Behaviour
Behaviour management is a balancing act in many ways, much like walking a tightrope. You’re up in the air, daring to do the seemingly impossible, though through compliance with a few simple teachings you too can reach the other side of the wire in one piece. In one hand you carry the need and desire to motivate and capture your students’ attention while in the other hand you carry the necessity to have a calm and organised classroom. As a learning facilitator, it may feel at times that you are up at the highest of heights barely holding on to these two objectives and really just trying to make it to the other side in one piece. It may seem easier to let go of one of these objectives and to concentrate on only the other one. This would be a mistake, as you would quickly realise that the one objective you have decided to hold on to, with all your might, would be putting you off balance, undermining your role as facilitator and motivator. This would not only put you but all your students who are watching from below, in harm’s way of your mistake.
At our Pivotal Education session on the “Five Pillars of Pivotal Education,” we learned the importance of “first attention to best conduct” (2nd Pillar, 2017). While helping with the management of an afterschool art club, this practice became key to the management of the class. The students had previously been given free range and as those who were disruptive seemed to be the ones always singled out by the teacher, there didn’t seem to be an end in sight where all students were being constructive during the lesson. By focusing on students who were active in the art process and celebrating those who dared to create and imagine, those who had been disrupting slowly started to seek attention by creating rather than troublemaking. I take issue with the use of the word best rather than good, for behaviour is much too multi-layered. I believe it is important to take notice and to praise all increments in good behaviour, not simply the best, As this will show students that you take notice of them and the effort you recognise they are taking, no matter the outcome.
Another of our learning’s from the Pivotal Education session is the significance of “consistent, calm adult behaviour”(1st Pillar, 2017). Not only is a calm adult a good role model for the kind of behaviour that is sought from the students, but will make sure that the students know that they can depend on you. Life for everyone is wrought with ups and downs. To enable the best learning environment for our students, I return to what I mentioned in my safeguarding post, to leave our baggage at the door. It is easy to get stuck in our emotions and let them lead our behaviour and mood. If we act in an emotional way with our students, it will only confuse them and they won’t ever really know whether they can trust you, or what kind of behaviour you are modelling. Don’t let your ego get the better of you. Remove yourself from situations emotionally so that you can deal with them in a rational way. This will enable you to keep your integrity and the trust of the students.
So while you are walking the tightrope of behaviour management remember to stay focused, calm and collected. Keep a clear focus and a keen eye ahead of you for the types of behaviour you are looking for. Who knows, with time you may even potentially be able to juggle more objectives while doing the splits, all while keeping your students motivated, safe and engaged. Remember though, to paraphrase Pivotal Education’s third pillar, practice makes perfect.
References
Pivotal Education (2017) University of Brighton – 21st September 2017 – Five Pillars of Pivotal Practice – Paul Woodward, [Online].
[Accessed Sept. 26th, 2017]
Dinah Goss
Well done for getting on with your blogs Michael, I am pleased you have managed to write two blogs both before the deadlines.
Your reflections about professionalism and the need to separate a teacher’s personal life and baggage from their professional persona were particularly interesting, including your consideration of different approaches and strategies. It is good that you have drawn on your previous experiences with children and have started to use some of the blog guidance questions as prompts. Your blogs are well-structured and written, although you do need to proof-read them more thoroughly to correct typos (eg ‘clam’ instead of ‘calm’) and check apostrophes.
The one thing I would like you to do now is to read around the subject, the better to inform your own knowledge and practice. Make use of the suggested reading in the handbook. For example, Bill Rogers has some helpful advice, based on theory and research, about setting up positive norms in a classroom. It is really important that you supplement the lectures and seminars with further research.
You have made a really promising start to your blogs, well done! Developing a wider knowledge base will give more strength to your arguments and reflections.