Yelling in school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter says she doesn’t want to return to her in-bounds school this coming school year because “all the teachers yell.” Truth be told, I have noticed this myself but have never directly discussed it with her before. I appreciate the difficulty teachers must have with managing ES kids, but it does seem like the default for many is yelling: in the classroom, in the hallways, at recess, at pick-up.

Why is this? Is it the default at other elementary schools? (Ours is Ludlow). I’m not trying to disparage LT - it has a lot of good points, too - but I’m interested in others’ experiences. Thanks.

Have you ever tried quietly saying something to large groups of active kids? How did that work for you? How did you get —and hold—the attention of the kids?

FWIW, I’ve spent many years working in elementary and middle schools. I have a very soft voice. I have had some feedback from kids that my very soft voice can, at times, be confusing/intimidating for them. It takes a lot of experience to quietly interact with large groups of kids.

I guess the question is is the teacher loudly talking and the noise a problem (a valid concern especially for young kids with sensory disorders but not necessarily a think every school with huge classes and bad acoustics can control) or are they telling specifically at students.

Because the second is definitely not normal and if teachers are often yelling at students directly (not just loudly talking for attention) then yes that's a problem.

I completely agree. I took “all the teachers yell” to mean teachers using loud teacher-voices to be clearly heard above the noise of a playground, a cafeteria, or an exuberant class of kids — not teachers yelling directly or even punitively AT the students.

Even if the kid is saying the teachers yell *at* kids, I'd follow up. My kid will say that her teacher "yelled at" a classmate over misbehavior, but I've chaperoned field trips and been in the classroom and seen this "yelling." It's not yelling. The teachers will scold a student for obvious misbehavior and the kids are sensitive to it because they like their teacher and really dislike receiving her disapproval. So it looks/feels like "yelling" to them. It's actually reflective of how much the look up to their teachers that being scolded or spoken to sharply can have such a strong impact on them.

A teacher who truly yells all the time, the kids will learn to ignore it entirely. If I noticed that a teacher was yelling and the kids were acting like ti was totally normal and not reacting at all, that would make me worry.

If it's "yelling" to the kid, it's yelling to the kid. And often it's not directed at the kid -- kids can be bothered with other kids are being yelled at too. OP's concern is her own kid's perception of the learning environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Student behaviors and student respect for any adults in buildings are both horrific. The kids are out of control, do not care, and make it known. I’m surprised more teachers aren’t yelling. Raise better children, teach them respect, teach them to follow directions, follow rules… etc.

Where is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a pre-k teacher I totally understand it’s hard to get kids to quiet down sometimes. But it erodes relationships, one day I was just so upset I raised my voice and the kids all told me ‘Ms. X take a deep breath, you’re a little angry.’ I felt so guilty and apologized. I’m just glad they remembered all the breathing strategies I taught them for when they are upset.
I don’t think we should be chronically yelling at kids. It does impact them. You should tell your child to ask them to stop yelling and talk to the teacher if it continues.

As adults we do not like being yelled at, neither do kids. Is this normal at other schools? Well some, I have worked in 5 different ones and yelling happened in 3/5.

There is no excuse but unfortunately DC does not think it’s important to teach teachers how to manage stress like police, firefighters, etc. You may not think it’s necessary but just the other day I had a 5 year old slap me in the face. I mean it’s not as bad as HS by any means but the emotions of twenty+ 4-5 year olds can be a lot, plus parents, and paperwork.

I am very sorry that happened to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter says she doesn’t want to return to her in-bounds school this coming school year because “all the teachers yell.” Truth be told, I have noticed this myself but have never directly discussed it with her before. I appreciate the difficulty teachers must have with managing ES kids, but it does seem like the default for many is yelling: in the classroom, in the hallways, at recess, at pick-up.

Why is this? Is it the default at other elementary schools? (Ours is Ludlow). I’m not trying to disparage LT - it has a lot of good points, too - but I’m interested in others’ experiences. Thanks.

Have you ever tried quietly saying something to large groups of active kids? How did that work for you? How did you get —and hold—the attention of the kids?

FWIW, I’ve spent many years working in elementary and middle schools. I have a very soft voice. I have had some feedback from kids that my very soft voice can, at times, be confusing/intimidating for them. It takes a lot of experience to quietly interact with large groups of kids.

I guess the question is is the teacher loudly talking and the noise a problem (a valid concern especially for young kids with sensory disorders but not necessarily a think every school with huge classes and bad acoustics can control) or are they telling specifically at students.

Because the second is definitely not normal and if teachers are often yelling at students directly (not just loudly talking for attention) then yes that's a problem.

I completely agree. I took “all the teachers yell” to mean teachers using loud teacher-voices to be clearly heard above the noise of a playground, a cafeteria, or an exuberant class of kids — not teachers yelling directly or even punitively AT the students.

Even if the kid is saying the teachers yell *at* kids, I'd follow up. My kid will say that her teacher "yelled at" a classmate over misbehavior, but I've chaperoned field trips and been in the classroom and seen this "yelling." It's not yelling. The teachers will scold a student for obvious misbehavior and the kids are sensitive to it because they like their teacher and really dislike receiving her disapproval. So it looks/feels like "yelling" to them. It's actually reflective of how much the look up to their teachers that being scolded or spoken to sharply can have such a strong impact on them.

A teacher who truly yells all the time, the kids will learn to ignore it entirely. If I noticed that a teacher was yelling and the kids were acting like ti was totally normal and not reacting at all, that would make me worry.

If it's "yelling" to the kid, it's yelling to the kid. And often it's not directed at the kid -- kids can be bothered with other kids are being yelled at too. OP's concern is her own kid's perception of the learning environment.

Sure, but if the issue is that the kid is upset by teachers yelling on the playground to be heard (as opposed to teachers yelling in a classroom in anger), my response is different.

If teachers are yelling at kids in the classroom, I'd want my kid removed from the classroom. That's abusive. If the teachers are yelling on the playground at recess to keep kids safe or to wrangle kids who otherwise can't hear, then I would talk toy kid about how to handle this normal, non-abusive, and somewhat inevitable occurrence. You aren't going to find a school where no one ever raises their voice. At least not a public school.

[Anonymous]

My kid complained of yelling at two rivers young in ECE aftercare and I witnessed it myself. Some parents cared and some shrugged it off. I do think there is an element of cultural bias. Biased or not, we lotteried out of there as soon as we could.