Email from my son's 5th grade teacher - he was written up

If they are just keeping track to see if there is a pattern, I wouldn't worry about it. It's not like there was disciplinary action as a result. I would wonder why he was crying over picking up a bag however.

I wouldn't make a big deal about it with the school. I would talk to DS about why he responded with tears to a pretty simple request and rethink a schedule that is leaving him so overtired and in tears halfway through the day.

I can see this being a write up -
Talking back, throwing s fit when asked to do a simple task, arguing with an adult

I would use this as an opportunity to talk to your son and see if he is being pulled in too many directions and stressed. It seems like he may have too much on his plate.

I agree with previous posters.  I don't think the incident is a big disciplinary issue, and that's why he was written up.  But rather the response is unusual for a 5th grader and they wanted to see if there is a pattern and something more going on. 

That ^^

I love the above comments that explain a write-up in this case isn't necessarily a negative action. It appears at your school it is more of a notification regarding atypical behavior, or response.

Maybe your school should consider renaming the report! They've got some caring people watching your child.

I would want to know if my kid cried over a Baggie.

This and the other thread about grading show why it is so hard to keep teachers in today's society. We get a thread asking about a referral - was it justified in this case. Not "do you think my kid is over-reacting by crying when he was asked to pick up trash?"

On the other thread the student must be getting a lower grade than his peers because the teacher doesn't like it when he corrects her mistakes.

Seriously?

okay my son would cry if a teacher asked him to do something and if he said it isn't mine and she even got stern with him or raised her voice like "I told you to do it" instead of can you just please do it and I know it isn't yours. maybe he felt she was attacking him at first thinking it was his. without knowing the full details of the conversation, one wouldn't know right. I have one son who is sensitive and does well and doesn't like confrontation or feeling he disappointed someone by litering so a teacher asking him almost he would take it as assumption he littered. kwim?

What exactly does "cry" mean? Did he shed a few tears, or did he talk back and throw a fit? Writing kids up is a pain in the butt. I don't do it unless it is truly warranted. I would trust that the monitors or teacher or whomever wrote him up had a good reason.

Refusing to pick up a piece of trash--even if it wasn't his-- is disrespectful and defiant. Of course I don't know exactly what happened--but I would imagine it went something like this:

Lunch monitor: Please pick up the bag on the floor.
Student: it's not mine.
LM: I didn't ask if it was yours... I asked you to pick it up.

I can't imagine that he started crying on the first request. I would imagine that it escalated from there.

I don't mean to be harsh--and I don't mean to pick on you--but in general, I'm SO tired of parents making excuses for bad behavior instead of backing up the teacher. We have a TOUGH job--and we cannot waste our time arguing over insignificant things. If she asked him to pick up the trash--whether it was his or not--he should have just been a good helper and done it. And even if he was tired or stressed, he needs to find a way to deal without being disrespectful to others.

I know my views might not be popular-- but unless there is a history of unfair behavior towards your son, please give the teacher the benefit of the doubt and show your son that you will expect better behavior in the future.

I think they probably just want to make sure he's okay. His reaction didn't seem to fit the situation, which can be, as you said, just a result of an overwhelming schedule or time frame in a kid's life. But if it keeps happening, then it could be a sign of something more. If they write it up, they won't be playing the guessing game later (if the same type of behavior continued) of "When did this last happen, again?" or "How many times has this been, now?"

I would see it as a good thing. Our kids are in school large chunks of time, and the staff and volunteers there can sometimes spot something new going on with our kids before we do. It sounds like this could very well be just a one-time thing, and nothing will ever come of the write-up, but in some situations this could be a way for the school to show parents that a child may be having a problem or issue in a very fact-based, precise way.