Oh dear - DS has been moved to the "naughty table" - what now?

[redskyatnight]

"Naughty table" is my phrase, not his and meant to be tongue in cheek ...

So DS casually mentions that his teacher has moved him to a different table.

It is the table that is right in front of the teacher's desk.
The other 2 occupants (so previously the only occupants) are the 2 children who tend to lack concentration, are disruptive, and often in trouble. Does not take much to put 2 and 2 together.

I am now wondering how bad DS's behaviour is ... (teacher has not said anything but then I am never at school, so no chance of "quick chat").

What to do next? Ignore and let teacher manage, try to find out what's happening, something else ....?

No chance of emailing the teacher?

I'd email the teacher and ask if your ds is not old enough to explain for himself what he is doing. Perhaps it is not behaviour but more to do with concentration difficulties or needing a little bit more support.

Im sure the teacher has good reason, the other children could have special needs which is why behaviour seems to be bad to your child who isnt privy to knowing about any special needs. Maybe they are sat closest to the teacher to recieve extra input, maybe the teacher has noticed your child needs extra input so this is the best place to sit. best to speak to the teacher before jumping to assumptions about children you have no direct knowledge of.

my2bundles - not jumping to any conclusions about these children. Merely noting that they are the children in the class that are "badly behaved" , for whatever reason and have evidently been put next to the teacher to keep an eye on. My only concern is whether my DS's behaviour in class is what has warranted him being move to this table ... or whether it is for another reason. And whether I should be doing anything about it (esp as teacher has not spoken to me) or just trusting the teacher to do whatever he thinks fit. I'm not the sort of parent that questions the teacher's every move, so was interested to find out whether others thought this was the sort of change that they'd expect to know about, or whether they would just leave the teacher to it.

Don't know about emailing the teacher - it's something I've never done and is certainly not advertised. We're expected to communicate via homework diary.

DS's explanation for being moved is "dunno". I know he has form for talking in class (though stops when asked) and being distracted. I can see it's quite likely that the teacher has moved him so he can "prod him" more. Though teacher's have never found his behaviour worthy of special treatment before.

I'm sure the teacher has it under control (since she hasn't called you) but as you are worried I think you should try and speak to her about it. Give the school office a call and ask the teacher to ring you when she has a free moment :)

I think there are many reasons why dc,s are moved - often for positive as well as negative reasons.I do think it shows that the teachers are on the ball or conversely it can also signal disapproval.My ds2 was also moved to a different maths group.His teacher very rationally explained her reasoning was that she wanted to keep an eye on him(as he sometimes switches off/doesn't always listen and will never ask anyone if stuck).The previous group were older and more mature and he was getting a bit lost and behind(he is year 3 in a mixed year 3/4 class).His new group is in the middle of the class and are all 3b/3c level(from recent assessments) and are just above the class average.I would find some way of speaking to the teacher at some point but at the same time don't worry too much if you can't immediately.

Maybe the teacher wanted to put a well behaved child there to balance out the 'naughty ones'. If I have difficult children in a class I will also spread out the well behaved ones amongst the not so. Changing who sits next to who every month or so. Ask your son who previously sat there.

Could you not pop in one morning and ask the teacher?

If he can become distracted I'd initially be pleased but feel slightly concerned in case he picks up some other habits. My DS looks as if he isn't concentrating sometimes but just doesn't see the need to look at the teacher if they are speaking for a long time. Will you get a written report at the end of term or have to wait for a parents' evening to find out what is going on?

Hmm, mixed bag of comments. To answer some of the questions:

• no one else sat on the table before DS - it was just 2 children
• DS's behaviour is not so brilliant that he would be put there to be a positive influence
• no one else has moved (so not part of general shuffle)
• no reports or parents evenings until February(ish)
• I agree it's quite possible that he's been put there to keep him focused on task (something that every teacher he's ever had has said he needs to improve, but it's never been bad enough to really address iyswim)
• thinking I might wait and see what happens in Jan now, as they will be on wind down now anyway. But may well change my mind!

You need to ask. If you verify that his behaviour is a problem, then you can try to work on it at home. If teacher thinks your influence could be interfering rather than helpful they will be economical in what they have to say.

Ds is always at the front because he has glue ear and he needs to be there to hear.
Dd2 gets easily distracted and in year 2 was at the front. Not because it was a major problem-the teacher could then say quietly "keep working dd2" which would remind her to stay on task and not daydream.