School plays - same old same old...

[pooodle]

Urgh. I have just come back from my sons school play and yet again it is the same "posh" children with the lead parts, and the more working class relegated to bit parts. Is it just me, or do schools just pander to these mums who have nothing better to do all day than secretly watch Jeremy Kyle while brown nosing being on the parent governing body or running hot dogs for school fetes? Sorry, just had to have a rant, and I am a teacher!

You're not in Derby are you?

No!

no hampshire actually not just me then!

If you want to be the mother of Joseph or Maria for christmas nativity....get baking now!

No. My ds's was on saturday. A handful of children go lines, the rest just hung around the stage. Same as last year. Our summer fete is this saturday. The cheeky buggers are charging parents £1.50 to get in to spend their money! We had to pay £10 for tickets to go and see the play aswell. I must have mug stamped on my forehead. I spent all week (8:30-4:30) making costumes for them and they deducted the cost of the tickets off the money they refunded for the fabrics I brought for them. Takes the piss.

Oh my DD's school are doing Oliver this year and the whole school have parts - at least something even if small. All the kids are really exited and so am I even though DD is only an urchin she has been practising so hard and knows all the songs. It will be free entry and followed by a party - all the parents bring food and the PTA buy the booze. I can't wait!!

ha fairymum avenanap, thats outrageous. I would tell them where to shove their fabric

DH, as chair of governors, must be doing something wrong .

ds leaves at the end of this term. Thank god! I'm going to have a chat with the class teacher tomorow. They even asked parents for £3 each towards the fabric. Stingy bastards.

mrsmalumbus, thats great for you. Mine was the same, but its the same posh kids who were the stars at christmas, who were the stars again tonight. in fact all the lead parts were children of middle class parents. more articulate maybe, but still unfair to those less so! such is life maybe, but at least at school they could be a bit more politically correct.

Well, I shop in Waitrose and my children are at the very back of all school plays

Well I am vice chair of govs, on the PTA, spend loads of time up at the school brownnosing helping with stuff - and my DDs have never had lead parts in a play. I think that is a load of bs quite frankly. There are 63 children in DD1's class, would you like to be the teacher trying to find parts for everyone and pissing off 80% of the parents - believe me it is not easy. They pick the kids they think will be able to learn the lines and deliver them without too much stage fright.

aw thats nice to hear herietea, hope he knocks em dead! kids do pick up on it though, they judge their sense of worth from these kinds of things, bloody head, cant wait for him to leave this year.l

clever kids get the big parts as they have learnt to read

yes rosa i understand that, but this builds confidence into those they deem fit, which means oneone else ever gets a look in. how about they throw caution to the wind once in a while and give another kid a break? never know what talent could be nutured/uncovered. there should be a ban on being the lead more than once.

yes nota, so the brainy ones. there are other ways of learning lines surely?

I don't disagree with what you say about taking turns Pooodle. From what I have seen at the DDs school they do rotate the lead parts - but even so the vast majority of the children are never going to have one.
It was the tone of your post which I found so depressing, you seem to think that schools have it in for certain children because of their background which in my experience is certainly not the case and is grossly unfair to a lot of dedicated, hardworking teachers - which constitute the vast majority.

rosa i have found from my own personal experience that this particular head is only really interested in the most able kids at events who can put the school in a good light - xmas concert was all about those kids grade 3+ etc, school play same children each year. this is what i resent, my son is about to leave and over the last 7 years has hardly got a look in, and is very disenchanted with school already, which is far too young to be disenchanted.

Oh. That's sad. Is there a drama group outside school he could join to give him a bit of a boost?

there is stagecoach avenanap, but quite expensive, think it maybe worth it though so i will look into again, thanks for reminding me!

Having spent nearly every waking hour in the last month auditioning (extensively, and to ensure as many as possible children get parts and an opportunity to show their talents in a range of ways), practising, coaching, painting, looking for props, learning music, giving up breaks and lunchtimes for extra rehearsals..... all over and above my normal teacher "duties," this thread has SERIOUSLY HACKED ME OFF.

Your local theatre might do free childrens clubs so it's worthwhile finding out.

Don't blame you Clam.

I don't either, Clam.