Teachers, don't do this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't sit the class clown next to a quiet kid "as a punishment" - that child is not a punishment.
Don't make one kid the regular partner for a disruptive or incapable student - everyone should have to take a turn.
Don't punish the class for individual behavior.
Don't let one kid scream at or mistreat another in the name of "they have to learn to work together." No adult would have to tolerate that from a peer.

What you describe are know as “equity practices”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't sit the class clown next to a quiet kid "as a punishment" - that child is not a punishment.
Don't make one kid the regular partner for a disruptive or incapable student - everyone should have to take a turn.
Don't punish the class for individual behavior.
Don't let one kid scream at or mistreat another in the name of "they have to learn to work together." No adult would have to tolerate that from a peer.

What you describe are know as “equity practices”

No it isn’t. It is behavior management. Now for political purposes you would LOVE to call them equity practices, but you would be incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t one kid. These days it’s 1/4 of the class or more.

This is the problem. In my 5th period gen ed class of 30 high school students, I have 11 504s for adhd. All of them have the accommodation of "preferential seating near the point of instruction, away from distractions". I'd love for you to make my seating chart.

This. I had a class last year in which 1/3rd of my students had preferential seating away from distractions. It’s physically not possible.

I don’t know what “away from distractions” means. Assuming the teacher is lecturing or the students are completing work at their desks, what distractions? A bird at a window? How do you control for that?

[Anonymous]

It can mean away from the classroom door where you can hear noises from the hallway. It can mean away from other students who may be distracting (best friends who are very chatty). It’s not rocket science.

[Anonymous]

It’s not rocket science, but it is a classroom, not a circus. There’s no excuse for children to be talking while a teacher is lecturing or students are to be completing work quietly. The teacher should not allow best friends to be talking if that means another child has to get an accommodation to avoid them. That’s insane. The classroom door can also be closed, and people in the hallway should be as quiet as possible knowing that classes are in session.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids were always seated next to difficult kids. They got so tired of being used as a babysitter.

This + consistently overcrowded classrooms is how we ended up at private school despite moving to the “best” public school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you are saying: protect the class from the disruptive students.

Unfortunately we have very few tools to do that now. Parents don’t care if you call home, the administration tells us to stop sending kids to the office, and everyone gets promoted to the next grade no matter what. So unless the kid brings a weapon to school or something, nobody will give them any consequences.

I'm not asking you to protect the class from difficult students, I'm asking you not to use the other students as a shield between you and the difficult ones. You are the adult and a trained professional: don't dump this on the kids.

The disruptive kid can sit by himself. He can be partnered with someone different each day, or you can design your class so no one is partnered. He can lose, by himself, whatever privileges you were going to take from the whole class in your frustration. And you can fairly grade the kids who are trying, instead of retreating to group projects to avoid the issue.

Believe me, I understand your frustrations. I am the parent of a quiet little boy who shuts down when the room is too chaotic. He hates school.

But I have 34 students in my classroom designed for 25. We literally cannot move. There is no room to sit by themselves, or break apart groups of desks. They have to be grouped, because singleton desks take up so much more space and I literally do not have it.

I change seats every 6 weeks. That's the best I can do. I don't have time to make a new seating chart every single day. It takes me at least 30 minutes per class to accommodate every IEP and 504, figure out social drama of who will not be able to work with who, separate besties who will just get off task, etc. It isn't as though there is one chaotic child and 33 perfect angels. It's the old brain teaser with the fox and the rabbit and the lettuce crossing the river, and it feels like no matter what you do you mess it up and someone suffers.

Thank you!!!! Parents coming on this forum and explaining how to teach means nothing, because they know nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not rocket science, but it is a classroom, not a circus. There’s no excuse for children to be talking while a teacher is lecturing or students are to be completing work quietly. The teacher should not allow best friends to be talking if that means another child has to get an accommodation to avoid them. That’s insane. The classroom door can also be closed, and people in the hallway should be as quiet as possible knowing that classes are in session.

Since we can’t physically put tape over their mouths, and often times they won’t stop talking because of ADHD or they’re rude or disrespectful, how do you suggest we get them to stop talking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't sit the class clown next to a quiet kid "as a punishment" - that child is not a punishment.
Don't make one kid the regular partner for a disruptive or incapable student - everyone should have to take a turn.
Don't punish the class for individual behavior.
Don't let one kid scream at or mistreat another in the name of "they have to learn to work together." No adult would have to tolerate that from a peer.

What you describe are know as “equity practices”

No it isn’t. It is behavior management. Now for political purposes you would LOVE to call them equity practices, but you would be incorrect.

Nope.

Google and AI are your friends.

“Classroom equity in seating refers to intentionally arranging students’ seats in a way that ensures all students have equal access to learning opportunities and teacher interaction. These accommodations may include balancing the needs of certain students with the additional abilities of others. Effective seating arrangements can enhance participation for all, reduce feelings of marginalization, and promote a sense of belonging among all students. Equity seating arrangements prioritize individual student needs to create a fair and equitable learning environment, moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to provide equal access to learning and to balance educational outcomes.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not rocket science, but it is a classroom, not a circus. There’s no excuse for children to be talking while a teacher is lecturing or students are to be completing work quietly. The teacher should not allow best friends to be talking if that means another child has to get an accommodation to avoid them. That’s insane. The classroom door can also be closed, and people in the hallway should be as quiet as possible knowing that classes are in session.

Since we can’t physically put tape over their mouths, and often times they won’t stop talking because of ADHD or they’re rude or disrespectful, how do you suggest we get them to stop talking?

Then they don’t deserve to be in the classroom. Suspend or expel them, and let their parents figure out how to educate them since they can’t figure out how to stop talking in class. Nothing will change until the parents are inconvenienced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t one kid. These days it’s 1/4 of the class or more.

This is the problem. In my 5th period gen ed class of 30 high school students, I have 11 504s for adhd. All of them have the accommodation of "preferential seating near the point of instruction, away from distractions". I'd love for you to make my seating chart.

This. I had a class last year in which 1/3rd of my students had preferential seating away from distractions. It’s physically not possible.

I don’t know what “away from distractions” means. Assuming the teacher is lecturing or the students are completing work at their desks, what distractions? A bird at a window? How do you control for that?

So many distractions. If they have a desk with stuff in it, they’re inevitably cutting paper with scissors or playing with something, doodling. They turn and talk to the person next to them all the time, it doesn’t matter if the teacher is lecturing and it doesn’t matter if the teacher has strong expectations and consistent rules/consequences. They have something in their pocket and they’re playing with it. Some classes are better than others, but dynamics play heavily into it. There’s one class I work with this year (I’m not a classroom teacher but I work in ES) that has at least 6 kids with ADHD and it’s constant constant noise. Tapping, murmuring, humming. Even after physical brain breaks….it’s a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t one kid. These days it’s 1/4 of the class or more.

This is the problem. In my 5th period gen ed class of 30 high school students, I have 11 504s for adhd. All of them have the accommodation of "preferential seating near the point of instruction, away from distractions". I'd love for you to make my seating chart.

This. I had a class last year in which 1/3rd of my students had preferential seating away from distractions. It’s physically not possible.

I don’t know what “away from distractions” means. Assuming the teacher is lecturing or the students are completing work at their desks, what distractions? A bird at a window? How do you control for that?

So many distractions. If they have a desk with stuff in it, they’re inevitably cutting paper with scissors or playing with something, doodling. They turn and talk to the person next to them all the time, it doesn’t matter if the teacher is lecturing and it doesn’t matter if the teacher has strong expectations and consistent rules/consequences. They have something in their pocket and they’re playing with it. Some classes are better than others, but dynamics play heavily into it. There’s one class I work with this year (I’m not a classroom teacher but I work in ES) that has at least 6 kids with ADHD and it’s constant constant noise. Tapping, murmuring, humming. Even after physical brain breaks….it’s a lot.

When you say it doesn’t matter if the teacher has strong expectations and consistent rules, what DOES matter? I don’t know how a teacher is expected to teach 25 children if there isn’t a baseline expectation that children have the self-control to not play with items in their desk, their pockets, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids were always seated next to difficult kids. They got so tired of being used as a babysitter.

I had this happen as well, even at a private school. My parents paid extra for me to babysit disruptive kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't sit the class clown next to a quiet kid "as a punishment" - that child is not a punishment.
Don't make one kid the regular partner for a disruptive or incapable student - everyone should have to take a turn.
Don't punish the class for individual behavior.
Don't let one kid scream at or mistreat another in the name of "they have to learn to work together." No adult would have to tolerate that from a peer.

That part is patently false.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't sit the class clown next to a quiet kid "as a punishment" - that child is not a punishment.
Don't make one kid the regular partner for a disruptive or incapable student - everyone should have to take a turn.
Don't punish the class for individual behavior.
Don't let one kid scream at or mistreat another in the name of "they have to learn to work together." No adult would have to tolerate that from a peer.

What you describe are know as “equity practices”

No it isn’t. It is behavior management. Now for political purposes you would LOVE to call them equity practices, but you would be incorrect.

Nope.

Google and AI are your friends.

“Classroom equity in seating refers to intentionally arranging students’ seats in a way that ensures all students have equal access to learning opportunities and teacher interaction. These accommodations may include balancing the needs of certain students with the additional abilities of others. Effective seating arrangements can enhance participation for all, reduce feelings of marginalization, and promote a sense of belonging among all students. Equity seating arrangements prioritize individual student needs to create a fair and equitable learning environment, moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to provide equal access to learning and to balance educational outcomes.”

Nope. AI is wrong.