'lazy' is this a word teachers should use in reports??

[3076Worb]

My son is on daily report at the moment (mainly for his organisation and focus, as he has ADHD). One of his teachers wrote in his report yesterday 'Lazy. Didn't follow instructions and did not complete the work'
Am I being totally oversensitive? I don't think teachers should be using such emotive terms for any child, but esp. for someone who has ADHD. It seems this teacher has assumed his behaviour is down to laziness and not lack of focus.

Lazy is a lazy word imo! It explains nothing about the reasons why kids are failing to work hard. For instance if my child only writes one sloppy sentence where others write a whole page, it's because writing is exponentially more difficult than for others, and the bar for giving up early is correspondingly lower. Even if hypothetically he can do better, the poor work is because of discouragement and lack of confidence. You can call it laziness but it doesn't get you very far in fixing the problem. Kids are v rarely 'lazy' if they are engaged, interested and working at an appropriate skill level - funny that.

My DS was lazy at school, teachers really liked him and scooted around the issue at parents evenings. He's a lazy adult now and, if I could go back to where you are now, I'd heed her words and keep an eye on before it sets in. I say this with the best intentions.

But kids can be lazy. I have one with special needs but i would find it 'scary' that many parents use this as an excuse for any behaviour. Everything is not caused by conditions. The child is not a walking disability. There are undesirable behaviours which can be dealt with albeit in a different way due to that disability but to say my child cannot be told they are lazy/rude etc because they have no responsibility to behave is also not helping the child imo. As previously argued the behaviours require a different kind of management. Even though it can be hard we have a duty to help them in life.

That’s exactly it Bums. I see a lot of these children leave school no better off than when they came because parents, who I’m sure think they are looking out for their child, excuse the bah your rather than tackling it and working out a plan.

I met one of my old students in town a few years ago. Lovely boy in lots of ways but entitled and coddled by his parents because he had learning difficulties. He had just been sacked from another job because he took a day off without asking. He felt like he could. This was his fourth job and fourth sacking. After this first one his Mum went in, like she did when he was at school, and til then to give him his job back. It wasn’t his fault you see. They pretty much laughed in her face.

Making excuses does children no favours in the long term. Sometimes it takes the tough love or the direct approach to make them see this. It was one word and the teacher did not explain by writing that he hadn’t followed instructions and hadn’t completed the work. They did use it in a context that explained the issue.

And, I’m sorry but in a classroom of 35 students (true story) it is not always possible to be meeting everyone’s needs all the time. Just not achievable without TA support- of which there is a dwindling amount these days.

Totally agree with everything @NannyOggsKnickers says.
And worth clarifying that in most schools a dairy report has a tiny box the teacher fills in at the end of the lesson. They have at most 30secs to do this while the next class is lining up. The idea is to accurately reflect he student in that lesson.
Issues will be followed up by relevant staff but can't be in that moment! When everyone needs to be in their next lesson.
E.g. reports may identify issues in certain subjects or across the board.

But if a teacher can't be honest for fear of offence the whole thing is a waste of time!

Dairy = daily! Flipping autocorrect!

I know parents who in primary school give their kids a day off to 'rest'. Or dont do homework or reading as its too much after a week at school. I get with dyslexia reading forced can put a child off more. But in the majority of cases they should be in school on time unless ill. Homework done even if ypu have to sit with them on sunday eve. These are expectations carried over to the workplace.

I will add though but my ds being in report was the best thing.

Senco kept saying "he's fine".
I knew ds wasn't because I'm his Mum and know him best and know what 'fine' looks like in him. She kept saying no one is reporting concerns.

1 week of report and plenty materialised. She didn't want it to continue (as it proved my point!). I cleverly put in writing that there wasn't improvement and quoted their behaviour plan for when students are removed from report.

3 weeks later I could cross reference comments to his EP and OT report to show that he wasn't succeeding in X Y and X as highlighted he'd struggle and he needed A B and C to be able to achieve.

He was managed out of the school and now attends a fantastic MS secondary with EHCP. He's achieving things 18 months ago I didn't think possible.

His needs haven't changed - rather attitude towards him has. He's no longer considered lazy and unfocused but rather seen as a valuable member of the year group who needs some support to stay on task and engage.

On the odd occasion he's been in trouble his HOU even says he's surprised as ds is so eager to please.

But he's a 13yo - they are gits at times

That's really good to hear, youarenotkiddingme.

I like the deluded people on here who think that the teacher has time to figure out strategies to keep one particular child on task.. the whole what are you trying? I'll tell you what works at home etc.
We simply don't have time for that. The child is one out of 160 that you can see in a week. I will differentiate and encourage as far as possible but at the end of the day I simply won't pander to someone who makes no effort and whose parents are deluded into thinking they're a little angel. I've had adhd kids... dancing round the room refusing to turn down music from a speaker.... singing out loud and refusing to stop... punching other pupils... throwing objects... chucking jotters out the window... telling support to fuck off... on one loving occasion telling the head to do one when she tried to take a can of energy drink off him.

Guess what... the mum thinks he's a little darling.
I don't pander... and I just remove from lessons time and again because at the end of the day the disruption is unbearable. Oh and said pupils are often the same in every subject before someone claims I'm not engaging enough
You are doing these kids no favours excusing all behaviour as if they can't help it at all. The vast majority of adhd pupils try...i can see trying and I appreciate it and give the benefit of the doubt. But the lazy, disruptive mummy believes I'm an angel types... yes I have no time for that shit.

Jacobs hear hear.
My local comp failed ofsted for its lack of management of those kids. Apparently they excluded unfairly.
Wtf are schools supposed to do with kids who wont behave whose parents want a softly softly approach? Tough shit thats like unfortunately.

youarenotkiddingme

What's really scary is that most people are assuming that it's true
As opposed to assuming that an experienced, qualified professional who is pressed for time would be "lying"?

'Come on Timmy I know you are capable of doing this work you did so well yesterday' but not using the word lazy.
You don't know that the teacher didn't say this several times over the lesson.
What's the problem saying he's been lazy if he has? I find reports and parents' evening so frustrating because the teachers tend to be trying to form any criticism in a way that sounds positive. It doesn't help the child, and it doesn't help me as a parent because every positive comment you need to look at and wonder if there's a hidden negative.

I remember when I was at school one of the boys who was on daily report came up at the end of the lesson and said to the teacher "please give me a good report." The teacher pointed out that he'd had to tell him several times to get on, and asked him to bring his work up. Chap did so. Teacher regarded it carefully and said "What do you think I should say about it?"
"I've done it as best as I can."
So the teacher carefully wrote.
"Over the double period, Martin drew his two circles with A grade quality."
Martin's face dropped and he said "next time could you just write I'd been a bit lazy..."

I would use the word lazy verbally to parents I knew and had a relationship with.

I wouldn’t write it.

This teacher has obviously not considered that you prefer her to dress up her language more sensitively for your child and would appreciate softer tones and fluffy cotton wool phrasing. Why not let her know that you’d prefer her to couch her language as you are very sensitive about negative phrasing? Or you could ask her to lie and say he’s amazing?

Actually frank if you read my whole post and didn't just repeat part of a sentence out of context you'll see I said "most people are assuming it's true when it could be or could not be and then only way to find out the truth of the matter or actually situation is to speak to the teacher".

Like with anything. Some teachers will have an excellent understanding of ADHD and some will have a limited understanding. This may influence their description of child.
None of us know - we are all projecting our own experiences into one word on a report.

Discussion is helpful - but we cannot solve this without knowing if OP ds is 'lazy' or 'lacking focus commonly found with adhd".

And FWIW I'm a parent who prefers straight talking rather than the dressing up of issues. Protects both mine and their valuable time.

But I also expect teachers to have at least some basic understanding of asd and some knowledge of my ds reports and content of his EHCP.

I am really beginning to wonder if this self-imposed limitation / policing of language will actually help these young people in the long run. In the world of work - it is startlingly clear when you meet someone who has never once been given an unvarnished assessment of how they come across. They always want to be able to be blame someone/thing else.

How dare you say I've been lazy! You didn't make the task interesting enough! It's your fault.

Out of interest Francine, which young people are you thinking would benefit from being given an unvarnished assessment of how they come across?

The ones who are actually lazy (according to those who know them best and are qualified and knowledgeable enough to make that judgement)?

All children who struggle with schoolwork because of neurodisabilities?

Those who 'look lazy'?

Or somewhere in between all that? I would welcome you clarifying that.

They shouldn't say lazy, but only because they'll then have to waste more time dealing with complaints from deluded ott parents.

Personally I prefer to know how much effort my dd is making, and have a conversation about how to improve it if necessary. Rather than waste the teachers time while they find long winded phrases to avoid offending me.

I was hugely impressed by a teacher of dd's least favourite (and weakest) subject at the first y7 parents evening. Bluntly told me dd's marks were amongst the best in the year but we could all agree her efforts were amongst the worst, and she needed to pull her socks up. Plus the phrase 'incredibly lazy when it comes to writing'. Can't say I'd have been impressed if she'd just simpered about how great dd was to be in the top few in her worst subject. She's there for a full, rounded education, not to learn to coast along doing the bare minimum while teachers clap like performing seals at her achievement levels. And if she was the other end of the scale it would be just as important to know whether she was at the limits of her ability or just being lazy.

Could be in ops case the school has crap Sen provision and he isn't being lazy at all. But Sen and laziness aren't mutually exclusive in general terms.

When a child is on daily report, there is usually a box for each lesson which has space for about 3 or 4 words. It is the give a v brief summary of the lesson or homework. It is not intended to provide the solution to the issue of why they are on report in the first place. It is so both parents and probably a Head of Year who is monitoring the child and who has probably set clear targets and expectations for improvement can see quickly how things are going.

So in all liklihood, the parent has already had a meeting with school before he daily report started and the child and their parent have a written plan or contract in place, outlining what the issues are and what steps are to be taken by both teachers and student to address them. The daily report is not like a full written report, but will be filled in at the end of the lesson in far less than 30 seconds. By nature it has to be brief - it is a tiny summary for tracking whatever the issues are.

Lazy might be an emotive word. However, when having to summarise a child's engagement with work, in a box where there is space for 4 words, which means you have to get to the point quickly, this is probably a useful and clear word.

No doubt, the teacher will have engaged with the child numerous times through the lesson and more feedback will be given. No doubt they will need to give more extensive feedback after perhaps a week or 2 weeks of daily report to the Head of Year, but it is simply not possible to give thorough feedback (involving lots of carefully chosen words and suggestions for improvement) on a sheet which probably has only 10 seconds available to it - and it's not intended for that, because it is just one part of a plan to help a child improve.

I wouldn't use lazy in a full, formal report. I might use it to summarise in one word, the approach of a child in an individual lesson.

To the parent who doesn't like the word, I would ask what role they are personally playing in keeping track of their child's work and helping him to meet the goals he has been set as part of his personal plan, which will have been created and include the daily report? He may have any number of extra needs, now rental response sounds defensive and makes me wonder how supportive they are of the school and how much of a role they are playing in helping him to meet his targets.

It is more difficult to be blunt. From my PGCE to every school that I have trained or worked in, all trained me to be positive and sugar coast everything to prevent complains and problematic parents. Only when I became more experienced, well established and well regarded by most people that I was able to look parents in the eyes and told them the truth.

Well, as a teacher, I would never use that word.

However, as a parent, I would love to just get told wtf they mean. I am really crap at reading between the lines, and usually have to ask a friend what the would assume certain comments meant. No good at euphemism. Except if I ever have to write them. And even then, I think I'm fairly transparent.

I can see why teachers use euphemisms, but at times a parent needs clear straight talking. I remember when DD1 was picking GCSEs. I had to point blank ask some teachers 'if she did this GCSE do you think she would be likely to pass?' because they were so fuzzy in their opinions.

If a teacher thinks a child is lazy then they should be able to say so. At least then the parent of a SEN child can then argue why it isn't actually the case. Unfortunately I agree why teachers feel they can't be so blunt given how so many parents react.

ghgn and that's the problem. If I've got 5 minutes with a teacher I'd like all 5 of them to be used constructively, not half wasted while the teacher tries to sugarcoat the fact my child isn't perfect in every conceivable way. As would the teacher. But in order to flatter the ego of some parents teachers have to waste time/ risk not getting the point across.