Teachers - is this acceptable?

[4yoniD]

This has been playing on my mind and I'd appreciate views on whether it's acceptable

For background my daughter, age 10 / year 5, is very sensitive but also well behaved. She has increasingly been coming home upset saying the teacher made her cry. This is often based around whole class telling offs and often around tidying up. They have all been held off break multiple times for insufficient or too-slow tidying up.

On Friday the teacher said (dd would say shouted) that as some children hadn't tidied up he would keep them all there until they did - then he threw a pot of pencils on the floor. He kept throwing more pencils on the floor while demanding they all tidy up.

Knowing my dd she was probably tidying as fast as she could but even then she probably felt shouted at so got upset. Thing is if I tidied up and then someone deliberately made mess to make a point I'd go ballistic. But is this ok behavior for a class where presumably some of the children are avoiding helping?

No it's deliberately antagonsing almost like bullying he's said the kids can stay until it's tidy and he's going to keep them there until it is so why would he deliberately make mess? Poor kids must be so frustrating for them and what's worse is that they feel powerless compared to him and it's out of their control

No, this isn't acceptable. I'm not a believer in whole class punishment, although I will sometimes ask everyone to muck in and clear up, even if they haven't made the mess. Usually though, you can work o up who it is. Throwing all the pencils on the floor makes it sound. Like the teacher had lost control.

I get cross with my class when I come in after they have gone home (I’m on PPA in the afternoon or on a course) and the classroom looks like a bomb has hit it. I remind them they need to tidy even when I’m not there and say they need to do it then. I manage all of that without shouting once or throwing anything to the floor.

When my class are tidying, I thank the children I can see doing the work. Positive praise rather than negative telling off. I also send the children out to break as soon as they have finished tidying their stuff. It’s an incentive to be quicker.

Urgh, sounds horrible. Go in and talk to him, I had very similar problems with my DD and her teacher, after I spoke to the teacher things changed. I don’t think my DDs teacher was as childish and petty as your DDs though! He sounds awful, your poor DD.

I’d also like to say, I leave enough time at the end of the session for them to tidy up. If they are dawdling or not helping, it will take them longer than the time set aside. I don’t start the tidying at breaktime.

No it's unacceptable. Go in and speak to the teacher.

Drat. You're all right. Only thing is it won't be the first time I've gone to talk to the teacher :( I'm starting to feel like that parent. Between the start of term and half term Dd only brought home 1 book to read. Which she read in a day. Which I complained about a few times- previously she brought home a few books a week so we always had something to read. Then there is her reading record (we fill in what books she reads) which the teacher has lost twice and once blamed dd for not handing in only for him to then find it a week later in with his own stuff...

Don't feel like "that parent" if there's a problem that's affecting your little girl you need to deal with it Hun regardless of his or anyone else's opinions X

Not acceptable. Whole class tidying I get as it’s about promoting respect of their work environment but not making it more messy to make a point.

I employ the mystery piece of rubbish method which gets my class tidying a lot quicker.

Mystery piece of rubbish?
do they get a reward for finding it?

I get a lot of children suddenly needing the toilet. I do keep them a few minutes late if they don't tidy in time.

Yup 10 house points (or equivalent) for finding the rubbish. Obviously I don’t tell them what it is until the room is tidy or they’ll stop