Grade K---green, Yellow and Red

Teaching Kindergarten if ROUGH!!!! If the teacher is a first year teacher, give her a break. She is learning as much as her students are every day!! She was probably given the idea from a mentor teacher.

None of my child's teachers have used this method, so not ALL teachers use this. This, to me, is a sign of a teacher who doesn't know how to deal with a classroom of kids. I would be concerned and take your questions first to the teacher, and then to the principal. I am NOT a proponent of taking away recess for punishment of children in school. Our kids get way too little physical activity in a day the way it is, and taking that away makes behavior worse, not better.

I think that it's a long school year, that the kids are more comfortable in the classroom and so their behavior probably has gotten worse. I agree with you in principle - I wish kids got more recess in general and I prefer positive reinforcement to negative reinforcement. But I'm also a teacher. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get the class under control. Someone below wrote that if the class is not behaving then it's a bad reflection on her as a teacher. But when she does something to keep the kids in line, it's also a bad reflection on the teacher. There's no way for her to win here, short of getting in a time machine and coming up with something to try to keep the kids on track in February. I doubt she can do that, so she's trying to salvage April, May, and June.

I just want to add that this isn't punishment - it's negative reinforcement, which is just as effective as positive reinforcement. The children are being rewarded (by recess time) for their good behavior. They just have to earn it. It's the same general principle as saying "you can't go outside to play until you've cleaned your room." If the child doesn't want to clean his room, he can't go outside, but he's in control of the situation. It's not punishment, which is saying "because you didn't clean your room yesterday, you can't go outside today." There's nothing that the child can do to change the consequence. Punishment is not an effective learning tool, but negative reinforcement is.

Sorry this got so long. I have a daughter in kindergarten too, and I wish that they had more play time. I think that elementary teachers are in such a bind. We want our kids to be "kids" and we expect them to be learning so much. I think that the teacher is doing the best she can and you should give her the benefit of the doubt.

My kids both have the green, yellow, red thing which is fine and helps them but starting on red is just crazy. If you are going to be on red every day and hope she notices you are good enough to earn your way off of red that is not much incentive to the kids in my opinion. I would definitly talk to the principle. It sets a very negative tone in the classroom in my opinion. I agree with the poster who said it sounds like she does not know how to control the class.

I think taking away recess is wrong. Kids have energy. It needs to be burned. Take away recess and you will have more isues during the day.

I also think if all the kids are getting worse then it's something the teacher is doing.

Spring fever. She ever hear of it??

My sons third grade teacher does the color coded thing. Green means that they have been good all day, Yellow means they have had one issue and will sit on the curb during one recess, Orange means they have had two issues and will sit on the curb for two recesses, Purple means they have had three issues and will sit on the curb for two recesses and by themselves on the next lunch. Red means they have had four issues and will go to the principles office for punishment. They get rewarded for keeping in the green and yellow zone all week by getting a free dress day (no required uniform) on the following Tuesday. If the whole class keeps in the green or yellow zone for the whole week, they have a class ice cream party and a free dress day. So far this year there have been no ice cream parties, but half of the class has ADD or ADHD. This is a private Christian school.

I am not sure how strict she is with deciding when to change a childs color from one to another, but it appears to me that she is just a little too strict with them.

My K4 son has a Smiley face, Straight face, Sad face system in his class and I feel that the teacher is fairly lenient with them. A Smiley Face means they have been fairly good all day with little or no trouble, a straight face means they have caused a fair amount of trouble, a Sad face means they have been outright awful. I have a little mischievous, very active, non stop talker and he gets mostly equal amounts of Smileys and Straight with an occasional Sad. If he gets a sad face, it will have an explanation about what he did the earned him a sad face. She has told me when I have talked to her that "Oh, They are just kids!" She has three girls of her own and has been teaching K4 for about 10 years or more. The kids leave her class with basic reading skills, counting to 100, writing in cursive, about 35 Bible verses memorized as well as several poems and songs.

They also use the Smiley system in K5 in our school.

The K4 teacher did tell me about 2 weeks ago that she is being a little more lenient with them now because they are all tired of school and really need a break. She was hoping that they would be a little more refreshed and ready to come back after spring break. She said that it was normal for behavior to get a little worse toward the end of the school year and she just kind of expected it.

I do not like that she starts them on Red. Totally wrong. But every classroom I've ever seen they have green yellow and red. Its an effective way to help kids guage their behavoir and for parents to see whats going on., They should all start in green. If they start misbehaving no one is perfect especially in February just commiing off a winter break or something she moves it to yellow. Its a warning that wakes up the kid oh no dont want to get a red because red means no playground. In kindergarten they will get red more and it shoudl slow down by first grade. The problem is if your kid is ADD or ADHD its a very bad way to handle them, because they cannot control sometimes and when you take away playground time it will only get worse.

It doesn't make ANY sense to me to start everyone out on red. It sounds like the teacher is having a challenge controlling the class as a whole, and she is going to extremes in her actions and attitude. I would talk to the principal about this since you have already tried talking to the teacher and she basically just gave you the "this is what I do" response.

My 3rd grader's class does a similar thing. They do start the day on green. I am sure the teacher wants them out at recess. She will end up watching them inside, instead of getting a break. This one might backfire on the teacher.

We just got a note talking about Spring Fever for my child's kindergarten class. I was just there this morning and there is something in the air. We were in there to help since it was Kindergarten orientation so the teachers went to meet prospective students/parents.

I personally think starting on red is NOT ideal. You are bad even before you do something bad. It is spring so for fall and winter it is one way green, yellow, and then red. And then you change it and have it red, yellow and green, not ideal to change the system for kids this age.

I would talk directly with her rather than elevate at this stage.

Well... I wouldn't like any of it. Let's put it this way, the kindergarten kids that will give her the most trouble are the ones with more energy -- the hyper ones. All kids in kindergarten need their recess and the hyper ones most of all, so I think she's setting up a vicious cycle by taking away recess at that age. Honestly, I don't think at least some of the kids can handle it. Second, starting them at red and making them earn a normal day is really a negative move. Kids in kindergarten are really kind of babies -- they need lots of love and encouragement -- I'm not saying she can't be strict, but it has to be tempered to make them feel good about being in school. In short, if my child was in her class, I would have a lot of problems with her method. My son has ADD and we are constantly telling his teachers that he needs his recess EVEN if he doesn't get his work done in class. So, yes, she needs to come up with a different consequence. My kids' teachers put up a chart on the wall with each child's name. They get a sticker on the chart for GOOD behavior. Their stickers get annulled for bad behavior. When they get 10 stickers, they get a little prize. They really work for that prize and are so proud when they get one.

I substitute for middle school and I can honestly say that behavior at school these days is horrid. Some of the students are rude and nasty. They are disrespectful to the teachers and each other.
I'm absolutely appalled at the behavior - or lack there of. Our principal informs me that they come to her from the elementary school with their attitudes in place. So that tells me that something needs to be done at the younger levels.
The parents need to insist on good behavior. They need to back up the teachers not undermine them, as I've seen happen more than once. When the parents complain about the teachers in front of the children, they basically tell the kids that they don't respect the teacher or her decisions. The child goes back to school believing that mom doesn't respect the teacher and therefore, he follows suit. It's a vicious cycle...
There was a time when students respected the teachers and the parents backed up the teacher regardless of their opinion. If the parent had a problem with the teacher's decisions about something, they met and talked about it without the student present. Issues were discussed, problems were solved, and both the parent and the student respected the teacher.
Too bad those days seem to be gone for some families...
LBC

Most ALL Teachers, use this method.
It is common.
In preschool and in my Daughter's classes, the teachers have used this method. And in the cafeteria too.
The consequences may vary and per grade level.
But the red/yellow/green method, is commonly used.

As for "time-out"... it varies. Either the kid staying at their desk during class time. Or in at recess.

Also, if EVERYONE has to earn a green, then well that is really hard to attain. Because, in every class, there will be some kids, that no matter what... they are trouble makers.
But the lesson here is: if 1 kid misbehaves, then ALL the kids get a consequence too. The logic to this is: to instill 'teamwork' among the kids... and to care about each other as a whole, not only about themselves.

And yes, if ALL the kids are getting progressively "worse" since February... then what the heck is that saying about her, the Teacher?

There are other methods, as well.

my personal beleif is that recess is a time for little ones to get the jitters out. they need this time. my oldests 1st grade teacher used to have her kids run around outside for like 5 minutes if they got too restless it helped them to regroup and get back on track. i as an adult have troubles sitting too longso how can they expect a 5/6 year old to? i'd definetly tell the principle and maybe have some statistics and finding that prove that recess helps kids and taking it away hinders them. K is supposed to be fun and is to get them ready for 1st grade not boot camp.

I do not like the guilty until proven innocent approach. Especially with such young kids. I think the original way it was done with a green, yellow and then red was a much better method. Basically warning and then loss of priviledges makes sense to me.