Friendly names to call kids who make a stupid mistake

[noblegiraffe]

You know, the ones you have a good relationship with, not talking about berating some sensitive y7.

What, in mock exasperation, would you call a pupil who had e.g got a fiendishly difficult differential equation question wrong and you'd just spotted it was because they'd written 1x1=2?

Doesn't matter how old they are daisy my sister was 17 when the incident I was talking about earlier happened that lead to my mum having to ask for her to move groups because of what the teacher thought of a throw away comment "if you can't do this I lose faith in everyone" because my sister heard it as you can't do this. She laughed at the time she went home was fine, two days later when the lesson rolled round again she broke down before school. In the case I give 6, but it doesn't matter.

Notice I said SOME?! Some children will react "well" that's great, others will not. Is it really worth the risk?! Wether you think it's encouraging or not, and I can actually see how people think ah come on you silly sausage that wasn't the answer with a laugh and smile is encouraging but then my sisters teacher thought telling her if any one could do the piece of work she could was encouraging. People aren't mind readers they don't know how you mean it. They may perceive it in a very different way to the way you intend.

Encouragement can surely be done without humiliation isolation and insults?! As can classroom humour!

Name calling is whatever you say is marking some one out as different, calling some one silly is calling some one stupid, as was pointed out earlier it doesn't matter what word use it still means you idiot.
The child knows it, as do the rest as the class as does the teacher! That I'm afraid is bullying.

Depends on your perception of risk.

To me the risk of offending because of incorrect usage is so small that it's not worth bothering about.

A student could mishear or misinterpret anything. I used the world cult the other day. Guess what a student heard?

Dd had a riding lesson yesterday and was called 'gormless' and 'lemon'. She wasn't impressed (she's 10)

Child A I'm not silly getting increasingly upset

Teacher has learnt this is not the type of child you can have a laugh with -

This message will filter though to their next teacher - to not be repeated!

They will now get to hear 6 and wonder why the year 6 teacher can't joke with them -

Parents may well be in to complain again!

That's why the OP suggested kids you know well who can laugh at their own mistakes - it's actually a good skill to have

But of course you can joke with students - it just doesn't have to include calling names. Is it ok for the children to call you all of these names too? Is it okay for them to call each other those names?

I am partly deaf (wear hearing aids) and throughout my childhood was called a range of names as a result, some 'harmless' and some less so. You learn very fast not to show any reaction. I was also very bright and at the top of the class. Teachers calling me 'harmless' jokey names for making silly mistakes would not have seen me get upset. But inside it would have added to the simmering reservoir of anger that is still there today.

For fucks sake why can't posters see that it is NOT name calling!

It's NOT picking on kids for being:

Thick
Different
Disabled
Tall, short, fat, thin
Etc
Etc
Etc

It's a joke with a child who has done something silly. Silly. If a child can't handle the idea that they occasionally do something silly then for gods sake they'd better toughen up before they get ejected into the real world at 18!

I stick it in a question (mine are only year 1) "what's going on today Billy? Did you put your brain in this morning?" (Very very lighthearted and they usually check their head to see if their brain is in )

Typical mn thread. Has to be made into hard frickin work by the no fun brigade .

Do some posters not accept that their children ever does something daft??

of course they do daft things. I say 'that was a daft thing to do'. I don't say 'you're daft.' There's a difference.

I joke about with my own children all the time in terms of their (and my) silly mistakes, I want them to feel happy and comfortable with the idea that mistakes are normal and okay - particularly as both are at risk of perfectionist tendencies due to their traits and personalities.

I can see why as a teacher it is a very fine line to tread though - what for one child keeps things light and fun could be taken as an insult by another child.

I'm not sure who is out there teaching children that silly means the same as stupid though.

Nope Cody it was a well known thing with the child the teacher immediately realised what she'd said and why child A was getting upset.

It had been an issue known about since reception. I'd been with that child since reception which is why I was the one asked to take her and her friend to the quiet room.

Equinox it is name calling- it is calling a child a name. In fact the very title of this thread is NAMES TO CALL CHILDREN. Name calling then?! What the fuck to think name calling is!

As for the no fun brigade cbigs every single one of us has said sure have fun in your class room make humour in the situation NOT OF THE CHILD THATS WHAT NAME CALLING IS MAKING FUN OF THE CHILD!

Just a question to everyone, really - do you never call your own child by anything other than their given name?

As I said in my earlier post, I call my own DCs all kinds of things - monster, banana [variation of this is kumquat for some reason], all sorts of pet names or names that are linked to what they have done [a specific type of monster leaves clothes in the bathroom in our house, for some reason] etc etc. Am I name-calling or bullying them?

If not, where is the 'edge of the circle of people who MAY use such silly / pet / joke names for a child'? Family? Friends? Friends of the family? But not well-known adults who send 30 hours a week with your child in school?

Both my children loved a bit of affectionate teasing from teachers. FGS, is no humour allowed, anywhere, now?

I can see why as a teacher it is a very fine line to tread though - what for one child keeps things light and fun could be taken as an insult by another child*

That's exactly what we're saying
It's entirely different with your own children. And no it doesn't depend on your perception of risk. You upset a child like that your likely to at least loose their respect if not land yourself in trouble with the parents and head teacher when the child is ill and refuses to attend lessons!

Abride - your children did others did not! Your children are not every child!

Yes humour is allowed there's ways of doing it without name calling!

Most children (if they do not have SN or speak English poorly) are quite capable of knowing whether a name is meant affectionately or not. They can tell from tone, facial expression, body language, their history with a particular teacher, their past performance, etc.

But what about the children who would benefit in terms of personal resilience from having a bit of a laugh and a joke but lose that because others are more sensitive? Are their needs less important?

This thread is really depressing. No wonder kids are getting less and less resilient.

My son actually did have a kind of special, or rather, particular need. We didn't realise that he was an exceptionally sensitive and reactive child because he actually had undiagnosed coeliac disease and was basically suffering from malnutrition for all his school life. Some teachers gently joked and joshed with him and it really helped him build up resilience and learn to deal with being teased in a kind way. It relaxed him.

Nobody teachers or children knew why he was the way he was, as diagnosis came after he'd left school, but the gentle teasing by teachers at appropriate times was something I was grateful for. It helped him relax.

Of course parents calling their own child daft billy goat nana what ever it's totally different.

You know your own child. Whatever teachers say (and I'm not teacher bashing my mum was one and I've worked with many) don't know them in the same way parents do, in fact my mum would say oh wasn't that a daft thing to do. That's the way we all speak it's the thing that's daft, silly, the only thing mum calls a dope is herself. Because she got in to the habit of not calling names at school. She's retired 15 years now.
Regardless it's the parents that have to deal with the fall out. So if they chose to do it then yes that is lesson learnt, will probably start a tread on here going how can I deal with my child not like being called silly billy. To which I suspect the answer would be just don't call it him/her.

But here's everyone going it's ok for teachers to do it!

Dorkerino. Dorktastic.

again abraid that was your son! Your son is not every child with coeliac deasease nor is he every child with special needs.

It worked for your son lovely, im sure there's things that didn't work for your son, that worked for other children in the class. Your son is one person. Not every child.

You've met one child with Soecial Requirements, wow you've met one child with special requirements