What do you mean it's a secret?!?

[kingsrings]

FF-I agree with you that it shouldn't have to be asked and does make it more awkward. Which makes it all the sadder that it has to be done nowadays, lest the teacher find themselves in the uncomfortable position of being accused of sexual abuse or harrassment.

[JuicyLife]

Ask, ask, ask!

You will never regret asking the teacher about this, but imagine your regret if something awful had happened to your Little One ...

It doesn't bare thinking about, so ask!

[Tabris]

Well, today I decided not to ask because I came up with a brilliant plan.

I asked the mother of another student if her daughter had been photographed, and she said yes, and it was for something the kids were doing that they couldn't talk about.

I know this woman's daughter, and the kid talks constantly, so I knew if anything had happened at school, she'd know about it.  

This has set my  mind at ease. I may still talk to the teacher about the surprise/secret thing, but I'm not actually worried, and I'll make sure that comes through when we do talk.

Thank you everyone for your help. I really appreciate it.

[DottyG]

Yea.

[LollyBee]

I think I'd still mention it to the teacher - first that some parents might be alarmed by the word secret & prehaps surprise would be better; second did they actually have permission from parents to take photos of the children?

In my preschool, we say surprise, not secret as suggested when we did child protection training.  & we have specific permission from parents to take photos & have had to sign to give DS1 (11yrs) & 2 (3yrs) schools & childminder permission to take photos.    But we've had children in the past who we were not allowed to take photos of as there were issues that precluded this.

[kckgirl]

I think I'd still mention it to the teacher - first that some parents might be alarmed by the word secret & prehaps surprise would be better; second did they actually have permission from parents to take photos of the children?

In our school we didn't have to sign permission for photos, but a roll of film for just that purpose was on the school supplies list, even when they were in pre-K. The teachers take a lot of photos and use them for art projects, as room decorations, as Christmas tree ornaments, as souvenirs from special events, and also just send them home with the kids as memories of fun times in school.

[Chocolate Cake]

While I didn't button any pants, I did take pictures of each child in my son's classroom this last week for a surprise Christmas gift for their parents.  The teachers asked me if I would.   I sure hope that no parent is thinking that I'm some kind of predator now.