School bans children from raising their hands and makes them do 'The Fonz' instead

School children have been banned from putting up their hands in class when answering a question and are instead being told to raise a thumb like The Fonz. Pupils at Burlington Junior School in Bridlington, East Yorks, have been asked to adopt the new hand signal to create a more relaxed classroom. The children - aged eight and nine - have now been told to get the teachers attention by giving a thumbs up while cupping their hand.

But parents at the 360-pupil school have blasted the decision as "daft" after it was introduced at the beginning of this school year and say the children look like The Fonz, from the television comedy Happy Days. Dad-of-three Dave Campleman, 44, who has two children at the school, said: "I thought it was a joke at first. It's daft. I can't see the logic in it. Fair enough if it was across the board, but I've not heard of any other schools doing it. He added: "I think it's a bit pointless, it's not benefiting their education - they could focus on other things.



"Kids are used to putting their hands up, it is natural for them. Being told to do something different just confuses them. I am just bemused by it. I think they should go back to the old way of putting your hand up in class." And teachers at the pupil school have even taken to putting up signs to discourage kids from raising their hand. In one poster campaign plastered on the walls of classrooms, a thick red cross can be seen through an image of a raised arm to discourage children from using the old method.

Next to it is an image of a pupil doing a thumbs up aimed at helping pupils get to grips with the change. But despite criticism, headteacher Cheryle Adams claims her innovative approach to learning is paying dividends. She said: "It seems to be something all the children have accepted. It is to stop the pupils waving arms about, which can be distracting. It has calmed the pupils down. Staff have noticed a positive difference in the amount of people answering questions."