/2021 11:47

I'm a specialist sen teacher.
I have got outstanding lesson observations from the schools I work in and ofsted.

Can I homeschool my own kids?

Can I fuck

In fact can I fuck to the point today I've messaged my DDs teacher saying I'm just not even going to try today and she said that's absolutely fine no stress. And they go to an extremely academic school.

Yes - we know how difficult it is, we can't do it either

CluelessDIY · 28/01/2021 12:06

Do you think the DfE know how hard it is to motivate small children for three hours a day? Because they're the ones who set the parameters. And that's just KS1.

Whole school assembly of 220 kids? No problem.

My own 15 year old? He's currently crying over his Chemistry work upstairs and won't let me near him.

flumposie · 28/01/2021 12:11

Yes we do. Because we are also juggling live teaching and trying to get our own primary or secondary aged children to do their work. Parents are teachers too ! Do non teaching parents ever acknowledge this ?

steppemum · 28/01/2021 12:17

I am going against the grain here.

No they don't.

beofre you bash me. I am an (ex) teacher. I have 3 kids. My kids primary school was 89-90% teachers who did not have their own kids, and of those that did, several had babies/toddlers.

Some of those teachers were amazing, but there was definitely a divide in understanding of life at home between those who had kids and those who didn't.

Just one small example, teachers asking for something with 7 days notice or less (dress up days, bring a photo of your grandfather into school, whatever). As parents we asked and asked for more notice and for dates of important things to be given out at the beginning of term.

we went through 2 heads, and no difference. then new head, with school age kids arrived, and without asking, we suddenly got information in advance.

I have lost count of the number of times I have mentioned to teacher that xx homework caused lots of stress, to be met by a blank look. That ds did everythign exactly as asked in school, at home, the words blood and stone spring to mind.

I have a huge respect for teachers, and think that they have been wonderful through all this, and gone massively above and beyond. My kids are now teens and the issues are different, the motivation is now them and their exams.

But I do think there is a large dollop of naivety from teachers without kids. I have been that teacher. I had no idea!

steppemum · 28/01/2021 12:19

and part of my point is, teachers with kids are replying here. They get it.

But 80-90% of our primary school's teachers had no kids.
They were all young and keen - fantastic in the classroom, but really no idea of home life

Leodot · 28/01/2021 12:48

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot Oh the mayhem you get in a classroom when someone sees a squirrel out the window 😂.

10storeylovesong · 28/01/2021 12:54

My year 3 boy will do the absolute minimum. I push him in maths and English and leave the rest to his discretion. I am wfh with a 3 year old too. Every now and again I email his teacher and tell her he won't be logging on to a session and she always replies that it's fine and ou mental health is more important. She is an outstanding teacher, a deputy head, a mother to 3 young boys of her own (2 in primary, one who's 18 months) who is teaching all day every day and replying to parents in the evening. She's also pushing for a dyspraxia diagnosis for my son when no one else would listen. She's super woman in my eyes!

DBML · 28/01/2021 12:58

[quote Leodot]@RuleWithAWoodenFoot Oh the mayhem you get in a classroom when someone sees a squirrel out the window 😂.[/quote]
We saw a fox one afternoon and good god, you’d have thought that Beyoncé was outside doing her Single Ladies routine. The kids went nuts... and that was year 10.

OverTheRainbowLiesOz · 28/01/2021 13:01

Yes. They have to deal with it at school.

The difference is that it is easier when it isn't your own child and there are backup sanctions. Even then you get children and parents who just won't cooperate.

BlackeyedSusan · 28/01/2021 13:21

wellllll... I used to wonder why parents did not have time to read with their children in the evenings and then I had children. So glad I never said this out loud.

so some teachers will know and some won't. I have experience of both sorts of teachers.

Abraxan · 28/01/2021 13:34

@SonnetForSpring

My DC's teachers are lovely. However, I don't get the sense from them that they actually know how hard it is to get one written sentence out of a 6 year old who is completely disengaged by online learning! I feel like I have to keep covering for him as they will be shocked by what his work is like without my help, but I'm not really supposed to help? As he wouldn't have help at school. I just don't get it...

Of course they do, well most anyway.

Let's face it, lots of them are parents too.
And they all see how hard it can be to motivate children at times. It's not like every child if full of beans and eager to get going every day of the school year, so yes we see it and we do understand.