Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
Wow, that's pretty bad IMO, I'm not sure I would have been able to wait for parent/teacher interviews.
Problem is this is her outlook and it's hard to get people to change, she'll probably have a bunch of reasons/rationalizations. What do you do if she doesn't change? Go up the food chain? Move the kid to a different classroom? Seems like it's going to be a confrontation no matter what.
Doesn't the entire school system have policies on things like this?
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Well I figured it was for the better as how this came to my attention was that on Monday my child received a "red" and when they brought home the note saying they got it was the first time I heard this came back. I didn't want to look like "that parent" where little Johnny gets in trouble and I'm going after the teacher as that was not my intent, nor do I believe teachers don't have a right to discipline children in the class. I wanted to get some facts straight and put aside the strong personal feelings I had of the system (as I was unfortunately severely bulled when I was in grade school because of this system so perhaps I'm oversensitive to it) to come up with a very mature way to approach this. I absolutely believe there needs to be discipline in the classroom and the teachers need to have ways to control the class, but when a child comes home scared to let me know what's happened because they've gotten a red and believes it that they have done something seriously wrong and everyone saw it and very upset, that's a bit much. The offense that caused the red was also something quite minor, running in the hall. Obviously against the rules, but I'm not sure punishable like this.
I found out at the interviews yesterday, all the 3/4 teachers in the school have adopted this and I saw how the system was presented myself. There is a board at the front of the class where at the end of the day the teacher will flip the cards for the students to show the colours. The note we were given and the explanation by the teacher is they are using this system as a "goal setting" system rather then punishment. If a child gets multiple yellow, red and purples during the week, they aren't being "punished" but will be working with the parent and teacher to set a goal for the next week to correct the behaviour getting these warnings. The note also went on to say that "bad" is a broad term that includes anything from talking in class or not finishing work or leaving the class without asking to fighting and stealing. And that if the child gets a red or a purple, they do not want the parents to punish them at home because this doesn't mean it's bad behaviour. Actually verbatim from the letter:
"A call home or an orange or red card does not mean that your child is in trouble or "bad". This system in intended as a way for the students, teachers, and parents to be aware of student behaviour and to set effective goals to help the students find a positive place in their classroom community." They also go on to recommend that if the child gets a orange, red or purple card, there are no consequences at home because of it and that we make a goal for the child to work on the next day.
I'm still not sure I support this system and I told the teacher that this feels like the old system just repackaged. It has the hallmarks of the old system, but they've just reworded it to try to make it sound less negative. I also let her know the consequences I saw from this system when I was in school and asked why they would choose this as their option when there are so many more discrete and effective ways to do this exact thing WITHOUT having it in front of the entire class. Unfortunately, it still looks the exact same way it did in my day and I'm not sure a bunch of Grade 3/4's are going to comprehend that when you are singled out for doing wrong, when it's apparently not always really wrong, it's not negative. I mean if I'm having trouble trying to comprehend how talking in class holds the same seriousness as harming a classmate, is a 8/9/10 year old going to do much better? I'm sort of stuck between giving it a couple of months and seeing what happens or approaching the principal with some of these reports and facts and asking them to reconsider this system altogether. Moving classrooms isn't an option as all teachers have this, so if I wanted to escalate it, it would be Principal or School Trustee.
It seems though I'm not the only upset parent. When the teacher gave me the note she mentioned how a bunch of parents have freaked out about the system. So perhaps after enough of us say something, they will look at this system and remove the public part of it. I actually have no issues with using goal setting to correct behaviour since it's far more positive and includes the child in fixing the problem. I just want that part where it's on the board in the front of the class gone.