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Original poster

"PRIMARY ONE BE QUIET!"

34 replies

jasper · 14/01/2004 22:22

Sorry about the capitals but this , shouted at an incredible volume by the headmistress was my introduction to a local primary school I visited today with a view to sending my son there.
Primary one were in the games room with their teacher; the room is just next to the headmistress's office and she came out and bellowed at the class in front of their teacher. I had not noticed much noise to speak of coming from the class.

I wanted to ask those of you who are teachers and those of you with kids at school if this is a fairly commonplace scenario.I confess to having been slightly shocked,(in fact I felt a wee bit scared ) but then it's 20 years since I was inside a school. Ferocious yelling at children was fairly common in my day but for some reason I had perhaps naively assumed it had died out!
DO I need to toughen up immediately?
Thanks ladies

OP posts:
lydialemon · 14/01/2004 22:25

I don't know what year 'primary one' are meant to be, but if they were doing games surely you expect a certain amount of noise? If my DSs were getting shouted at like that I'd be a bit p**d off.

tamum · 14/01/2004 22:28

Boy, jasper, you do like to live dangerously don't you?

No, from my experience I wouldn't have said it was common at all, far from it. I spend quite a lot of time helping in my children's school (and am therefore eminently qualified to pronounce on this matter ), and have always been impressed by how the teachers manage to keep noise to a reasonable level by using non-shouting techniques. If only I could do that at home.....

Apart from anything else, it was incredibly discourteous to the teacher, wasn't it? The only thing I would say though is that the head of our school is not terribly popular with a lot of the teachers, but it doesn't actually affect the atmosphere of the school for some reason, and certainly doesn't impinge on the children's experience. I would be a bit concerned if I was you, but I wouldn't let it over-ride other positive aspects.

popsycal · 14/01/2004 22:29

not common place at all.
IME that is!

tamum · 14/01/2004 22:33

Whadda you know about it though popsy, eh?

popsycal · 14/01/2004 22:35

I know, tamum, I know!
To quote someone from a comedy prgamme (Manuel, FAwlty Towers???) I know nothing!

nutcracker · 14/01/2004 22:37

My Dd1 was recently told off for yawning in assembly. Her teacher said "don't be so rude". I was not impressed, as apparently it had not been an extra noisy yawn or anything like that. I just told her to next time put her hand over her mouth.

Roscoe · 14/01/2004 22:47

It was pretty bad planning to put a games room next to the Head's office - or anyone else's office come to think of it. It sounds a bit disrespectful to the teacher but then I suppose we don't know what had happened before that.

Original poster
jasper · 14/01/2004 22:52

Should explain, primary one are the first year in Scottish primary schools, i.e. aged about 5.
I did think it was particuilarly odd with the teacher being there.
I was just a bit shocked but wondered if that is a standard way to maintain control in schools then I had better get used to it .As I said it was perfectly commonplace in my day (but that was the olden days)
I have never heard any of the nursery teachers raise their voice.
Tamum, you made me laugh

OP posts:
mears · 14/01/2004 23:39

Jasper - you wee primary school virgin Can I say that this is really commonplace in my experience (is it a Scottish thing?).
Having helped out in the school when my littlies were ther I was pretty shocked some days at the shouting that went on.
Wait till you see the assistant head bend right down and speak venemously to a child with eye to eye contact. That infuriated me (not primary one though).
Fraid you are going to have to toughen up. Every school has a shouter I am sure.

hmb · 15/01/2004 06:17

It doesn't happen (much I suppose It migh happen from time to time) in dds primary school.

I must admit that I do shout at my secondary school classes I am very polite with them, always using please and thank you, but some classes will not be quiet (for even a minute). As soon as you start to explain anything to them, someone will start talking. When they have been politly asked to be quiet 3 times, I do shout!

But these are roudy, and rude 12-13 year olds and not little baby 5s!

I dare say that confession will get someone after my blood!

Original poster
jasper · 15/01/2004 08:15

Thanks mears and others. I rather suspected I would have to toughen up.
I suppose they have to do something - can't thump the little blighters any more

OP posts:
Hulababy · 15/01/2004 08:38

IME it isn't common place at secondary level. Yes, the head and other teachers do shout but it isn't normally their first approach, normally their last ditch one is really noisy. Kind of undermines the class teacher surely?

Hulababy · 15/01/2004 08:41

I should add that most of the teachers I know do shout at times though. Despite this I am not convinced shouting does much good if used all the time - I do it sparing to keep the shock factor going.

Bron · 15/01/2004 09:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

crystaltips · 15/01/2004 10:01

Usually happens at home .... my kids love to go to school ..... its sooooo peaceful

Hulababy · 15/01/2004 10:04

21 month old DD tells everyone to "sit down; eat nice" all the time. I think it comes from nursery; some of the little boys there are always getting out of their chairs at lunch time.

marialuisa · 15/01/2004 10:35

When we to watch DD's nativity play the head of foundation thundered "be quiet" which surprised me as in conversation she has a rather "sweetie" voice. DH thought she was addressing the relatives rather than the kids though

Jasper, I'm surprised she went over the classteacher like that, but i'm really not that surprised she was shouting. There is a reception teacher at my bro's school who is known to yell in kids' faces and throw things at them, fortunately she retires this year.

Clarinet60 · 15/01/2004 12:37

It is uncommon in DS's school, which has a lovely family atmosphere, but an everyday thing in a friend's child's primary, which is one of the reasons she moved her children.
One of the drawbacks to being part of a crowd, on which I could write a thesis on but daren't.

Clarinet60 · 15/01/2004 12:47

Sorry about that awful last sentence - can't spell or do grammar today. I need to go back to school.

hana · 15/01/2004 16:40

very little shouting at my school - a secondary special needs. I used to shout so much at comprehensives - lost my voice twice - it's such a treat not to yell or hear yelling from adjacent classrooms.

codswallop · 15/01/2004 18:43

Not common in primary - was certainly common in sec school

Slinky · 15/01/2004 18:57

I help out in Years 1 and 2 in our school and I have never heard any shouting going on during the times that I've been in.

I know there is a Year 3 teacher who is known to be "fierce" and DD1 (now Year 3) was dreading the thought of going into her class. She was placed in the other class but does have a fair bit of contact with "Mrs Fierce". However, her reputation is far worse than reality - DD1 absolutely loves her and thinks she fab!

I have heard the Headteacher shout loudly though - he was watching the children walking across the playground one morning when it was VERY icy and slippery and one lad came round the corner running - HT bellowed across the playgroud "WALK! - I then found myself scuttling across the playground like a naughty schoolgirl

tamum · 15/01/2004 19:05

Can I just add that it's not necessarily a Scottish thing, before anyone gets the impression that we're all barbarians . My children's school that I posted about earlier on this thread is in Scotland. My ds did have one teacher who sometimes shouted last year (P4), but it was the talk of the school/parents, suggesting that it's not all that common.

kmg1 · 15/01/2004 19:40

At our school some of the teachers occasionally shout a bit, but quite rarely. I only help out one morning a week, but cannot imagine any circumstances in which our Head would shout. She simply has to appear and the children respond; in fact she tends to speak fairly quietly. She can be quite intimidating and certainly has extremely high standards/expectations of the kids, but they all love her to bits.

charliecat · 15/01/2004 20:02

I walked round the corner in the middle of the day at my dds school to see her reception teacher hanging out of a window hollering at some little boys who were doing something wrong. She was so prim, proper and polite at 9am and 3pm am i nearly burst out laughing!
She was mortified to be caught in the act, she had to struggle to get back in the window( she'dd had the top half of her body shoved out) and she was very flustered...she pretended the phone had rang and busied herself with that while i put whatever it was id forgot in dds lunchbox.
I wouldnt have been happy about seeing that on my first visit, by her reaction id say it was a one off.

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