So to start off, my son (he is 8 years old/second grade) is an exceptional student and child over all. He is very polite, smart and dedicated to his education. He is in chess club, robotics and does sports also. He is a little anxious and can be shy… Just to give you an idea of my son.
Here’s the dilemma:
He has math class before recess. The students in said math class have been misbehaving and not paying attention during class. Because of this, their teacher has been taking away their recess as punishment. She doesn’t single out the kids that are misbehaving but instead punishes the whole class. He is still doing his work, keeping his head low, and he has a 95 in that class. I messaged the teacher and asked her if there is anything my son can do to make sure he gets to still have recess as this is a very important part of his day. She said “no, if my lesson is being interrupted, recess will continue to be cancelled until I can get thru my lesson”. I was at a loss here because on one hand, I totally understand where she’s coming from as I have gone on field trips with his class and I can see what a handful about 4-5 of the students in his class are. On the other hand, my son needs his time to unwind to be able to focus on his other classes. It’s gotten to the point where he is crying every day before school from anxiety about his recess being cancelled and every day for the past week, it’s been cancelled. It’s affecting our mornings a lot because my sons used to get right up to go to school and now he cries and drags his feet to leave.
I don’t know what to do… I want to escalate the situation but my sons dad said I am over exaggerating. I looked up the laws about recess where we live (Texas) and it says schools 6th grade and under require recess time of at least 30 mins per day and it can’t be taken away from them as punishment… would it be bad to escalate this to the principal or counselor of school? I don’t want the teacher to think I’m overstepping on her lesson…. Should I maybe approach her again in a different more assertive manner? I know teachers have a hard enough job and are underpaid but I also know my son deserves to be heard… aita for wanting to escalate the situation?
NTA
Even if the lack of recess wasn’t causing your child anxiety, the teacher is breaking the law by using this as a punishment.
This is not how you teach kids how to behave. She’s causing more harm than not here with her methods.
NTA. I would personally speak with the principal. I understand it’s not fair for her to be disrupted, but it’s also not fair for your 8 year old son to be continually punished. Her redirection and punishment strategy, as well, is CLEARLY not working so something else needs to be tried because this just isn’t it.
NTA… the teacher is engaging in collective punishment, so only a few misbehaving kids are messing things up for everyone. Plus, assuming that law you found is legit, the teacher is literally breaking the law.
NTA, she is definitely just annoyed at being interrupted by rowdy kids, but that is what she is also signing up for. She should not be just taking away recess for the whole class. That’s just cruel.
You are going to have to escalate this.
NTA. She’s punishing several students that aren’t doing anything wrong. Report her
NTA. If that’s what Texas State Law is, then the teacher is violating it and she should be told, by her administration, that she cannot use recess as a disciplinary tool. What’s more, young children absolutely need exercise; I’d bet that the four or five kids who you describe as a “*handful*” would be better behaved if they burned off some of that excess energy during a recess that took place before math class — too bad that it doesn’t.
Denying recess is ..
Unfair.
Illegal.
Demonstrably bad for learning based on current research.
Clear NTA.
NTA…You’ve voiced your concerns to the teacher first, and they have been dismissed. It’s time to go up the chain of command with your concerns.
As a teacher, punishing the ENTIRE class for the actions of some is the mark of a shitty teacher who’s lost control of the class. Plus kids absolutely need recess, they need time to get their energy out and socialize without an adult breathing over them. If I were the teacher who had them after recess I’d be fucking pissed that I’m getting a bunch of kids who haven’t had the proper time to expell some of their pent up energy at recess. Absolutely report this, it’s not okay. NTA.
NTA
FFS – if the teacher wants second graders to sit still – they need to go run around. She would be better served doing recess THEN math.
I’d email the teacher and CC the vice principal and structure it in sandwich form. (Good, bad, good)
You appreciate her efforts and your son enjoys being in her class.
That you’ve raised concerns about taking recess away from second graders and was she aware that removing recess as a punishment was not allowed under state law
And you know second graders can be rowdy and you value her skills with a bunch of 7-8 year olds every day.
NTA This isn’t an acceptable form of punishment from the teacher. You do need to go to the principal.
Texas law requires at least 30 minutes of physical exercise. This can be gym class or recess. A Senate bill addresses no withholding recess as punishment.
You need to be your son’s advocate when necessary. I tried to always let my boys handle problems on their own, but sometimes it’s a problem only an adult can handle.
The teacher needs to find another way to correct the misbehaving students.
NTA- I’m a teacher, though not in Texas, and she is absolutely breaking the law. Reporting it won’t get her fired, or in any real trouble, but her admin will make sure she stops doing this. I would do it anonymously though, because I have seen teachers get mad at parents and start passive aggressively taking it out on the kid. If after you report it, it doesn’t change, go above the principal’s head to the central office.
NTA the law LITERALLY says it can’t be taken away as punishment, this should have been escalated the first time it happened. It’s not just your son that she’s mistreating, it’s all the students in her class, *including* the ones who are misbehaving. Group punishment doesn’t work, it’s just cruelty, this teacher needs to find another way to handle this issue.
NTA.
At this age, I feel collective punishment is an admission of laziness on the teacher’s part. She’s basically saying “I can’t be bothered to deal with the kids causing the disruption and I’m going to count on their 8 year old peers to do my job for me.” The unspoken thing here (edit: sounds like it’s actually been outright spoken) is that the teacher is hoping that the other kids will start shaming them for losing recess for everyone and that will get them to change their behavior.
If your son’s teacher can’t get these kids to stay on task, why would your son, who is 8 and not a licensed teacher, be any better at it?
Teachers aren’t infallible and some pedagogical practices need to be left in the past.