At my child's school I found out that they make the kids do laps around the field when the kids in general are not behaving. They doc the kids minutes of recess because not everyone in the grade can stop talking when asked. Is this common? If not, who do I report this to? The principal is not at all approachable.

The year my kid was in K they had 200+ kids (2 grades) under the age of 7 and 2 adults for recess. Utter chaos - and lots of nurses trips.

Playing and being loud doesn’t bother me. The risk of injury and something happening does.

I don’t remember recess being so chaotic as a kid. There were more adults and we were absolutely terrified of the mean recess monitors/lunch ladies. I remember sitting in straight lines or against the wall terrified that I would be made an example of because my shoe wasn’t tied or I had a snarky look on my face. The 80s…

Anonymous wrote:Our school in west Bethesda has the mostly same 4 to 5 parents there most days and it works.

Why should just those 4 or 5 parents be there? Sad.

Our school in west Bethesda has the mostly same 4 to 5 parents there most days and it works.

My kid moved to MCPS last year and compared to their prior school, one of the first comments my kid said was that it was total chaos and that there was like 1 adult watching 100+ kids.

Is it ideal? No. Is it dangerous--I think no. Our school allows parent volunteers.

Have you ever seen Our Lady of L arrival time? They are chanting, singing and dancing as they welcome the student to school. Some may think they are "shouting." Yes maybe to a pop song at the top of their lil wee voices.

Your post does not sound too alarming. I am a teacher and cover recess duty. (Not MCPS). I would hope that the kids were yelling if they chose to because they should not be yelling outside. Students should not spread rumors. However, as teachers, we will not catch every little thing being said and kids will tell on every little thing. I tell the students “if it hurts your body or hurts your heart aka feelings, then tell an adult.” The adult will decide the best route to go after that (admin, time out, talking to, let it go, etc). I love recess because I get to see my students outside of academics. Love seeing their interest, how they handle conflicts, who they interact with, etc. Yes, kids get hurt but most of it is not on purpose and not preventable.

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't anyone remember their own elementary school experience? Recess has always been loud and chaotic! That's what it's for.

I would shut down the hateful rumor spreading, though.

Maybe there were fewer students in posters' recess back in the day? Loud but less

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't anyone remember their own elementary school experience? Recess has always been loud and chaotic! That's what it's for.

I would shut down the hateful rumor spreading, though.

What is hateful?
-DP

Doesn't anyone remember their own elementary school experience? Recess has always been loud and chaotic! That's what it's for.

I would shut down the hateful rumor spreading, though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My W-ES wants daily parent volunteers for lunch and recess. My thought: if this is a daily need then fund it and hire someone.

Our W-ES wants daily volunteers too. They would fund and hire if they could. But allocations are based on an MCPS formula. Schools need more paraeducators than they are allocated already, and pulling more paras out of classrooms to staff lunch/recess doesn't make sense. PTA funds cannot be used to fund student-facing positions, as is allowed in DCPS (for equity and safety reasons). Some MCPS principals don't allow lunch/recess volunteers (they think it's too much of a hassle to manage the program). I appreciate the principals who do allow them.

Any adult with a pulse is what they need, therefore....Paraeducators: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1185564.page

It's like Lord of the Flies

Anonymous wrote:My W-ES wants daily parent volunteers for lunch and recess. My thought: if this is a daily need then fund it and hire someone.

Our W-ES wants daily volunteers too. They would fund and hire if they could. But allocations are based on an MCPS formula. Schools need more paraeducators than they are allocated already, and pulling more paras out of classrooms to staff lunch/recess doesn't make sense. PTA funds cannot be used to fund student-facing positions, as is allowed in DCPS (for equity and safety reasons). Some MCPS principals don't allow lunch/recess volunteers (they think it's too much of a hassle to manage the program). I appreciate the principals who do allow them.

Anonymous wrote:I have worked as a teacher's aide covering both lunch and recess. At recess, this is the time to run and yell and scream. Get all your energy out!

At lunch, it's acceptable to be a bit louder than in the classroom, but not as loud as during recess. We would give a warning to lower the volume, and if they didn't, they had to eat the rest of their lunch in silence. Some aides would punish kids for giggling or making faces at other kids, but I let that slide because "kids will be kids."

Rumors about kids being sexual are inappropriate and if I were a teacher I'd be giving a Big Talk to my students about spreading rumors about other kids doing ANYTHING remotely sexual and how unacceptable that is.

+2 to all of this. I have volunteered at lunch and recess. 4th graders can sometimes be louder and more chaotic than 5th graders (less mature). Kids handle it in all the ways you listed, OP (Ignore it? Report to teacher? Laugh it off? Arguing or screaming back?). This is what non-structured time is for. To figure this out.

+1 to PP. If your school allows lunch/recess volunteers, sign up.

My W-ES wants daily parent volunteers for lunch and recess. My thought: if this is a daily need then fund it and hire someone.