Christmas show - would like to hear from teachers

[OldAndUngraceful]

Year after year I have felt aggravated over the customary xmas show where 8 children get to shine for a full hour whilst the remaining 122 sit around or get to do a 3 minute dance.

I am genuinely interested in understanding the school's rationale over doing this. This is how I feel:

• I understand not every child can get a part on the play but really, just 8???

• Out of those 8, year after year there's usually three or four children who get parts, same children.

• I don't believe parents are interested in enduring a whole hour of seeing the same 8 children babbling something about Bethlehem whilst another 122 children sits around bored

• A lot of lessons have been missed during the last few weeks for the show rehearsals. How is this at all justifiable when hardly any children get to do anything substantial?

• This is not an opportunity for children who are not strong academically or in sports to shine; as I said, only 8 get to really do anything and often is the same children year after year.

• As a parent, I really much rather children forgot their lines, couldn't hear them properly, had stage fright at the last minute... as long as I was under the impression that the show's intention was to give every child a few seconds of protagonism.

I'd love to hear from teachers to understand things from their point of view as I feel aggravated over this.

I imagine that lots of children unexpectedly got bigger parts in our nativity this year - because loads of their friends were off sick!

Oh dear oh dear, some funny and some very sad stories on here. Our school's Christmas play is a triumph this year, (cinderella rockefella, another brilliant musical from Helen and Mark Johnson). It has bits that can be adapted to fit in topical jokes, and bits with party scenes, etc so that there's room for all the children to get on there. Having said that, I did spot a few children who looked desperately uncomfortable, and would clearly rather have been behind the scenes.

Having put on similar efforts in the past, we used to have a team of children who were keen to work behind the scenes, so we made them a kind of 'costume' with the play name on the front of a t-shirt, and 'crew' in large letters on the back. They were in charge of welcoming the audience, handing our programmes, drinks at half time, lights, props, etc. It gave them a high profile, and they were so proud.. not every child is dying to be on stage!