Plain Sailing In Schools

Do you have classroom rules?

Rules are crucial for any lesson and should be shared with pupils and can form the basis of your code of conduct.

Some schools have a set of standardised rules that are used for all classes. It would be good to hear from you about the specific rules you use. As I visit different schools, it is interesting to see how much the rules vary.

Here are some I would like to share with you. These are recommended by Susan Davies (2006).

What are your views on them? Can you add any to this list?

Pupils must:

• turn up with the necessary equipment, in primary schools much equipment may be provided, even so specialist kit may be needed on specific days (eg for PE or games) and ensuring this happens is important.

• behave appropriately at all times without nudging each other or distracting others from working.

• enter and leave the classroom in an orderly fashion.

• sit down and get equipment and books out ready for learning to begin.

• not speak while the teacher is talking.

• not shout out.

• not make sounds that are distracting whilst others are working, like whistling, tapping pens, etc.

• not answer back.

• do what the teacher says – if a pupil is asked to move, then they should follow that instruction, as there will be a reason for it.

• complete learning work to the best of their ability.

• complete homework on time.

Remember, the teacher should be in charge of the teaching and the organisation of the classroom – pupils need to be clear about this.

You need to clearly outline the sanctions that you will use if pupils do not comply. This may include a reference to school sanctions. Knowing the school behaviour policy, and reminding pupils that you know it, sends out a powerful message about how efficient and prepared you are,

Many schools are today realising that they need to do much more to encourage pupils to want to learn. Some schools have adopted a system called promoting positive learning (PPL). This system relies on mutual respect between staff and pupils and on staff working positively with pupils to encourage good learning outcomes.

Where PPL is used, staff are encouraged to use as much positive praise as possible to reinforce good behaviour and ensure that maximum learning occurs. I have just today come back from visiting a trainee teacher on a placement, and positive reinforcement was a major topic of our conversation. I have seen so many teachers get totally consumed by the negative behaviour of certain individuals in their class. Not only does this take up valuable teaching time for those who want to learn, but it is also very stressful and draining for the teacher to have to be constantly nagging. Far better is to focus on the pupils who are behaving appropriately and positively.

As a guideline for PPL, it is suggested that in any lesson, a teacher should try to use positive praise at least three times more often than they use negative comments. Many schools offer rewards to pupils for sustained good effort and learning outcomes. Many primary schools offer stars or stickers on a chart, or in their exercise books. When they have been awarded a certain number, they are then given a prize. In some secondary schools, funding has been found to award special merit prizes of a bike, or a DVD player. Other schools also have a commendation system where staff identify pupils who have worked well and receive a letter home to their parents highlighting their achievement.

This notion of giving rewards has raised many questions recently, so I ask you:

What are your views on offering stickers, stars, stamps, certificates to children for behaving correctly or working hard?

Many people believe that too many rewards lead to a culture of young people who always expect to be given something back in return for doing the right thing. Many years ago, we used to call this bribery!

As is the case with many systems like this, schools will adopt and adapt a system that best suits their own ethos and needs. I know one secondary school where the merit system is used for the first three years, and then in Years 10 and 11, pupils are awarded credits in card form. At the end of each term there is a prize draw, so the more credits a pupil has, the higher their chance of winning the star prize.

Pupil planners are also being used more in schools as a way of keeping parents informed about behaviour and merits or awards received. Pupils are given a diary for the year, which has additional room for comments which parents and teachers sign each week. In the diary, parents can record reasons for absence and teachers can record merits awarded or information about behaviour, concerns about homework, and so on.

Does your school allocate pupil planners?
If so, how successful are they?
Are they used effectively?
Can the system be abused by older pupils?

Home/school agreements are a statutory contract between pupils/parents and the school, outlining what each party agrees should occur throughout the year. In some cases, these are built into the pupil planners, including information regarding the school’s expectations about the conduct of its pupils.

How does your school promote positive learning?
What systems work well in your school and why?

It would be good to hear your views, so please feel free to leave a response here.

Schools should band together to provide social workers for unruly pupils and support groups for parents, according to the government’s “behaviour tsar”. The proposals will be among a number of suggestions included in Sir Alan Steer’s report to ministers in April.

Teaching unions say teachers need better support and fewer targets to enable them to better manage behaviour. Sir Alan said the vast majority of pupils are well behaved, despite society’s “negative” perceptions of children. But he believes more can be done earlier to prevent unruly behaviour becoming a serious problem, such as through primary schools jointly funding social work professionals.

Teaching unions have welcomed the idea, providing it does not burden them with more work, but say the real problem is that staff are ill-prepared to deal with bad behaviour. NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said “Behaviour management training is inadequate both in initial teacher training and when teachers are in the job in schools. What’s preventing a lot of teachers from actually being able to manage behaviour effectively is the current school accountability regime which drives teachers to reach numerical targets, to teach to satisfy inspection.”

Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said three in 10 teachers leave the profession in the first five years and unruly behaviour was the main cause.

Sir Alan says a more intelligent approach is needed to combating bad behaviour in the classroom. “If we can extend into schools some other services to support children, to help those children who struggle then we are far more likely to have success,” he said.

What procedures does your school have for dealing with disruptive pupils? Have you got a story you would like to share? Do you think that initial teacher training programmes should build in strategies for behaviour management?

Do you ever suffer from very poor self-esteem? I believe at times it can be so paralysing for an individual that it becomes almost impossible to motivate them to take action to achieve their goals.

Low self-esteem can have devastating consequences, such as:

• Anxiety, stress, loneliness and depression
• Difficulties with friendships and relationships
• Seriously impairing academic and job performance
• Underachievement and increased vulnerability to drug and alcohol abuse

All of these negative consequences only serve to reinforce a person’s negative self-image and can take them into a downward spiral, often leading to non-productive and self-destructive behaviour.

There are many different definitions of ’self-esteem’, but I like to refer to it as the extent to which we like and respect ourselves. The word ‘esteem’ comes from the Latin word which means ‘to estimate’ – in other words, it’s how you estimate yourself. A good way of assessing a person’s self-esteem is by asking them these questions:

• Do you like yourself?
• Do you think you are a good human being?
• Are you deserving of love?
• Do you deserve happiness?

People with low self-esteem often find it hard to answer ‘yes’ to these questions.

Self-esteem develops and evolves throughout our lives as we build an image of ourselves based on experiences with different people and activities. Experiences during childhood play a very large part in the shaping of our basic self-esteem. Low self-esteem is often the result of failed experiences, such as failure in sports, being harshly criticised, being ignored, ridiculed or teased, and even being yelled at or beaten.

Later on in life, self-esteem can be an outcome of what we do, and this is usually influenced by the choices we make for ourselves. I firmly believe that you have to do something well in order to feel good about yourself. I have worked with clients who have tried telling themselves over and over again that they deserve to feel great, but unless they start to do something well at the same time then it’s hard for self-esteem to rise.

The build up of past negative experiences in life only fuels a person’s so-called inner voice – by that I mean being a harsh inner critic, constantly criticising, punishing and belittling their accomplishments or lack of them. On the other hand, people with healthy self-esteem have an inner voice that conveys positive and reassuring messages.

So how can you overcome poor self-esteem? Look out for the next blog offering some simple steps to overcome it.