Teacher Rant!!!

[selzer]

She has discussed the issue with the teacher. And because the child knows the candy was there, she went and got it, even though the teacher did know of the situation, not once but twice.

When you send your child off to school, you are not right there to ensure that your 5-6 year old acts 100% appropriately every moment. What can you do? After you get feedback from the teacher, you can put the fear of God into them, by whatever means, but for some kids even that isn't going to work. And moreso if that feedback was not timely.

I just think that candy is a poor choice for a motivator, for the reasons I listed before. It is funny, but getting a red star, drawn on our paper for a job well done, was very effective when we were in school.

With all the hype about childhood obesity, why would teachers want to give out food-rewards anyway?

If you train up kids to require high-value (sugar) rewards for mediocre behavior or learning, then that is what they will expect all the time.

[sit,stay]

Originally Posted by selzer

If you train up kids to require high-value (sugar) rewards for mediocre behavior or learning, then that is what they will expect all the time.

How do you know it is "mediocre behavior or learning"? Are you there, every day? All day? Do you have access to the information that describes what the learning goal is for the class in general or individual students in particular? What looks mediocre to you might actually be something that a student has worked very hard to achieve.

To be honest, I would be more concerned that your niece ignores direction and does what she wants in class and less about what kind of reward the classroom teacher hands out.

With younger children, you have to be able to reward them in the moment. They don't have the focus or ability to connect behavior to some reward handed out days or weeks later. Such as grades that might be handed out at the end of the week or the semester. Candy is very effective.

However, if your niece's parents have requested that their daughter not receive candy, and if she is just taking it without permission and the classroom teacher is not willing to move it to a location that your niece can't access on her own, then they need to take it to the principal. I assume that if it is important enough to complain about it to family, it would be important enough to follow through on.
Sheilah

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by harmony

I have seen disruptive behavior in a work place and the bad are let go, demoted or so on, I have worked all kinds of jobs and never got in trouble for anothers ignorance.

Have you ever been in charge of other people? If so, then you would be responsible for their ignorance and mistakes.

[selzer]

Originally Posted by sit,stay

How do you know it is "mediocre behavior or learning"? Are you there, every day? All day? Do you have access to the information that describes what the learning goal is for the class in general or individual students in particular? What looks mediocre to you might actually be something that a student has worked very hard to achieve.

To be honest, I would be more concerned that your niece ignores direction and does what she wants in class and less about what kind of reward the classroom teacher hands out.

With younger children, you have to be able to reward them in the moment. They don't have the focus or ability to connect behavior to some reward handed out days or weeks later. Such as grades that might be handed out at the end of the week or the semester. Candy is very effective.

However, if your niece's parents have requested that their daughter not receive candy, and if she is just taking it without permission and the classroom teacher is not willing to move it to a location that your niece can't access on her own, then they need to take it to the principal. I assume that if it is important enough to complain about it to family, it would be important enough to follow through on.
Sheilah

When exactly did I say that my niece ignores directions and does what she wants in class?

I know about her sugar issues, as I am with her all day at least once a week and often more. I brought this up because people are saying that teachers are giving out candy as rewards. And I think that really doesn't make sense, and I wish they would not. Of course teachers complain about kids all the time if they are sugaring them up.

The parent, teacher, and principle are involved. Don't worry. There is complaining to family, and there is discussing issues and what to do about them. I think that perhaps is part of the function of the extended family.

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by selzer

My niece is in first grade. She weighs about 35 pounds. And she has a sugar problem. Sugar bounces her off the walls. And just a little piece of candy will do it for her because she has little mass to spread it out over, kind of like some small people need less alcohol to be effected by it.

Furthermore, she WANTS candy. If she thinks CANDY is involved, she will lose her mind trying to get it. She will try and get it in ways that are not acceptable.

Why teachers would use candy to get kids to do what they want them to do is really a mystery to me. I know it is about as cheap as you can get, but I know my niece is not the only kid that has candy issues.

To be a good teacher, you need to motivate kids, and candy is something I think should not even be allowed as a motivator. Some kids medically can't have it, some kids behaviorally shouldn't have it, it really doesn't do anything positive for the body, and plenty of negative.

I don't remember regular school teachers ever dishing out candy. Oh on valentines day kids passed around candy, and sometimes for kids' birthdays, the parents brought in cupcakes or candy or something. But our teachers did not bribe us with candy.

If your niece can't have sugar just tell the teacher. These days every other kid is allergic to something or their parents are vegans or insist on gluten free, yadda yadda. My example of giving a piece of candy as a reward was just something I made up (as an example of giving kids a reward they weren't expecting, not taking away something they already have like recess time). I don't know any teachers that "dish out candy". My husband has a huge jar in his room and each time the kids do something good or go above an beyond to help or be well behaved or do something nice for someone else, he puts a marble in the jar. If the jar gets FULL (which takes a LONG time) they get a reward which involves doing something fun.

[selzer]

Originally Posted by Liesje

If your niece can't have sugar just tell the teacher. These days every other kid is allergic to something or their parents are vegans or insist on gluten free, yadda yadda. My example of giving a piece of candy as a reward was just something I made up (as an example of giving kids a reward they weren't expecting, not taking away something they already have like recess time). I don't know any teachers that "dish out candy". My husband has a huge jar in his room and each time the kids do something good or go above an beyond to help or be well behaved or do something nice for someone else, he puts a marble in the jar. If the jar gets FULL (which takes a LONG time) they get a reward which involves doing something fun.

Now that sounds awesome.

My sister did tell the teacher, unfortunately, even though the teacher was aware of it, her daughter managed to relieve the teacher of candy on a couple of occasions.

[harmony]

shoot my child (from what the doctors said) was going to have a kidney transplant as a kindergarten because a first year teacher would not let her use the bathroom (by the age 18)! And my daughter is diabetic too, so why not give a sticker then candy it last longer and it will not harm a child!! I had my round with teachers and I would have a better convo with my dog then most of them . Even though this was one good teacher that cared if any child fell behind and called us parents in to help (glad to), but now it does not seem to be like that any more .

[harmony]

Originally Posted by Liesje

Have you ever been in charge of other people? If so, then you would be responsible for their ignorance and mistakes.

Yes I have, and the bad where always let go

[Liesje]

So if anyone makes a mistake or doesn't behave the way you expect you just let them go? No one ever considers that they need a different approach in training, or aren't given the right resources to do their job, or might do better in a slightly different position/different responsibilities that play to their strengths? When you are a teacher you cannot just "let go" of the kids behaving badly, you have to deal with it, figure out *why* it's happening and how you can address it with the tools you have available. If I just fired my student workers for being "bad" I'd have lost a lot of our best workers.

[Whiteshepherds]

You couldn't pay me enough to be a teacher. They have to teach, console, babysit, discipline, counsel. They deal with kids from broken homes, spoiled kids, poor kids, rich kids, kids on drugs, kids that are abused, kids that abuse others....It's a wonder they have any time to teach! I know there are some lousy teachers but the good ones deserve a lot more credit than they get.