Kept in at playtimes to finish

[Mharhi]

My Y2 ds, who is 6, is being kept in to finish his writing at playtimes. I'm not sure how often but the teacher says it's not a case of him struggling to write, he can do fantastic writing but is too slow. A lot seems to be expected. I don't know what to think of this. I think they need a break, they are still young. However it may get him to speed up and finish it quicker. I wondered what others think.

Depends why he is so slow. If it is because he messes around/doesn't pay attention/disrupts what's going on/doesn't try etc then there may be some reason for ensuring he finishes set work on occasion. If he is simply slow, then Year 2 is a little too early, in my opinion, for "keeping in" however irregularly this happens.

I think a lot depends how often it is happening. A lot of six year olds are throughly lazy or they mess about and deserve to be punished. The teacher is giving up her own break to keep your child in.

If this stragery doesn't work then the teacher will change tack. She will be fed up of losing her break. My son's school started keeping children in a break at around year 2. However the use of a timer and stickers for those who had completed their work worked better for ds.

She's not giving up her break. He is outside the staffroom working at a whiteboard. Yes, it's whether he is just slow naturally or being lazy. We talked a bit about this and she mentioned younger children sometimes being slower developmentally. I said i hoped he wasn't missing lots of playtimes? And was told well, if he finished he wouldn't have to. Hmm

And he is not messing around / being disruptive, he is well behaved apparently.

This strategy is so wrong because it teaches kids that finishing quickly is good. The quality of the work then becomes of secondary importance.

It is better to score 5/5 than 0/10 !!!!!!!!!

If the other children are finishing the work in time (you haven't said it's the whole class being kept in), and the work is within his capability (as you say it is), then what is the reason for him not to finish? It must be either behavioural or motivational, and for either of these, the natural consequences of losing break time is a valid spur to proper effort in lessons.

Has he given you a reason why he is no longer finishing his work in the time allowed?

He does very neat, careful writing. His teacher things it might speed up if he joined it more. He just seems to spend a long time writing each letter and stopping and thinking.

he just told me they have to write a lot. It did seem a lot. A4 sheets, for example, Riddles, seven clues. Extended writing. I think they are getting ready for SATs...

And yes I did think that about the quality.

My DS is slow and lazy with writing - makes no effort even though he can if he tries write reasonably. His primary school used to do that sort of thing with him sometimes - keeping him in at break - and his writing did improve a bit as a result. He's Y7 now and I wish his new school would impose sanctions like that on him - the focus is all on more advanced stuff in English, not on the basic skills like writing and spelling - and his written work is slipping back. If your DS is like mine, I'd make the most of it, and back the school up in telling him to put more effort in.

If he is being silly then yes, the teacher is perfectly entitled to keep him in but surely if he is trying his best but just a bit slow at doing the work then she is just teaching him to hate writing?

Yes I feel really mixed about it! I do of course back them in wanting to help him with his writing, I just hope it doesn't make him dread it!