Can we have our old teacher back?

Replacing a beloved member of staff is a tough act to follow, so how do you prove your worth and win the class over, asks Paul Dix...

The excitement of the new job has been overwhelming. Hours spent creating a new classroom environment has taken most of your Christmas holidays – you greet the site manager like an old friend, even though you haven’t yet met the deputy head. There are now sea caverns for reading in the classroom, mystery object portholes in the windows and a coral reef in the toilet. You anticipate the arrival of your new class with the excitement of a small child awaiting a trip Disneyland. This is it, this is the moment… you wait for the ‘wows’.

The children are less excited about this change. They are still upset over the loss of your predecessor, an experienced teacher of over 30 years who retired at the end of last term. The questions start gently enough: “Why is there a lobster on the bookcase?” and “Why is my table covered in sand?”. But some children seem irritated by the makeover: “Where is the old red chair? Mrs James loved that chair” and then, “Why have you taken the house away from us, that was OURS!”. This rapidly accelerates to, “Why can’t we have Mrs James back?”. You stay positive and try to reassure the children that you are their new teacher and they can trust you. They don’t look convinced.

As you look up in exasperation, you notice for the first time a banner stuck on the ceiling reading ‘To Mrs James, THE BEST TEACHER IN THE WHOLE WORLD…EVER’.

How do you respond?

A Carry on regardless

Ignore it. Stiff upper lip. Push forward. They will soon get over their loss.

B Take it personally

You spent your entire holiday preparing the class for them. It’s time they showed some appreciation.

C Keep connected

Get in touch with Mrs James, see what can be done to maintain a connection with the class.

A Dive in

Ignoring their sullen faces you keep to the plan, launching into an active drama lesson to begin exploring the undersea world. You try to conceal your frustration at the rudeness of some children and show them how learning with you can be as fun as with their old teacher. Yet the incessant, “Mrs James wouldn’t have made us do this” and “Mrs James did better drama” are starting to get to you. Your irritation finally boils over with a terrifying scream of “I DON’T CARE ABOUT MRS JAMES” that echoes too far down the corridor. The children take this as their cue to send a delegation to the headteacher’s office, leaving you trying to escape from the net of seaweed and plastic crabs. By break time you’re exhausted, and slump on the chair in the staff room, crestfallen. A colleague introduces herself as the deputy head. Her first question is: “What exactly have you got against our lovely Mrs James?”

Talking behaviour
• Should you let the mood of the children dictate the direction of your lesson?
• Will the children simply forget about their old teacher in time?
• How can you stop them comparing her teaching with yours?

B Flex your mussel

The children’s attitude towards you feels very personal. You have gone to great lengths to prepare a really stimulating learning environment and they need to show some appreciation. Talking to the whole class about poor manners is not a great introduction but you feel it must be done. The class are quiet and listen calmly. It is only when you get to the end of your lengthy speech/rant that a small hand is nervously raised from the front of the class. “Miss, who are you Miss, we don’t even know your name.” A bad start becomes a bad morning. It seems that your guilt trip has had some strange results. The children won’t go within a mile of the displays, nobody looks through the porthole, the sea caverns are avoided and the coral reef is starting to smell. Furthermore, the children have clearly been talking at break. Sanchez pulls you aside at the start of lunchtime to tell you, “Don’t know if I should tell you this, but the rest of the class don’t really like you, Miss. Sorry Miss”. The dream of an exciting launch of a collaborative journey lies wrecked on the beach. It is going to be whole lot of work to put things back together.

Talking behaviour
• Why shouldn’t you take things personally when they feel that way?
• What is the best way to start your first lesson with a new class?
• How can you now encourage them to interact with the new displays/ working areas?

C Throw out a line

Feeling the loss of a really good teacher is natural. You decide to adjust your plan for the day and spend some time getting to know the children. You apologise for changing their classroom around and immediately many of the children tell you that they actually like some of the changes. Treading carefully you suggest that the children could write a letter to Mrs James telling her about the summer, that way you would be able to get to know them and Mrs James would surely be pleased to see how everyone is getting on. You resolve to deliver the letters personally.

On visiting Mrs James it is clear that the children are not the only ones who are missing the status quo. After reading the letters with many tears, laughs and cups of tea she is happy to stay connected with class. You agree that she will ‘visit’ the class on Skype every week at first then reducing to every two weeks as the term goes on. You record a video message with her to take back to the class.

The children are beyond excited by the video message and the plan. They start to relax a little with you. After all, they know that Mrs James trusts you and that is good enough for them, for the time being. The Skype plenary works brilliantly. The children take extra care of the work that they are going to present to her and they have to try hard to re-explain what they learned and how they learned it.

Talking behaviour
• Why not have Mrs James come in and visit the children for a day straight away?
• Why is your connection with Mrs James so important for the children?
• What other digital audiences could you use to extend children’s learning beyond the classroom? Skype Classroom? Quadblogging.org?

Your style

A Stubborn shellfish

You don’t want the children to dwell on their loss for too long but trying to ignore the feelings of 32 eight year olds is never going to end well. Leave your ego at the door of the classroom. Just because the children love their other teacher doesn’t mean that, in time, they couldn’t love you too.

B Out of tuna

Unrealistic expectations are fuelling your frustration. Gratitude, like respect, is nurtured. The children’s perception of the changes in the classroom are very different to yours, with good reason. Try to see things from their angle.

C Brain sturgeon

With some careful management the children can still maintain a positive connection with their old teacher. Inviting her in through Skype is less disruptive than a visit and more productive for learning. The children need to know that you respect their teacher and their view of her. The transition may take a little time but the initial crisis is averted and a plan that works for everyone is in place.

About the author

Paul Dix is a lead trainer at Pivotal Education who podcasts at pivotalpodcast.com. The Pivotal Curriculum is a licensed trainer scheme that allows every school to deliver Pivotal Behaviour and Safeguarding Training. Find out more on pivotalcurriculum.com.