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Primary education

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Sitting on the floor

54 replies

sidress · 16/05/2012 14:20

I just wondered how common it is elsewhere for girls in later primary school to 1 have to sit on the floor in class or assembly, and 2 insisted to sit cross legged (yoga style). I remember this but that was a we while ago. My daughter said they have to do this and it is quite uncomfortable, especially when wearing a skirt. Is it too much to put chairs out for everyone?

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FebreezeYourJeans · 16/05/2012 20:46

"Is it too much to put chairs out for everyone?"

Erm...YES We don't have an army of house elves. Who would do the getting out and putting away? Teachers? TAs? A token school caretaker?

PrematurelyAirconditioned · 16/05/2012 20:53

DD came home one day in yr 3 saying she needed to wear leggings or cycle shorts underneath her summer uniform dress.

I went Hmm to the teacher, who told me it didn't actually apply to DD, only the girls who were a) entering puberty b) wearing very short and/or tight dresses - but of course she hadn't wanted to say "A, B, C, you need to stop flashing your knickers" so she made it a bit more general.

realhousewifeofdevoncounty · 16/05/2012 20:55

I did this in secondary school!

olibeansmummy · 18/05/2012 22:05

I had to sit on the floor til I went to high school ( after middle school)! All the kids in the primary school sit in the floor in assembly, and half the time I have to too!

SE13Mummy · 18/05/2012 23:36

I'm 35 and often have to sit cross-legged on the floor for assemblies at 'my' school; there isn't room for the teachers to have chairs, never mind the children!

scrablet · 20/05/2012 09:16

Our children used to sit on floor, but I never used to insist on cross legged for about Yr 4 plus as when the legs get longer it gets more uncomfortable and leads to more fidgeting.

Jejen · 08/01/2017 04:19

I totally disagree to ask the kids to sit on the floor during the lesson. I see now days many kids have hunchback, especially young kids at kindergarden/primary on their growing and shapping. I think let them sit on the chairs in the best idea. They carry a heavy school bagpack already is too much for them.

mrz · 08/01/2017 05:59

Why are primary school children carrying heavy school bags?

user789653241 · 08/01/2017 08:09

They can have unbelievably heavy bag! My ds' school back pack is so heavy.
But it's totally his choice. He put huge pencil case + reading books x 3 etc., etc. Also he hides stones, sticks, whatever in the pockets.

I wonder same person under different usernames keeps reviving these zombie threads with a bit of skewed opinions?

mrz · 08/01/2017 08:30

Our pupils have a book bag with a reading book and a homework book at most Hmm (usually an adult carries it to the school door and the child carries it to their peg)
In secondary it's a totally different story IME

LunaLoveg00d · 08/01/2017 12:24

My daughter is 11 and in her last year of Primary (Scotland) and all the children sit cross legged on the floor for assemby and other shows in school using the hall.

Our school has one hall which is used for everything - PE, assembly, dinner. Who would put the seats out - SNP cuts mean that there is no permanent janitor (caretaker) to do it.

Secondary is different - much bigger school with separate gym space, drama space and assembly space with permanent, fixed seating.

Feenie · 08/01/2017 14:05

Jejen, what on EARTH were you searching for to find this thread?

louisejxxx · 08/01/2017 17:35

I sat on the floor all through secondary? The only difference there was that it wasn't mandatory to sit cross-legged x

louisejxxx · 08/01/2017 17:36

Just seen this was a zombie thread 🙈

DesolateWaist · 08/01/2017 17:42

Just seen this was a Zombie thread.

I feel that @Jejen might have a different motive.
Why the hell reanimate this thread?

Yes, children should sit on chairs just like nature intended........

mrz · 08/01/2017 17:50

GrinGrinGrin

StillRabbit · 08/01/2017 21:51

Our children, up to and including year 6, sit on the floor. The hall is used after assembly for other things (PE, music) and we don't have the time or the staff to put out and put away chairs. I sat on the floor all the way up sixth form in secondary too. DS is year 9 and they sit on the floor for whole school assemblies.

user789653241 · 08/01/2017 21:59

I grew up in a different country, but we sit on the floor too, normally. Only time we sat on the chair was when it was some sort of ceremony, like first day of school, or graduation. It was the norm.

user789653241 · 08/01/2017 22:04

There was another poster who revived another zombie thread with similar aggressive opinion. I wondered if it was a same poster? Weird.

sirfredfredgeorge · 08/01/2017 22:23

I think in our school, everyone has bean bags, solves the sitting on floor problem, but also means it's quick to get the hall organised the kids just pick one on the way in - they're colour coded in house colours too, so everyone can see which houses are doing badly when they're told off.

I might actually be wrong about that though

mrz · 09/01/2017 06:45

Where on earth do they store all those beanbags? Seriously I have a dozen for my reading cafe and they take up so much space!

user789653241 · 09/01/2017 06:55

Agree, I think it's a great idea for small school. But for 3 form entry school, it's kind of funny even to imagine how/where they store all the bean bags!

sirfredfredgeorge · 09/01/2017 08:56

I might actually be wrong about that though

There are no bean bags...

paxillin · 09/01/2017 09:05

Our school would have to get rid of half the children to fit chairs. When they put chairs in for parents during shows, it fits about 200. They have over 400 kids though.

NormaSmuff · 09/01/2017 09:09

how do these zombie threads get woken up