Behaviour Management

Children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority. They show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise: children are now tyrants not servants of their households. Socrates Behaviour Management

The Art of War for Teachers based on the teachings of General Sun Tzu – written around 400BC. Recognised for centuries as a classic in terms of military strategy. Teaching is the continuation of war by other means. Teaching is the continuation of war by other means. There is a field of conflict and armed camps drawn up on either side. There is a field of conflict and armed camps drawn up on either side. Each day in every classroom in every school there is fought a battle. There are victims. There are limited successes. There are dreadful losses. And occasionally there is a game of football. Each day in every classroom in every school there is fought a battle. There are victims. There are limited successes. There are dreadful losses. And occasionally there is a game of football. It is a fight to the finish. The arms manufacturers work overtime to provide ammunition in requisite quantities. Each new weapon is more fearful than the last – standards, curriculum, assessment, literacy, numeracy, technology on the one hand; sullenness, mediocrity, mischief, distraction, artfulness and disobedience on the other. It is a fight to the finish. The arms manufacturers work overtime to provide ammunition in requisite quantities. Each new weapon is more fearful than the last – standards, curriculum, assessment, literacy, numeracy, technology on the one hand; sullenness, mediocrity, mischief, distraction, artfulness and disobedience on the other. Behaviour Management

An ATL Survey March 2006 revealed that: 99% of teachers have had dealings with a disruptive pupil. 37% have suffered associated mental health issues. 71% have considered leaving the profession because of this and 75% know of colleagues who have actually left. In February 2006: 94% 0f student teachers and 97% of NQTs said pupil discipline is the issue they consider most important.

Behaviour Management The Nature of Student Misbehaviour The types of misbehaviour most frequently cited by teachers are: Excessive talk or talking out of turn Being noisy – verbal and non-verbal Not paying attention to the teacher Not getting on with the work required Being out of seat with no good reason Hindering other students Arriving late for lessons

Behaviour Management Reasons for misbehaviour Boredom Prolonged mental effort Inability to do the work Being Sociable Low academic self esteem Emotional difficulties Poor attitudes Lack of negative consequences

Classroom and Behaviour Management Nobody forgets a good teacher HOWEVER Everyone can remember a bad one as well

 Long, open-ended tasks can lead to poor attention: provide structure, clear time-limits, and consider breaking long tasks into shorter tasks.  Inappropriate groupings can cause problems: consider carefully the nature of the task before deciding whether you want individual, paired or group work.  Too many restricted, quiet or silent activities in succession can doom a lesson to failure: vary the nature of the activities, providing both for constructive silence and constructive talk. Classroom Management

 Lessons pitched too high or too low, or insufficiently differentiated can leave pupils bored, alienated, frustrated or disenfranchised: consider carefully the level of demand and challenge.  Insufficient focus on how to teach the topic can cause confusion or disaffection: consider how to scaffold pupils’ learning.  Lively, attractive resources will engage pupils more than dull, routine ones: invest time wisely in selection and preparation. Classroom Management

Behaviour Management Establishing Authority Depends on four main aspects of your role. Conveying status Teaching competently Exercising managerial control Dealing with student misbehaviour effectively

Scan the classroom Circulate Make eye contact Target your questions Use proximity Give academic help Change activities or pace Notice misbehaviour Notice disrespect Move students Monitoring behaviour and progress can ensure that most misbehaviour is stopped very early before it develops into a major problem Pre-empting student misbehaviour

Avoid a power struggle!! Avoid a power struggle!! Remember if someone tosses you a rope, they can’t win a tug of war if you don’t pick up the rope. Remember if someone tosses you a rope, they can’t win a tug of war if you don’t pick up the rope. Behaviour Management

Come to the edge. Come to the edge. We can’t. We are afraid. We can’t. We are afraid. Come to the edge. We can’t. We will fall. Come to the edge. We can’t. We will fall. Come to the edge. Come to the edge. They came They came And he pushed them. And he pushed them. And they flew. And they flew. Behaviour Management

I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be the architect of torture or the instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de- escalated and a child humanised or dehumanised. I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be the architect of torture or the instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de- escalated and a child humanised or dehumanised. Haim Ginott – Between Teacher and Child Haim Ginott – Between Teacher and Child Behaviour Management