Can Banning Hand-Raising Promote a Calmer Classroom?

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Another school in the U.K. is jumping on the ‘banned‘-wagon, eliminating a very basic classroom tradition: raising your hand.

Administrators at Burlington Junior School in Bridlington, East Yorkshire are modifying the way students ask a question, prohibiting their students from raising a hand and instead directing them to give a thumbs up.

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Educators came up with the idea during a brainstorming session, as a way to foster a “calmer and inclusive atmosphere in the classroom,” the Daily Mail reports. Students, ages 7 to 11, are instructed to give a thumbs up and cup it with their other hand rather than wave a hand in the air.

Head teacher Cheryle Adams said the new technique is a better way to engage students. “Hands up can be more of a distraction for young children,” she added. “It can put them off because they have to put their ideas forward in a forceful way.”

Not all agree with the new practice, including parent David Campleman, who would prefer the more traditional method of hand-raising. “It’s not benefiting their education. They could focus on other things. Kids are used to putting their hands up, being told to do something different just confuses them.”

Adams still contends that the new policy encourages more participation, and that students are more willing to raise a thumb than a hand.

NewsFeed thinks any way to play Heads Up 7Up all day long sounds like a plan.

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