Posted on 04/23/2005 6:23:18 PM PDT by blam
'The disruption made teaching virtually impossible. I could not believe what I saw'
By Julie Henry, Education Correspondent
(Filed: 24/04/2005)
As the petite, middle-aged teacher shouts desperately for the 20th time for the out-of-control class to be quiet, a faint, childish boy's voice can be heard, calling out above the deafening din: "Suck ** ***, miss".
The appalling scene of classroom disorder and disrespect is just one of many captured on film for a channel Five documentary, to be screened this week, which will reignite the debate on how to tackle bad behaviour in schools.
'Sylvia Thomas', a teacher who agreed to film her classes secretly On returning to teaching after a 30-year absence, a supply teacher using the pseudonym Sylvia Thomas secretly filmed shocking examples of lessons ruined by large numbers of pupils over a three-month period.
The documentary shows children aged from 12 to 15 completely ignoring her and other staff while they shout, scream, fight, swear and wander around the classroom at will.
In one scene a full-scale fight breaks out and a 6ft tall boy is seen wielding a rubber truncheon, as the terrified teacher calls for help. In another, pupils throw books, pens and balls of paper across the room for a full 15 minutes as the teacher protests, before they declare that they "don't give a ****". In yet more disturbing scenes, a boy in a computer class is filmed accessing hard-core porn sites and then protesting his innocence, saying "I just typed in '****', miss".
The supply teacher was filming in 15 ordinary secondary schools in London and the north of England - randomly chosen by the supply agencies she contacted, and none of them considered to be failing by recent inspection reports.
Clearly shaken by her experiences, the teacher said she could not comprehend the behaviour she filmed, using a tiny camera hidden in a briefcase and a microphone disguised as a jacket button.
"I could not believe what I saw. I could not describe what I saw," she said. "The disruption that I experienced made teaching virtually impossible. These were schools in middle-class areas, not sink estates. We are not trying to single out the schools in the programme. They could be schools in any part of the country as far as I am concerned, this behaviour is so widespread."
In almost every class, the teacher is seen repeatedly trying to restore order - but her authoritative voice and friendly, no-nonsense approach makes no apparent impact on pupils.
She is ignored or challenged constantly. In one maths class, a 12-year-old who was censured for saying, "Shite, miss!" told her: "I've got just as much right as you to say what I want. I've got a right to speak up for myself."
"It was a constant battle," the teacher said. "Some pupils have got the idea that they can threaten the teacher with the police, with being summoned and sued. Teachers end up walking on eggshells, and when you do that, you can not discipline a child. The balance between the child and the teacher has swung too far in favour of the former - and they know it. The whole way they walk down the corridor says 'We are in control'."
The documentary, Classroom Chaos, to be broadcast on Wednesday, lays bare a growing tide of "low-level disruption" identified earlier this year by school inspectors as a major concern. In his annual report, David Bell, the chief inspector of schools, said that nine per cent of secondaries suffered from "persistent and unsatisfactory" behaviour - up from six per cent in 2000.
Schools staff also report increasing levels of abuse and violence. A recent survey by the Teacher Support Network, a charity that runs a helpline for school staff, found that 98 per cent of respondents had been verbally abused and 45 per cent threatened with violence. One in five had been assaulted and 38 per cent said their personal property had been damaged or defaced.
At its conference last month, the National Union of Teachers, the biggest teacher association, voted for a national charter of behaviour - with sanctions for pupils who breach it - to be drawn up in an attempt to stem the tide.
All three main political parties have pledged to improve school discipline. Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, has promised support for teachers who apply zero tolerance in the classroom.
The Government still insists that schools must take their fair share of disruptive pupils, however. The Conservatives have promised to abolish appeals against pupils exclusions and create "turnaround schools" where poorly behaved pupils can be rehabilitated. Some 21,000 new teachers and smaller classes are pledged by the Liberal Democrats.
According to Ms Thomas, however, the turnaround will not be easy. "I thought maybe their behaviour was because I was bad teacher, or because I was on supply," she said. "But I've shown the video to teacher friends and they say the same things have happened to them." She has now given up teaching for good.
Are you from the UK?
I think you need to check your English slang. Shite stands for what it sounds like!
The whole cultural atmosphere in England has changed for the worse.
When we spent a year in England around thirty years ago, our children attended several different schools: a private school, a convent school, and the youngest went to a state school in a small village near Cambridge.
The youngest was in a class of about 30 kids, but discipline was maintained, the kids were quite and attentive, and they learned their lessons. It was far different from American public schools at that time, which were much noisier and less disciplined, even though class sizes were much smaller.
The kids came from all sorts of social backgrounds, but they were all well behaved and evidently disciplined by their parents. This is one more aspect of British culture that has gone down hill.
I realize the article is from the UK, but the problems are the same here.
No, I'm a Hoosier.
I spanked my kids, and I support rare and monitored spankings in school, you obviously do not.
"friendly, no-nonsense approach ..."
Yes! I thought Sydney Poitier straightened out everything years ago! :)
Look at the Lawyers and you'll find the problem.
""There is a BIG difference between "spanking" and "beating".""
I agree.
But with that teachers union we have now!, Liberals should not be allowed to discipline any child.
Therein lies the problem. Liberal teachers idea of "discipline" is to either relocate the student with other troublemakers, or send them to the medical community to be forced into a lifetime of mood altering drugs.
Kids learn within moments of birth, how to manipulate adults. It is up to the adults to teach them the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
Oh I do remember that one! The American equivalent was "Up The Down Staircase!"! The trouble is: In those movies; it seemed like most, if not all, problems were always solved at the end. Then the teacher/teachers ended up being the respected heroes/heroines that all students just miraculously and suddenly respected and loved. That doesn't always happen in real life. There it seems, you win some and you lose some!
The decline of the ________ empire.
Sounds like my 1950s 5th grade S.F. East Bay classroom, when I had to transfer to a predominately black school. We moved out of the area soon after.
The shame of it is, we thought nothing of it moving into that district, as my sister & older brother had attended there 10-12 years earlier. The former principal had been a family friend
What a difference a decade can make!
I shudder reading these stories, as I have a niece (Air Force brat) who teaches in Luton, Bedforshire...mainly Pakistanis in her classes.
There actually is a correlation; however, it's an inverse correlation.
Now, that is certainly not a universal feeling. It wasn't where and when I was growing up, and it isn't now in most parts of the world.
Practically speaking I think it is quite a neutral practice, in terms of emotional damage, etc.
Typical? 40 years ago, when I was your age, we never dreamed of misusing a piece of emergency equipment! That was in the same league with setting off a false fire alarm: it just wasn't done.
Besides, it would have resulted in a suspension.
High school IS "Big Boy and Girl" school. College is "Young Men and Women school."
Most high school seniors are LEGALLY ADULTS when they graduate, and should act like it. For many of the grads, it is the last time they will set foot in a class room.
For Poser's sake, I wish more would get a job, rather than waste their time and everyone's money on 'higher education' with a major in keggers, and minor in video gaming. He wouldn't be forced to toss so many out, and those wanting to learn would have an easier time doing so.
If you were indulging in such behavior as you describe, I can only shudder to imagine what the your Liberal classmates were doing!
The solution COULD be very simple - - weed ou the dispurtors (send them home for good) and teach only those children who are civil and wish to learn. Why do I suspect that the education mafia in the UK, like here in the US, would have a problem with that?
My 7th grade teacher sported a wide leather belt, useful for administering discipline as one stood face-to-trunk of the water oak tree in front of the school.
Worked like a charm.
However, Parliament is not going to wield the paddle or the belt -- or create policies that will allow same to be wielded. Instead, I anticipate a heavy investment in "panels", "studies" and, eventually, "pilot programs".
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