Displaying childrens position in tables on school walls

[ScousyFogarty]

I heard an item on radio. London school. Headmistress displayed list on the walls of all childrens placement top to bottom. Presenter said that would be hard on children at bottom...Any views? Another teacher said she would not do it.

a VERY COMPETITIVE SET UP WILL CRUCIFY SOME CHILDREN AND CHILDREN DESRVE BETTER

Sad that the awareness of ones place on 'ability' grounds starts so young ie; Reception/ year 1.

Too young I think to start writing some kids off / rubbing their noses in the fact they are not on the 'top' ability table etc.
Also a recipe for some very young kids to get far too big for their boots..

In a competitive environment, someone by definition has to be at the bottom.

They probably already know it, do we have to rub their noses in it?

Believe me, there aren't many more competitive environments than DD's school, but thankfully staff have realised that they need to keep this under control or it becomes destructive.

DCs are hard enough on themselves without teachers adding this kind of pressure.

No chips on shoulders here. Why do you think there are?

Oh, do you think I only hold my views because my DCs are at the bottom of those lists?

Sorry to disappoint you but it is not so.

I can see what you are saying, maybe you are right? not disappointed at all.

carrots is putting the civilised view. I hope it is not A RARIRTY i SUPPOSE WHEN A TEACHER TAKES A JOB, THEY ENQUIRE WHAT SCHOOL POLICY IS...CAN IT BE A CASE OF BITING YOUR TONGUE i AM ON A LEARNING CURVE...DOYOU GET FREEDOM TO DO IT YOUR WAY.? (I am a champion press letter writer so i am a nosey devil) coined the phrase today..."I hpe the press dont make the olympics like the royel wedding with added perspiration" I can see editors liking that even though they are going to live up to it.

I think it's shocking. It's not in line with current educational research, but teachers as a profession don't seem to be interested in that. Then we wonder why we're not as respected as other professions.

When I was at university this type of information was not to be displayed on walls for data protection reasons. I can't understand why children are not afforded the same privacy.

GRRRRRR!!!

I wouldn't be keen.
There are children in DC's school that try their very best but find it harder than my DC.
My DC know they're doing well - they don't need to be feted at the expense of others.

i have 2 dc at oppsite end of scales ds2 now in y9 could be classed as g&t but he would hate attention drawn to it .He does not mention that he has done some gcse and wrking on A levels .Infact he has not even told some of his friends he just says oh Im just having some extra help .Becuase he does not want to have to deal with bullying etc he be mortfied to have his name near the top.He is one of those dc that academics and sports comes easy but he is senstive enough to know that does not for everyone so keeps stum a lot in class

Then have ds3 who will neve rbe top of the board academically or sport wise due to his sn and that sort of thing will destroy what confidence he has

I think it is clear from posts so far that there is a heavy majority against idea of exposing childrens performance on wall charts.

Is the practice fired by league tables?

Scousy, just about everything we do in schools nowadays is unfortunately fired by league tables

Yes ,I agree - it is down to the wretched league tables .
And the old style Academies with their sponsors anxious to prove that they're the best , chase the league tables with even greater ferocity .

It has such a bad effect on kids like my middle of the road DS who became more and more aware of his ranking ( which became lower as he tackled A levels ) compared with others.
I personally think a C or even a D is a pass ( and even an achievment ) in the "hard " sciences he was studying .
But he was always made so aware of his levels and that others had higher grades that he just saw himself as a failure and that a D or C wasn't worth the struggle .

So now he's not taking his A2 exams .

And given the fact that he was a good ,100% attendance ,non trouble making student , and that his head of science told us at parents evening that his understanding of the subject is greater than boy x who is "just an exam machine " ,I can only imagine that the total absence of any effort to persuade him to finish the course might be linked to not wanting to sully this years results with low grades .

Some things in life are based on winning and loosing: chess, for instance, or tennis.
Playing the violin or learning about literature are not competitive sports. If we encourage children to see them in that light, we are detracting from their meaning, and being very shallow, I think.

Agree with snailoon: learning should be about so much more than just wanting to be cleverer than X.

well, I would expect there to be a consensus in favour of this on Mumsnet, because all Mumsnet children are above average!

Being above average doesn't mean you have to like the idea of being displayed on the school walls as a nerd, seeker

AAh, but it wil mean that all the mummies won't have to reveal how clever their children on here by ingenuous questions about SATS levels, or in real life by having a look in the book bag and exclaiming loudly "Oh, Jonquil, haven't you finished A La recherche du Temps Perdu yet?. Honestly, you've had it for a couple of weeks at least! "

Was certainly done when I was at school and I assumed it still was. Is this no longer the norm? What's the problem with it?

Whether it is displayed will not magic away there being a list.

For example, I find it very interesting to know DC's scores against the average, for every subject tested, even which position s/he occupied at school entry. However I'm also very good at not bothering with data which I deem irrelevant to whatever it is I'm considering, so have no problem with that data being available to others who may find it interesting. As an analogy I respect why some parents refuse to know the sex/medical condition of their unborn child, but that doesn't stop everyone in the team knowing or keeping quiet about it.

IME children have a fascination about such lists and keep the top/bottom ones in check because they know that nobody is top/bottom for everything forever in anything worth testing. They seem to have more resilience and fewer hang ups about positions.

Is this at a state school? I thought you usually had to pay for ritual humiliation like this!

All the rage in state schools seeker .

'Twill be very empty on the bottom tables when everyone has moved op to yhe top three tables.
And what's wrong with competitive music performance? We all know who threw/ran/swam/bounced the best, why not music?

Zenlite.. Some kids cope with harsness some flounder. Is puttiung tables on the walls a survival of the fittest gig. If so, say so.

Don't mind either way GabbyL, to me it's just data, has no intrinsic value other than how you choose to use it - de/motivational, ir/relevant. There are other ways of getting the same input.

Is it more harsh than every child already knowing each others' talents/challenges? Tables don't make/break friendships, nor can you change the fact that some people of whatever age will/not get on, or are kind/psychopathic etc. Secondary years are tough, tables just show that nobody wins/loses all the time. If a child is having a hard time, the causes are sadly unlikely to go away with the tables.

So I think that means I do not say so! (Nor am I bothered if you choose to believe otherwise.)

whoooooa dont cares get nowhere. Your not even curious. Shiirley Maclaine brags about being curious...CLUE....does the name "JO"mean anything?

I wouldn't like that