SO... last Friday Makenzie came home pretty upset over this teacher-who she says, "looks like shes nice but she's really just mean". The story went like this,
The kids who had just came in from recess were lined up in against the hall "I'm picturing a firing squad" while the teacher who was escorting them back to class took a potty break... some of the children in the hall were noisy and talking and upon this teachers return she announced they would be walking laps around the playground at Monday's recess instead of playing and if they talked again it would be Tuesday as well. No warning, no trying to find out who was at fault... hmmmm nope, this didn't go well for me, not at all. Why? Well, a couple of reasons. One, they are 8 and 9 year old kids and were coming in from recess, and why was the teacher choosing this time to stop for a potty break? This leaves my big complaint... the teacher was gone, there were two classrooms worth, so like 50 kids in the hall, how did she know who was causing the problems and who was following the rules? SOOOOO I went into "mom mode" and I did what I thought was fair... I sent out an email voicing my opinions and thoughts. I sent this email to the teacher who did this, Makenzies classroom teacher, the guidance councilor and the assistant principal. The emailed letter was as follows;
To whom it may concern;
My name is Dana Roig and I am the mother of Makenzie Roig who is in Ms Rufty's class. Today Makenzie came home and told me that today when her class and Ms Preston's class lined up in the hallway. There were children talking. Ms. Preston had left the kids in the hallway to go to the restroom and came back to the kids telling them they were going to be doing laps on Monday and possibly Tuesday if they talked again on Monday. She said they were not given a warning nor did the teacher try to find out who was causing the problem. I find this unacceptable. It is wrong to punish whole groups of people for the acts of a few. Further, making children walk laps around the play ground taking away their recess is not right. Parents should be informed if their children are going to be subjected to punishments of this kind. Is it not enough that children are threatened with silent lunch all the time? Now they have to worry about a teacher who seems to be taking her bad day or frustrations over the problems a few children are causing on whole classes of students who were not disobeying the rules? There has to be a better way of dealing with our children then threats and taking away the little bit of fresh air they get everyday at school. Perhaps one teacher escorting two classes in from recess is not enough supervision.
I do not want my child to participate in this lap walking punishment, I do not believe she was talking in the hallway, nor do I believe that Ms Preston saw her breaking the rules. Therefore, I do not think she should be punished if there was no rules broken.
Thank you for your time,
Dana Roig
Well, today I had not heard back from anyone and nearly forgot about the issue. Until dinner tonight. We asked Makenzie if she had to walk laps today. She kinda smiled and said "no.. When I was in the hallway, Mrs Preston told Mrs Rufty that "apparently we are not walking laps cause of the email" Ms Rufty I guess then told the class that they would instead be having a class meeting about how to do things better and that after school She and Mrs Preston, the counselor and Principal were going to meet to talk about things... I felt very good about deciding to write my email... Then a few min ago I checked my email and had this response that was also sent to the principal, councilor and other teacher involved...
Mrs. Roig,
Ms. Preston and I have discussed the situation from Friday and have both agreed to hold a "class meeting" to discuss the issue of talking in the hallway. We will brainstorm with the students alternative solutions and consequences. We appreciate your concern and we are addressing the issue of recess coverage. My class we will be escorted to recess and back to the mobile by an assistant.
Thank you,
Mrs. Rufty
I feel a little victorious in this. Sometimes standing up for the girls and rocking the boat just a little does make a difference.
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