Y4 DD being kept in at lunch time

[numptymark1]

because her partner was messing about so they did not complete their work

they have been moved around in class this year and the well behaved, sensible children are sitting next to the less well behaved trying to be very pc here

DD is being kept in to finish work because they didn't finish in class (along with her partner)

I don't really agree with any children missing an oportunity to run about anyway but surely in group work, when they are this age and actually have very little influence in what their group do, they shouldn't be punished as a group

I believe that she was trying to work hard as this has consistently been the feedback from the teachers right the way through the school

I've told her to suck it up and get on with it (well not is so many words but that was the general gist) but I'm full of sympathy for her -gah!

I'm with you - full of sympathy, but outwardly supporting the school.

You'll never quite know if your normally well-behaved DC has just had an off day and was messing around on this occasion. I agree that one DC may not be able to exert much influence over a peer, but a teacher would know this too. It's something to keep an eye on, without seeming to do so IYSWIM, and mention it to the teacher if there seems to be a persistent difficulty.

But in the general run of things, moving children round (by shuffling tables, or whole classes) is done with thought and for the good of the group. Unless you're in Scotland; they've only been back a few days, so it's wait and see time. But unless you have recent evidence (older DCs?) that you are unlucky in having a (mercifully rare) twerp as a teacher, then it is unlikely this single incident will develop to a detrimental pattern.

Hi numptymark1

I agree that at face value it seems unfair to punish your DD for the behaviour of others.

but...

I think you need to discuss with her a bit more about what the work was. If it was something minor (a word search or 'busy book', for example) then yes, perhaps best handled by sending the work home. But - is this something that could only have been done in school (perhaps because of equipment needs - computer/ paints/ workbooks/ etc..)? Or is this something quite critical to learning (perhaps teaching a new maths concept) and not completing the work means your DD misses out.

It's easy to get angry at the unfairness, but there may be more going on here and missing part or all of one lunch break probably isn't the end of the world. For this teacher this unfair punishment may be about coming down hard on badly behaved children at the outset to establish that messing about in class means you miss break times (which most children don't want). If he/she is fairly experienced, and the playground gossip is that they run a tight ship, then perhaps although initially this seems very unfair to your DD, ultimately it may be to your DD's benefit if it clamps down on fooling about during lessons.

Having said that, I do also agree with EdithWeston's point above - if this is continually happening then there's a problem and you should have a word with the teacher and/or school management.

HTH

My dd1 (yr3) is always given a 'more lively' class member, I have told her that it is because she is a nice calm girl who won't be distracted. So far it hasn't affected her playtimes, and she would be very annoyed if it did. I guess it depends if the task was one which required two people to complete, or if she could do half the work herself and demonstrate that she had done her part so only other child should stay in. Having said that I do disagree with being kept in when they need some exercise (and presumably the more lively chiildren need a break more).

Her teacher has apparently given her talking partner a colouring book for him to do when he doesn't need to be listening, so he doesn't distract everyone else! Just waiting to see which well behaved child dd2 will be paired up with! I would monitor it for a week or so then go and raise it with the teacher if it is a regular issue.