Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

Original poster

What do you think of this punishment/discipline carried out at School?????

31 replies

Eaney · 24/09/2005 20:07

OK. Imagine the children (5 and 6 year olds) are getting changed for PE and one of them is naughty. Teacher tells all the children to put all their clothes back on because ONE child has been naughty and then get undressed again.

Or imagine one child is was the slowest getting dressed two weeks running. Next week they will have to get changed in a different room to their classmates.

Any thoughts on this? Do you think it's a bit heavy for kids this young?

OP posts:
myturn · 24/09/2005 20:08

Absolutely ridiculous.

starlover · 24/09/2005 20:08

i think the first is very odd!

for the second one... if said child was slow because they were messing around or something then i would think it would be ok

RTKangaMummy · 24/09/2005 20:11

DS has dyspraxia and hypermobility and slow processing and so is slow for everything including getting dressed

Teachers know this, thank goodness

They have red card system for bad behaviour which means loss of playtime

Original poster
Eaney · 24/09/2005 20:12

As far as I know the slow changer (my DS) wasn't messing about although it's hard to get the details out of him.

OP posts:
starlover · 24/09/2005 20:14

i remember getting really antzy when i was little because i always got changed really quickly! lol

if he just takes his time then i would think it's rather odd, yes!

hatstand · 24/09/2005 20:15

just out of interest - how do you know about the scenario? who said that only one child was being naughty? It doesn't particularly sound like a very effective punishment to me, but, if there really only was one child mucking about and if that child was easily identifiable (ie the teacher could see who the culprit was) then surely it wouldn;t have been handled this way? I should imagine trying to sort out 30 -odd excited kids getting changed for PE would be, shall we say, challenging. sends shudders down my spine

sis · 24/09/2005 20:15

I think it is out of order and not really an effective way of dealing with it even if the child was slow because he was messing about. The 'punishment'(I do think is punishment) is meted out a two weeks and one week after the slow dressing/undressing - way too long after the event!

foxinsocks · 24/09/2005 20:16

very harsh

I think at 5/6 some children are still v slow at getting dressed - I know dd is not quick at all (and has trouble finishing her lunch in the allotted time as well) so I think to punish that is very unfair because some children cannot help it.

I don't know about the naughty bit - I think ours just don't get credits for their golden time if they are naughty - I doubt making them put their clothes on and take them off again is punishing them really.

Original poster
Eaney · 24/09/2005 20:20

The first scenario was told to me by one of the other Mums whose DD is good at relaying stories. My DS wasn't in that day so can't check with him.

My DS is slow getting changed. Always gets in a tangle with his top.

What is golden time about. I have tried to get DS to explain it to me but as i said before it's difficult gettind details out of him.

OP posts:
RTKangaMummy · 24/09/2005 20:25

sort of playtime when they can choose what to play with or do

puff · 24/09/2005 20:27

Golden time is usually a 20 - 30 min slot each week where the children have chosen a range of activities to do that they really enjoy, not work related in any way.

mumeeee · 24/09/2005 20:28

Yes i think it is a bit harsh on children of this age.

weesaidie · 24/09/2005 20:38

Yes harsh, especially if the child had difficulty getting undressed in general, not just mucking about.

Passionflower · 24/09/2005 21:28

A bit weird imo. Surely you only punish whole class if you want to pressure culpript to own up to something?

Wouldn't stickers for the quickest be better than punishment for the slowest?

Caligula · 24/09/2005 21:35

Seems very ineffective to me because it's eating into the PE lesson time.

Given the fact that PE time is being squeezed and childhood obesity is becoming a major concern, this seems a bad idea.

The slow thing is a bit more ambivalent, because it's a bit difficult to know the facts on this. But my DS is really slow about getting dressed as well - he still has difficulty with buttons and he's 6.

kid · 24/09/2005 21:35

If it was 1 child misbehaving, then that child should be made to sit out for 5 minutes while the rest of the class continues with their lesson.

My DD is one of the slowest at getting changed in her class. I don't know what happened but the last 2 weeks she has been one of the first changed, maybe its down to me standing over her saying 'Come on X, hurry up!'

puff · 24/09/2005 21:39

I really tried to avoid anything negative with little ones getting changed for PE. A team smiley for the fastest two tables worked well, others on the table would help the slower children which was lovely. 5 and 6 year olds are still developing skills needed for changing clothes. I'd try to make sure I helped the slower children - give them a little head start so they finished getting ready along with everyone else.

magnolia1 · 25/09/2005 07:55

Puff, thats exactly he kind of attitude that works
These kids are still so young and surely rewarding the good far outweighs punishing the bad??

At my twins school (they are just 6) they have lots of praise, golden leaf, stickers etc... and a 3 coloured board system for 'naughtiness' If a child is misbehaving and not responding to verbal discipline they will go on the Yellow board (I think I could have the colours mixed up ) If they continue to misbehave or do something which is seen to be very naughty such as biting, kicking, spitting etc.. they will go on the green board, If it still continues they go on the red board and have to see the head teacher with a possible call to their parents.

As far as I know not one child has been on the red board in my 2 girls classes

Seems to work really well and I am rambling sorry

Original poster
Eaney · 25/09/2005 12:07

Thanks for your thoughts. I overheard my DS saying to himself that he was going to'cancel himself from school' because of this. I wonder if I should speak to the teacher and tell them that positive reinforcement works best for DS?

OP posts:
WideWebWitch · 25/09/2005 12:08

I agree with everyone, teacher is mad.

SueW · 25/09/2005 12:10

Hmm, imagine a classroom preparing for maths. One child messes about getting their books out so all the children are told to go and put their books away then go and get them out again because one child has been naughty.

If that sounds ok, then I guess the PE thing does too.

puff · 25/09/2005 12:18

Punishing everyone for the actions of one or two children isn't effective IMO. Sets up a lot of resentment in the class overall.

LaScummettaMummetta · 25/09/2005 12:20

Me too. Very over the top and, if your boy finds it difficult to get changed quickly, even cruel. Definitely speak to the teacher. I suppose you'll have to try not to be seen as too critical but just explain how upset ds is by the whole thing.

Caligula · 25/09/2005 12:47

Do people still do that in school? Does everyone in the class get punished for one child's behaviour as a standard? I thought that practice had been discredited and until I kept reading about punishments like this on Mumsnet, I just thought they'd fallen out of practice. Am I behind the times? Have these sorts of punishments been re-introduced? (I can't ever remember it happening at my secondary school - it went against the ethos of taking responsibility for your own behaviour.)

sunnydelight · 25/09/2005 14:42

I find this very peculiar and slightly creepy to be honest. I understand the principles of collective responsibility, but I just don't think it's appropriate at such a young age when the kids don't really understand what's going on. It sounds like this teacher is on a bit of a power trip! If you want to be a real cow you could report the school to the LEA for depriving your child of their statutory entitlement to x hours of PE per week