Annual trip to theatre

[PastSellByDate]

Now I hasten to add I'm not against this in any way - I think taking kids to the theatre is a great idea.....

Our school [single form] has a policy of taking the entire school to see a play just before or just after Christmas. We're in a big city [not London] with a symphony, ballet company & lots of theatres.

But....

Given the wide range of choice - would you be a bit if for the last 5 years running the school has chosen to take everybody to the Panto at the same theatre?

It's great fun for the kids, everyone has a good time, but am I just a bit that they school (since this is a whole school activity year after year) doesn't try and mix it up a bit more?

Is this AIBU or does this seem a bit 'rote' [we always go to the panto]?

What does your school do?

I would say considering they are trying to keep 4 - 11 year olds happy then the panto is most likely to be something that the vast majority will enjoy.

BeerTricksPOtter:

Unfortunately no - it doesn't feed back into class.

I was that parent that pointed out they should try to link this back into maths/ literacy/ etc....

Got blank look so went on to suggest that KS2 upper could do maths related work on the expense of attending the play.

KS2 as a whole could write reviews.

KS1 could draw pictures and describe what they liked or a character they liked.

KS1 could do simple maths problems - maybe work out price of treats for their class, etc...

Year R could draw pictures - maybe write a few things. Maybe learn about coins used to buy candy/ play theatre candy shop at intermission.

I suggested KS2 could discuss structure of play. Possibly write different ending.

I just got that glazed over look...'too much work' I suspect ran through their minds. I was then told that I had to understand it was important that going to theatre was a positive experience.

(by which I suspect the Deputy Head meant that doing work related to a play would make it a negative experience).

Again, don't get me wrong - I think going to the Panto is great fun (we go as a family as well) - but I just see this trip as rather a tick box exercise - they go, they saw, the box gets a nice big tick but no work related to it and no serious understanding of the breadth of theatre possible - this area has things like Christmas Carol, The Snowman, The Gruffalo, A Tiger Came to Tea (ok maybe last two are really just for KS1) etc... showing around this time - so there are other choices. The sympony does a Christmas concert where children can come and see the instruments afterwards - during school day - so that's possible. Ballet company also does nutcracker. So I really don't see that there is a limited range of options here.

Our school takes YR/1/2 to the local arts centre each year - two years ago it was The tiger who came to tea, last year it was we're going on a bear hunt and this year it's room on the broom - I have gone as a parent volunteer in the past and will be going again this year and I know there is lots of literacy work done around the trip - two years ago one class designed tins of tiger food and wrote about them for example. I think that a trip like that that can be used to inspire children is far more beneficial than an isolated trip to the panto with no follow up.

can they not just do something for fun? Why does everything need to be linked to work?

If you want your children to see different shows then take them to see them. Leave the school to pick the activity they feel most children will enjoy

Thanks for comments

BeerTricksPotter:

No I don't work at the school - DDs just attend it.

This is the one and only 'arts' related trip. They do one 'history' trip and one park visit/ including sports related play. Some classes have additional trips - can vary - kite flying in KS1/ Trip to Cadbury World/ Trip to local senior school for a sports day or drama day.

So yes Panto is it for 'the arts'.

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thanks FuzzyMum1 - what you describe is more what I kind of hoped for - and all of these have been available to attend and no major difference in price and easily commutable to by public transport or again, if the whole school is going, by hiring two buses.

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Sirzy:

I do take your point. Nothing wrong with a bit of fun. But same thing every year for 5 years running?

It's a nice easy option - and I get that. But...Can there be a bit of variety?

Now given I'm potentially fined if I take my child out of school to attend something I think might be 'fun' for them to do - I do rather find it a bit rich that it's o.k. for the school to basically take the day off, but not for me any longer. We are very clear now as parents - we are not allowed to take our children out of school for family vacation/ long weekends. Thus the ridiculous scheduling we're facing in may whereby Tuesday is a Teacher training day and Thursday is an election but we have to get the kids to school Mon/ Weds/ Friday. Of course one could also ask why they couldn't schedule training on the election day - which is the DoE guidance.

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Again, I get the informal, fun and learning opportunity of a PANTO - but they therefore don't get the variety & range of performance arts and I do kind of wonder with Sirzy's comments whether s/he is kind of implying that other performances: plays, concerts, dance are somehow 'not fun'.

I suppose what I'm wondering is is this resistance to do other things subliminally teaching children (mine included) that theatre isn't for them/ the symphony isn't for them/ ballet isn't for them/ dance troups aren't for them/ etc...

For example Stomp came through - offered matinees and school trips (some schools attended) - our school went to PANTO - no difference in price or location.

Ukulele orchestra of Great Britain came through - great fun apparently from what friends who went with their school had to say - no difference in price - same time of year - easy to get to - but nope - school went with Panto although several parents suggested it as a trip.

There is quite a bit of variety and very little difference in pricing of school trips for this type of thing...

So is the issue planning? making time to think of something new?

Do you pay for this trip? Our PTFA fund a panto for the whole school as a Christmas treat. The panto comes to the school rather than trying to transport the whole school to the theatre though. For a treat I don't think it needs to be linked to school work.

I think ours do an annual pantomime trip at Christmas for the whole school. To be fair locally it isn't likely to be anything else because we're rural so they go to one of the nearest town or city theatres.
But actually panto is ideal really for a whole school trip isn't it? Panto is fun and entertaining for all ages and most primaries will have to consider a show that the only just 4 year olds right up to 11 year olds will enjoy. That's quite tricky particularly if said children come from a range of backgrounds, some of whom maybe haven't visited the theatre before.
Personally I love ballet and classical music, but I'm not entirely sure my 4 year old DS would sit through the whole of the nutcracker for instance. I think it would be more successful to take DS's to ballet as a small family trip, so that you can explain it to them a bit. Children should all have the opportunity to attend the lovely things you mention but are probably more suited to smaller class groups.
Just going to the theatre is educational, I'm not sure it needs anything else. If they do some associated work great, but if they don't that's fine with me. It can just be fun.

PS I agree with you re the anachronism of school being aloud to do something fun instead of school, but us parents can't choose to take them out of school for a couple of days for an educationally beneficial holiday. But that's not school's fault- it's the government as our head teacher was happy to recognise the value of family breaks.

Im not implying in any way at all that they aren't fun and not sure how you managed to read that into what I said at all.

I think you are well and truley over thinking it - keeping it simple not all children will like going to a ballet, not all children will like going to watch an orchestra. Most children will find something they will enjoy in a panto.

panto really is ideal for primary age children, and is actually a great way to introduce the idea of theatre to children from a young age

You're going way over the top with this. It's an annual school trip to the panto it's not pretending to be a high culture event.

Some primary age kids would love to go to the ballet, for example, but not all of the would enjoy it. The panto, on the other hand, is fun for everyone that age. If your children are the sort who would enjoy the Nutcracker, say, you can always take them to that as a family. For secondary aged kids a bit more culture could well be a good idea but I wouldn't force it on primary.

What on earth are you doing making so many suggestions about what the kids should be learning in the classroom after the panto? That really isn't your remit and I'm not surprised the teachers look at you like this

We used to go to the panto every year with Sunday school. We loved it. Don't see any problems with that.

I agree with you - my dc's primary went to a Christmas play sometimes (Christmas Carol (KS2 only, KS1 went to the The Gruffalo), Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Arabian Nights are a few I can remember). instead and it was a good way to mix things up.

The fact that you think the teachers were thinking 'too much work' says it all. How judgemental. How about the children get to experience going to see a seasonal show, with their school friends and just enjoy it for what it is??

Maybe you should give your children homework on it at home. Did you REALLY list the possible activities to the teacher??

I bet you are the talk of the staffroom, god forbid children do something just for fun. You sound like a right barrel of laughs

You suggested detailed lesson ideas for various age groups within the school and you got a glazed look?

Colour me shocked.

I think it's quite nice for the whole school to do something together and given the age range it would be hard to do. At our school (which is much bigger) when they do whole school events, they mix the age groups up so the big kids help the little ones. That way they get to know each other. It's lovely for a sense of community.

Motorway...community??? You mean the school might think its beneficial to do something and enjoy it as a group? A community? You mean there might be benefits in children accompanying each other to the theatre? Chatting excitedly on the way there...discussing their favourite bits, laughing together, sharing an experience as a whole school might actually be valuable as an activity on its own?? Hold the front page!

You mean there might be other 'lessons' to be learnt at school than sitting on a chair and writing/ discussing/ drawing??? Gasp! Shock, horror.

Our PTFA paid for a panto group to come in and do a panto this week. Year 6 strutted in as if it was beneath them, Within a few minutes they were screaming 'He's behind you!' and high fiving the characters. Foundation children were spellbound. It was absolutely the highlight of my term so far to see the kids' faces, some of who will not get a chance to see a pantomime otherwise.

We also do trips to more 'educational shows', some of which are heavily discounted. We do them out of school hours and go straight from school to an evening performance to accompany children, last half term on two occasions several of us started work at 8 am and finally got home at 10 pm. (I'm not saying that in defence of our hours but to point out that we accompany the children so parents don't have to) The take up for the last show was very poor. I can almost write my list of children who will do these sort of trips before they are advertised.

We've booked the panto group to come back already.

I am also delighted that at my DC's school, almost the entire last week plus if the autumn term is given over to whole school fun: christingle carol service, panto, school christmas walk, school christmas dinner, school movie afternoon, school christmas fayre (during actual school time.)
I think it's really good for the kids, who work very hard and achieve very well the rest of the year. I know this is good for my boys and I don't see the need to dissect it into its "learning value."

My school has dropped the panto trip as the SMT want trips to only be educational. I also think that they twitch about having the whole school out at the same time.

I'm disappointed. It always went down really well and was a fun trip. For some children it was the only time that they'd get to go to a theatre.

we have a whole school trip to the panto. It's brilliant fun, the children talk about it all year.

Individual years do other trips which are curriculum based, but the panto is a whole school adventure, with every child from Reception to Year 6 joining in.

I think you are over thinking this, op.