Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My son attended his 4th day of pre-k and was given a "1 1/2 hr time out" for pushing a little boy and not saying he was sorry. I know he needed disciplined, but I feel it was a little extreme. He came home with a rash on his bottom! I was afraid he would never want to go back. He is an only child and does not have much interaction with other kids. I know the teacher has to have control over the class, but come on....that's a long time for a 4 year old to sit. What is your opinion???
My son attended his 4th day of pre-k and was given a "1 1/2 hr time out" for pushing a little boy and not saying he was sorry. I know he needed disciplined, but I feel it was a little extreme. He came home with a rash on his bottom! I was afraid he would never want to go back. He is an only child and does not have much interaction with other kids. I know the teacher has to have control over the class, but come on....that's a long time for a 4 year old to sit. What is your opinion???
This is child abuse actually. Time-outs if used should only be for about 5 minutes. The recommended time is one minute per year of age.
Aside from this, a time-out is probably not the best response to pushing at this age anyway. Yes, he should be separated from the other child, but most kids this age don't really get sitting and thinking about what they did.
The teacher needs to give him alternate ways of handling situations where he is frustrated or angry. She also needs to teach him to recognize his feelings and figure out how he can react to them in an acceptable way.
My son has been in kindergarten for a week now. His teacher is very strict and regimimented (sp), which I knew beforehand and still decided to put him in that school (there is only one class). However, now he has come home and said that timeouts are spent marching in place while facing the wall! There was nothing in the information about this policy! It did say that the first timeout is 5 minutes and the second timeout is 10 minutes. Red flags are going off like crazy for me on this!
This person sounds like she has ZERO early childhood education. Like NONE.
" and said he liked marching (he jogged, he said). !
Thats cute. Some schools or teachers are just extreme like that. when my son was in kindergarden they got in trouble for everything. Talking to load, laughing, not finishing their work in time, not moving fast enough. My son has no sibblings and never went to organized day care so it was all new to him. When I finally told his teacher she said " oh ok, that explains why he have a hard time adjsting ".
Wow, I didn't realize they used time outs in public school.
In some schools they even beat the kids. In my sons schools kids were were beat as form of punishment. This was in a school in Northern Mississippi in 2011!
I'm the OP--wow, this thread is old! So, no need to comment on the original post--focus on #51, who revived it with her own similar issue.
However, since it is up again, perhaps you would all like an update--four years later.
I almost pulled him out numerous times and homeschooled him. I wish I did. That teacher really screwed him up. Really. The year just got worse and worse--I could write pages. But I kept holding on to that line of thinking that the teacher must be okay a little--and I didn't want to over react. So to Honey1961, trust your instinct. Give it a little more time, but ask a lot of questions--of the teacher, of other parents, of the PTA, of the administration. I tried desperately to do something toward the end, but the administration didn't want to hear it.
We moved across the state the summer after his kindergarten year. His first grade teacher was fabulous and was instrumental in helping him get back on track. My son who always loved learning, who was so incredibly smart, kind, and considerate, now hated school, kept acting up, wasn't up to his grade level for reading, etc., etc., etc. The teacher and the entire school went out of their way to help him. He was reading at a fifth grade level by the end of 1st grade, followed the rules, and overall mostly enjoyed school.
p.s. The kindergarten teacher FINALLY retired!
However, it doesn't end there. His printing ability was directly affected by his kindgarten teacher, which then created issues for writing. He still has some distaste for school that was never there before. He is now in 4th grade and I homeschool him. He loves it, and I love that I can ensure an overall better education. It was my gut reaction from the very beginning, I just wished I listened to it.
I wish I read my own story before my son started kindgarten. I always assumed that at age five or six you send your child off to school and that was that. I never thought about not only not having a good teacher, but having one that would be so detrimental to my child. I've said two times already, but I will say it again: trust your instinct. Don't jump the gun or be overly defensive about your child, but don't think that school officials know what is best for your child--only you truly know. It is your right and your responsibility, not the schools.
My son has been in kindergarten for a week now. His teacher is very strict and regimimented (sp), which I knew beforehand and still decided to put him in that school (there is only one class). However, now he has come home and said that timeouts are spent marching in place while facing the wall! There was nothing in the information about this policy! It did say that the first timeout is 5 minutes and the second timeout is 10 minutes. Red flags are going off like crazy for me on this!
On the otherhand, he likes school. He had a 10 minute timeout today for "being noisy" and said he liked marching (he jogged, he said). I don't want to switch schools because he has two friends in his class and we move soooo much, so I want to keep the switching of schools at a minumum.
Any thoughts on this? Am I over re-acting? I also know that this teacher doesn't like a lot of "parent interference," so I don't know if I should even bring this up. But it does make me mad. Yet, my son could use a strict schedule.
Ugh!!! Parenting is so hard, now add in teachers!
I would confirm with the teacher that this is true. Always, always follow the adage, "I won't believe everything your child says about you if you don't believe everything he says about me!" and that goes both ways.
Also, while I think the punishment is silly (if it happened), it is the teacher's classroom and her domain. It is not abusive or negligent. We don't need to agree with everything a teacher does in his classroom. If your child likes school then that should be a big sign for you too.
My son has been in kindergarten for a week now. His teacher is very strict and regimimented (sp), which I knew beforehand and still decided to put him in that school (there is only one class). However, now he has come home and said that timeouts are spent marching in place while facing the wall! There was nothing in the information about this policy! It did say that the first timeout is 5 minutes and the second timeout is 10 minutes. Red flags are going off like crazy for me on this!
On the otherhand, he likes school. He had a 10 minute timeout today for "being noisy" and said he liked marching (he jogged, he said). I don't want to switch schools because he has two friends in his class and we move soooo much, so I want to keep the switching of schools at a minumum.
Any thoughts on this? Am I over re-acting? I also know that this teacher doesn't like a lot of "parent interference," so I don't know if I should even bring this up. But it does make me mad. Yet, my son could use a strict schedule.
Ugh!!! Parenting is so hard, now add in teachers!
The time out is standard especially at this age, they are no longer "toddlers" yet they are not "big kids" yet and beginning their first taste of "formal education"
Kinder is hard, I commend educators whom choose this age to teach being that the class is so diverse as far as behaviors. I.E. there are children that have been in early ed since they were able to walk and have been exposed to proper behavior in the classroom ( There is a time to play and then a time to sit and listen) while other children have had no type of exposure to this and really do know what is expected of them.
The time-out does have me worried what worries me is the time limit. STANDARD best practices that every early educator knows or should know is ONE minute for each year . So a five year old would have a five minute time out this I feel should be enough time for the child to gather their bearings and be ready to participate.
As far as the marching in place and facing the wall? I actually think this innovative and smart and I will tell you why.
Every child has a different learning style and process information differently, some children have a hard time sitting for long periods of time and or a short attention span as well as the usual shenanigans, i.e. excessive talking, goofing off in their chair and so forth.
These children need discipline but instead of moving them to sit in a chair and face the wall the teacher realizes that maybe these children need to move a little and get it out of their "system"
SO BY having them march allows them the movement and facing the wall is used in not being distracted as to why they are there and allows them to self regulate.
You stated that your son stated he liked it? This indicates that he may need the time to move.You have stated that he is happy and likes school?
Perhaps it would be a good idea to bring this up with his teacher during parent conference? This is a perfect time imo since it is a neutral environment where the teacher focuses on the progress of your child and you can bring this up.
Good luck
Again, this is an old thread--my son is now in 4th grade. However, Honey1961 revived it with her own, similar concerns in post #51, which is as follows:
Quote:
Originally Posted by honey1961
My son attended his 4th day of pre-k and was given a "1 1/2 hr time out" for pushing a little boy and not saying he was sorry. I know he needed disciplined, but I feel it was a little extreme. He came home with a rash on his bottom! I was afraid he would never want to go back. He is an only child and does not have much interaction with other kids. I know the teacher has to have control over the class, but come on....that's a long time for a 4 year old to sit. What is your opinion???
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
