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TEACHERS CHATTERBOX
Pupil behaviour is very much in the news again. The Government has introduced a School Behaviour Guide, which advises
teachers to praise pupils five times as often as they criticise them. Talk about getting obsessed with statistics! I can't see many
teachers disagreeing with the spirit of this idea, although it does conjure up a scene where one pupil is poised to drop another's
ceramic pot but cannot be reprimanded because they have only two good behaviour credits to their name!
What I find slightly more controversial is the 'rewards' for difficult pupils, designed to help them see the error of their ways by giving them
experiences that will promote cooperation and a sense of achievement. It's supposed to work on a similar level as the typical company away day,
where participants get to climb a mountain or build a raft-all in the name of serious team-building skills, of course.
I know that education is its own reward for well-behaved children, but for those who do choose to misbehave, do they really need a special
programme where they get venture outside the classroom to take part in practical (ultimately fun) activities? I wonder if well-behaved children are
now tempted to stray in order to be rewarded for returning to the straight and narrow.
Despite all the publicity about poor behaviour in schools, I am always impressed by what a good job schools, in general, and individual
teachers do to manage behaviour. It's not just schools in well-to-do areas either. In many areas with economic disadvantages, entering the school
means entering and oasis of calm, orderly behaviour. I suspect that a good school leader, who inspires all staff to implement a carefully thought
through policy and who communicates with parents and carers, is a major contributing factor.
Schools have a tough time dealing with the values and behaviour that children bring from their home environment and peer groups. I'm sure
that we have all winced at the way some youngsters behave in public. Perhaps it is time the Government produced a Home Behaviour Guide
instead and, in the mean time, we can continue picking up the pieces!
Colin Hill
Faculty Director of Staffing and Resources
Education Faculty, University of Central England
Seating Patterns
It seems almost a no-brainer - if we let children sit with their friends, surely they will work better? But as most teachers
realise. It's a lot more complicated than that:
- Children tend to go off task and fall into social chat more easily when they are grouped with their friends.
- There will always be some children in the class who might not be in a particular friendship group.
- Friendship groupings will not necessarily be right for differentiated tasks.
- Children fall in and out of friends very quickly at this age.
- Left to their own devices, children tend to divide themselves into single sex groups.
- Learning how to work well and cooperate with everyone is a key area in children's social and emotional development.
My Advice? From the first time you meet the class, have a clear expectation that the children will work with anybody and
everybody. Use random groupings or teacher-created ones most of the time. Only allow the children to choose their own
groups on rare occasions.
Sue Cowley
Educational Trainer and Author
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