does this seem like an appropriate punishment for kindergarteners?

[ICF]

Big deal....kids still get exercise and are moving during recess.

It's not like they could paddle kids anymore....or likely even sit little Johnny and Susie in a corner without a lawsuit being filed.

 

[Sabeking]

I've seen this before.
Making a child stay in from recess used to be common, but now we know kids need to be kept moving, making a child sit inside during recess will only make them more likely to misbehave because they're antsy.
Walking during recess is meant to "take away" recess (can't play on the swing set, can't play with their friends) but still gets them the physical activity they need.
I don't see the problem with it. Child is allowed to get all their energy out, but by being prevented from talking to friends and playing as normal, they understand there are consequences to their behavior.
I wouldn't try to take this away. Teachers are very limited in what they can even do anymore to have control over their classroom. This isn't that bad.

I agree completely!

 

[mom2rtk]

A few thought from someone that has taught 5 year olds:

First, remember that your child is 5. It would be pretty unusual for a kindergarten teacher to discipline all the children but one. Your child COULD have been the only one not involved, but I would not be so sure.

I'm not a fan of group punishment. If every child truly was outing out, the teacher has a problem with control.

Walking is a fairly common practice for discipline, but using it for kindergarten is less effective, they need to run wild for a bit at recess whenever possible. Yes, they are getting exercise, but not really releasing built up energy.

20 minutes is too long for 5 year olds. Five minutes is long enough.

It is always appropriate to question the discipline methods of anyone that cares for your child. Ask respectfuly and state your concerns and listen to what she is saying.

to all of that, especially the bolded. It was the first thing that jumped out at me.

 

[dimimi]

Not appropriate. Is this teacher so unprofessional she already has no control of the class?


I would absolutely be double-checking this with the teacher.

I would also be checking on this. First with the teacher and then the principal. It is only the first few weeks of school, recess is also for socialization.

 

[Poohforyou]

I'd have a friendly conversation with the teacher before forming an opinion. Children, especially young ones, don't always have the story straight.

 

[Art 1]

My daughter has told me several times that her class has to walk laps during recess for bad behavior. Sometimes it's the whole class, sometimes it is just the boys, one time it was every student but my daughter. This just does not seem right. It seems like a bad idea to make walking a punishment, sends the wrong message about exercise I think. It also seems wrong to take recess away from 5 year olds, they only get 20minutes/day to begin with. Just wanted to see what others think, I am thinking of having a conversation with the teacher.

It's actually probably not severe enough of a punishment. It's a joke really.

 

[Mkrop]

I would be more concerned as to WHY they are getting in toruble so often vs this particular punishment. Coaches make kids run laps all the time as punishment, so I dont think it deters them from exercise.

 

[Kimberlyann11]

Our band director isn't allowed to use laps or pushups anymore for the high school kids. They use public humiliation instead. Because that's soooo much better.

 

[htmom]

Lol. I remember when my kindergarten kid told me that everyday he got "yelled" at during recess. I wondered what was going on and asked. Turns out when the whistles blew at the end of recess the aide would yell out "OK all, time to line up!".

So I am a huge proponent of just asking the teacher. Plus walking during recess for a bit helps release energy way better than standing along the school or staying in a classroom.

 

[lorimay]

My grandsons kindergarten teacher made them walk the track everyday last year. It wasn't a punishment at all she walked with them. I though it was great to get them out and moving.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

OP have you had open school night/curriculum conference or whatever it's called now, yet? My kids are 21 and 16, but back when they were in elementary school on open school night, usually the second week of school, the parent got to sit in the classroom and meet the teacher. We learned what the curriculum would be for the year and what the teachers methods were. And there was always time to ask questions which would be pertinent to the group (as opposed to questions about ones own child).
My kids usually had discipline by writing-ugh, I hated that. They would ether get more homework, or have to write something, lines, paragraphs, apology letter, etc. My kids were shy, and feared being called out, so we rarely saw discipline homework, but no child is an angel at all times and eventually they got paragraphs too.
I hated that it took the whole afternoon away from them, they hated that I now knew they misbehaved and I would also punish them- taking away evening snack, tv time, video game time, etc.
OP hopefully you can get some true explanation of what the teachers methods and thought process is soon.

 

[drinkme]

Man times have changed. When I was a kid, if I acted up and my punishment was to walk a couple laps, I would have gotten on my hands and knees and Thanked God.

I don't mean to be rude OP, but this not something worth complaining about. And if I was a teacher and a parent came to tell me to stop doing this, I would end the conversation right there and refer her to the principal.

I agree. I went to school with nuns, but some of my punishments were:
- not allowed to go to the bathroom (yes, I was the kid that peed all over the floor)
- kneeling on rocks
- praying to God that I won't go to hell because I got Sister mad
- hit with a ruler
I was one of the good kids. When I look back I feel so sorry for those boys who probably had ADHD but they didn't call it that back then. Those were the boys that got the crap beat out of them by the nuns.

 

[Art 1]

I agree. I went to school with nuns, but some of my punishments were:
- not allowed to go to the bathroom (yes, I was the kid that peed all over the floor)
- kneeling on rocks
- praying to God that I won't go to hell because I got Sister mad
- hit with a ruler
I was one of the good kids. When I look back I feel so sorry for those boys who probably had ADHD but they didn't call it that back then. Those were the boys that got the crap beat out of them by the nuns.

About your last statement. Either way they learned to sit down and be quiet, and most did learn and graduate. Mommy wasn't there to coddle them and make sure things were special for just them.

 

[Colleen27]

I much prefer this over the tactic that our public schools use - taking away recess altogether. Kids who are being punished have to sit quietly and read or work on homework at a table while the rest of the grade plays. Talk about a counter-productive way to deal with kids, especially those whose infraction was fidgeting, getting out of their seats, chatting, etc.!

I agree with the other posters about not getting the whole story from a 5yo. They don't have a great sense of time at that age and what your son is describing as "all of recess" might be a very reasonable 3-5min punishment. I'd have a friendly chat with the teacher about her discipline methods, just to sort 5yo story telling from truth.

 

[Colleen27]

About your last statement. Either way they learned to sit down and be quiet, and most did learn and graduate. Mommy wasn't there to coddle them and make sure things were special for just them.

Or they dropped out and learned to hate both religion and school. Two of my male relatives were among those kids. One is dyslexic, but they didn't diagnose such things back then and the nuns treated his inability to do certain things as a discipline issue. He left school after 8th grade and is very nearly illiterate, and he didn't set foot in a church for 40+ years until his granddaughter's baptism. Another was left handed and got the whack with a ruler method until he learned to write "properly" (right handed). He too dropped out while in middle school, though for his generation that wasn't as much of a handicap and he went on to a solid union manufacturing career.

I'm pretty sure there's middle ground between not punishing kids at all and trying to beat them all into fitting a pre-determined mold.

ETA: I think in these discussions we tend to forget the human tendency of emotions to shade memories over time. My DH is a great example. To hear him talk, when he was 13 or 16 (the ages of our two oldest), he was a polite and respectful young man who didn't talk back and never got in trouble. Which is interesting, because I know about the times in high school when the police brought him home drunk from parties (back when police turned you over to your Dad rather than locking you up over such things). I know he skated through high school as a C/D student on his natural ability, doing no homework and barely hanging on to his athletic eligibility, and I know that he pretty much hated both his natural father and his stepfather through most of his teen years and let them both know it. But whenever one of our kids crosses a line his initial response is "I'd never have done that, and if I did I'd have gotten a beating! We're too soft on these kids. That's why kids these days have no respect for anyone."

 

[CPT Tripss]

Listen to the pros . . .

Physical activity and punishment. Teachers and other school and community personnel shall not use physical activity or exercise (e.g., running laps and doing pushups) or withhold opportunities for physical activity (e.g., recess and physical education) as punishment.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

My daughter has told me several times that her class has to walk laps during recess for bad behavior. Sometimes it's the whole class, sometimes it is just the boys, one time it was every student but my daughter. This just does not seem right. It seems like a bad idea to make walking a punishment, sends the wrong message about exercise I think. It also seems wrong to take recess away from 5 year olds, they only get 20minutes/day to begin with. Just wanted to see what others think, I am thinking of having a conversation with the teacher.

They should count themselves lucky. I'd make em do crab walks.

 

[carissa1970]

Something that popped into my mind is that they may actually be having PE and the child is misunderstanding what is going on. Definitely talk to the teacher and get the story cleared up. Then, if there is something to deal with, go from there.

 

[lauradis]

Or they dropped out and learned to hate both religion and school. Two of my male relatives were among those kids. One is dyslexic, but they didn't diagnose such things back then and the nuns treated his inability to do certain things as a discipline issue. He left school after 8th grade and is very nearly illiterate, and he didn't set foot in a church for 40+ years until his granddaughter's baptism. Another was left handed and got the whack with a ruler method until he learned to write "properly" (right handed). He too dropped out while in middle school, though for his generation that wasn't as much of a handicap and he went on to a solid union manufacturing career.

I'm pretty sure there's middle ground between not punishing kids at all and trying to beat them all into fitting a pre-determined mold.

ETA: I think in these discussions we tend to forget the human tendency of emotions to shade memories over time. My DH is a great example. To hear him talk, when he was 13 or 16 (the ages of our two oldest), he was a polite and respectful young man who didn't talk back and never got in trouble. Which is interesting, because I know about the times in high school when the police brought him home drunk from parties (back when police turned you over to your Dad rather than locking you up over such things). I know he skated through high school as a C/D student on his natural ability, doing no homework and barely hanging on to his athletic eligibility, and I know that he pretty much hated both his natural father and his stepfather through most of his teen years and let them both know it. But whenever one of our kids crosses a line his initial response is "I'd never have done that, and if I did I'd have gotten a beating! We're too soft on these kids. That's why kids these days have no respect for anyone."

Its so much better now. Instead of physical punishment, we use drugs and mental shaming. That so much better.

 

[mom2rtk]

Something that popped into my mind is that they may actually be having PE and the child is misunderstanding what is going on. Definitely talk to the teacher and get the story cleared up. Then, if there is something to deal with, go from there.

LOL, maybe the 5 year old in question actually got in trouble and had to sit on the sidelines during PE!

Just kidding OP. I hope you'll post back here when you confirm what really happened.