Behaviour management: sneaky students

Author:
Paul Dix
Main Subject:
CPD
Subject:
Behaviour Management
Date Posted:
04 January 2013

Butter wouldn't melt

At the back of your classroom lurks a master of disguise. You know she is causing havoc and harassing her classmates, but there’s no way to prove it. How do you end her reign of terror, asks Paul Dix?

Scenario:
Who, me?

Tanisha is great at playing grandma’s footsteps. She spends all day practising. Each time you turn around to see what she is up to she appears to be a model pupil, but as soon as your back is turned she is busy provoking the others. Tanisha mouths abuse with perfect accuracy, kisses her teeth at passers by, passes notes that are drawn not written, and has 163 ways of saying “I am going to stick this pencil in you” with her eyes. She infuriates the brave and terrifies the vulnerable. It’s destroying the classroom climate and parents have started complaining about their daughters coming home in tears, talking about nothing but what Tanisha has done.
WHICH INTERVENTION STRATEGY BEST FITS HOW YOU MIGHT RESPOND?

A)
Hard and fast

You go straight to the top, reveal your suspicions to Tanisha’s mum, show her the circumstantial evidence and make it clear that you urgently need her support to help Tanisha correct her behaviour.

B)
Play Sherlock

You spend time carefully, and at times sneakily, gathering evidence so you can confront Tanisha with the consequences of her behaviour. You speak to the children individually and allow those who have been harmed to have a voice.

C)
Focus on learning

You refuse to have the endless ‘behaviour conversations’ and make the other children feel safe by shifting the responsibility to Tanisha. Even in this very difficult and delicate situation, you focus attention on the learning.

A)
Hard and fast

Meeting Tanisha’s mum over a coffee seems exactly the right thing to do. She is worried about Tanisha and will do anything she can to help. You suggest that she comes in to spend the morning in the class and witness the behaviour for herself.

Seeing Mrs Tanisha sitting at the back of the room, it is striking how similar Tanisha is to her mum. She too has an extensive range of non-verbal put downs that she begins to use on the children. She positions herself as Tanisha’s protector and spends the lesson telling the other children what they should be doing. Tanisha’s initial terror at having her mum in class subsides and she begins to enjoy the support. Your enthusiasm to have her in may have been premature. As you anticipate a new flood of complaints from parents, you usher Mrs Tanisha out of the classroom to the sounds of whimpering children.

Staffroom Debate

When is the right time to contact parents to ask for their help?

How do you deal with parents who try to help in a haphazard and not always helpful way?

How can having a parent in the class to witness poor behaviour be better structured?

B)
Play Sherlock

Filling your pipe with some rough shag and putting on a deerstalker hat helped you to get in role, but it did not hide your lack of experience as a private eye. The children’s stories match but there is little real evidence. As you trawl through the anecdotes and half remembered flashpoints you realise this is all too little and much too late. You try to withdraw children subtly to speak to them, but there are rumours of an inquisition and they begin talking about it in the playground. By the end of the day you are having to openly deny to Tanisha and her mother that there is anything going on. As you quickly abandon plans to doughnut a Ford Granada around the playground ‘Sweeney-style’, you realise that you are getting nowhere fast

Staffroom debate

Is there a place for evidence gathering with other children?

What is best practice when questioning a child about an incident?

How can you encourage children to share their concerns without fear of repercussions?

C)
Focus on learning.

The problem is not the problem. The child is not the problem. The problem is that the child is not learning. Of course you continue to deal with the few behaviours that you do witness, but you turn your attention to what you can control: the learning. The evidence of Tanisha’s poor behaviour lies in her lack of work, her sliding achievement and her casual attitude towards learning.

Rather than reconsidering the ‘behaviour conversation’, you focus in on the learning; putting the spotlight on her work will afford little time for poor behaviour. You set up a simple routine for Tanisha: she must make a record of the time at which she completes each task. She has to monitor her own progress and prove to you that she is sustaining the work rate. Her new responsibilities consume her time and thoughts.

You adjust the seating to ensure she has even less to distract her and – rather than spending your energy ‘stamping out’ her poor behaviour – you get Tanisha into the routine of working through each lesson, reframing her expectations of herself.

As the echoes of the behaviour conversation die out, Tanisha will be able to feel important in her role as a learner rather than in her role of chief trouble maker.

Staffroom debate

Is the ‘behaviour conversation’ ever productive?

How can you repair the trust that has been broken by Tanisha with the other children?

Would a restorative approach work here once the harmful behaviour has stopped?

Which approach did you choose?

A)
Your behaviour style

TOO MUCH, TOO SOON

You may have played a trump card too early. There is always a danger in going to parents before you have exhausted other strategies. However, although your plan may not have worked perfectly, you have managed to avert a disaster. You have also realised where Tanisha has learned her exemplary non-verbal communication. Mrs Tanisha may not know how best to help, but she is willing and enthusiastic. With some rethinking and restructuring you may just be able to salvage the relationship and work out how she can be more useful ‘behind the scenes’.

B)
Your behaviour style

POUND SHOP PIOROT

Your amateur sleuthing may have done more harm than good. This is not the time or place for an improvised inquisition. Apart from the obvious safeguarding issues in interviewing young children on your own, you are not an experienced detective. The aftermath of your questioning will be ripples of complaints that will lead you to the head’s office and an awkward conversation. Your bungling detective work is a passive role that relies too much on others. If you want to lead learning and behaviour in the classroom then your leadership needs to be more open, honest and transparent.

C)
Your behaviour style

EDUCATION COMES FIRST

Your obsession with learning pervades your daily practice. You are not ignoring poor behaviour, it is just that, for you, the ‘behaviour conversation’ is dead. Long live the learning conversation! By sharpening your focus on Tanisha’s work, the other children will have the space and safety to get on with theirs. By concentrating on the learning, the children are no longer responsible for managing Tanisha’s behaviour; you lead the way and take charge. Your behaviour fixes are not about instant solutions. Instead, you keep the bigger picture of Tanisha’s achievement in mind.

Main Subject: CPD
Subject: Behaviour Management
Date Posted: 04 January 2013