Positive Behaviour

Today at school it was 'Promoting Positive Behaviour Day'. Well, afternoon. What this involves is...

Last week all staff were given a list of the first, second, and third year pupils. There was five categories of behaviour (punctual, attentive, attitude, homework, and prepared) and we ticked a little box to say whether they were generally punctual/attentive/prepared/etc etc. Each pupil got ticky-boxes from ten teachers, giving them a possibile score of fifty. If they achieved 44 out of 50 they got to spend this afternoon doing an activity of their choice. (I think the options were crepe making, design/craft, computer animation, music and 'extreme dodgeball' - not sure what that involves but it brings to mind lots of comedy Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn images). Those who didn't reach the magic number of 44 ticks had to follow their usual timetable - or as close to normal as possible given that lots of teachers were involved in the activities.

Now, I'm all in favour of rewarding pupils - lots of attention tends to go to the 'bad' pupils and those who behave themselves can be just left to get on with it, but it does somewhat seem that today was rewarding pupils for doing what they're meant to be doing anyway - ie, paying attention in class, handing in homework, etc. They haven't done anything particularly impressive, or is it really so unusual for pupils to do what they're meant to that it has to be actively rewarded?

The other issue is the size of the school. As a rule behaviour really isn't a problem, so it turned out that the whole of first year got the required number of ticks in boxes, 23 out of 29 second years got it, and 13 out of the 19 third years got it. Which left not very many pupils not involved in the activities.

Failing to achieve 44 out of 50 ticks is not meant to result in a punishment (although it does result in a 'chat' with guidance) but with such small numbes involved...it's just a bit odd.

I wasn't involved in any of the activities so I found myself with the six unfortunate second years in my classroom for one period. Fortunately they all had an essay to finish off, so really all that not doing the activities meant was that they didn't have any english homework to do! For the other two periods this afternoon I found myself with two of the third years in my room, also working on an essay. They were timetabled for Practical Crafts and Maths, but requested time to come and work on their essays, and I was MORE than happy for them to do this. In fact, in period seven all of the five third years not on activites ended up working on their english essays, although they were split between my room and maths - having all five of the 'bad boys' in my classroom at the same time is not my idea of a relaxing afternoon!

And therein lies the irony. These five are the 'bad boys' - not just of the year but of the school (there are a couple of others but they had somehow managed to get the 44 ticks...don't ask me how) and yet this afternoon was one of the most pleasant I've spent in the school. Thursday is my quiet day and I always have periods six and seven free for marking/preparing/whatever else is required, but to be perfectly honest by the end of the day I'm usually bored stiff. Teaching is really a profession for those with a short attention span - there's an endless variety of people and things to keep you entertained - and on Thursdays I only have two out of seven periods when I'm teaching - the rest of the time I'm festering in my classroom. And so having company while I sat and marked was a refreshing change. It was all perfectly civilised - the boys got on with their essays (and three of them got them finished and handed in - something I doubt would have happened had they been left to finish them for homework) but there was a lovely relaxed atmosphere. There was a fair amount of chatting, but as the work was being done I wasn't complaining, and quite a lot of it was the boys asking me about when I lived in California, university, what I thought of Shetland, etc, etc.

One of the lovely things about such a small school is that there's the opportunity for really good relationships between pupils and staff. There's so few of you that you have no choice but to get to know each other, and this afternoon I think I started to feel that relationship building up for the first time. It really shows you what a difference small classes make. That, and taking the time to actually TALK to pupils, and to treat them like adults, rather than kids. They do respond to it, and it can only make life easier for them and me.

Of course, it was additionally gratifying to think that spending the afternoon working on English essays was preferable to Practical Crafts and Maths, but whether that's a comment on me, or on the maths teacher (and the fact that PC was being covered by the Head today) I'm not sure...nor do I want to ask.