Respect agenda. Page 2

Quote: roscoff @ April 10 2009, 3:36 PM BST

It works both ways buddy. If a pupils is well behaved, polite and works hard they will get instant respect from their teacher unless he/she is a nob. However the hard arse who thinks they own the classroom and is out to disrupt will get zero respect and a f**king lot of hassle from me. Plus I have no interest in that child respecting me or not. I'm there to make sure those who want to work get the best from what I can give to them. Any pupil who stands in the way of that is going to have a miserable school experience in my class unless they change their ways. And some do.

View original

Yes. But why are they acting that way in the first place? IME, a lot of the time it's (not exclusively) down to how teachers have behaved towards them in the past. It's a two-way street, definitely. The teachers aren't always at fault. But ultimately, they're the ones who hold the power and influence. I've found that with a few exceptions, no matter how badly a kid behaves otherwise, if the teacher shows respect towards the children, then they'll get it back. I can think of and least three teachers who ran successful classrooms like that.

Quote: Gavin @ April 10 2009, 3:12 PM BST

Are you enjoying teaching Curt?

View original

I really love teaching so far, even the bad classes. It's a rediculous amount of work though, that's pretty rough. I have had no life since I started. If you look at my Facebook I have a bunch of friends asking me if I've died because I'm never at any group functions anymore.
I don't think my teaching can be defined as no nonsense. I won't put up with disrespect between other students but I'm an adult and I can take it if when they disrespect me. I really have no fear of them no matter how tough they think they are. They're teenagers I think that's enough reason to have patience.
I see some teachers in my school who are like "I don't know how much more I can do this, these kids are so bad".
The two biggest things I've learned are
#1 Take nothing personal
#2 Show no weakness
#3 Show no fear
You do any of these things and they will eat you alive.
Like my associate teacher told me, a lot of these kids only get attention in their lives when someone is yelling at them. So they feed off it and like it. Why would I would reward them with what they want?
Sorry, I babbled on there.

Quote: Aaron @ April 10 2009, 3:58 PM BST

Yes. But why are they acting that way in the first place? IME, a lot of the time it's (not exclusively) down to how teachers have behaved towards them in the past.

View original

I would agree. I get this a lot from the kids "I hate this class, it's the only class where I have to do work" when all I've done is ask them to write a paragraph. They really aren't used to doing work, it's kind of sad in a way.

Quote: Aaron @ April 10 2009, 3:58 PM BST

I've found that with a few exceptions, no matter how badly a kid behaves otherwise, if the teacher shows respect towards the children, then they'll get it back.

View original

It's the few that's the problem Aaron. Even in a socially deprived area like the one I teach in most of the kids are fine. It's the few that have little or no respect for the teacher. Plus you also forget that many of these 'good' kids are little sods at home. In the last three Inspection reports the Chief Inspector observed kids behaviour outside the school as well as inside and found that the little darling that held the door open for him when he came in and said 'Good morning' is now a foul mouthed brat.

Quote: Curt @ April 10 2009, 4:07 PM BST

I really love teaching so far, even the bad classes. It's a rediculous amount of work though, that's pretty rough. I have had no life since I started. If you look at my Facebook I have a bunch of friends asking me if I've died because I'm never at any group functions anymore.
I don't think my teaching can be defined as no nonsense. I won't put up with disrespect between other students but I'm an adult and I can take it if when they disrespect me. I really have no fear of them no matter how tough they think they are. They're teenagers I think that's enough reason to have patience.
I see some teachers in my school who are like "I don't know how much more I can do this, these kids are so bad".
The two biggest things I've learned are
#1 Take nothing personal
#2 Show no weakness
#3 Show no fear
You do any of these things and they will eat you alive.
Like my associate teacher told me, a lot of these kids only get attention in their lives when someone is yelling at them. So they feed off it and like it. Why would I would reward them with what they want?
Sorry, I babbled on there.

View original

Thats awesome you sound like a top teacher dude

I must say that I have a lot of respect (it's the buzz word at mo) for Curt. The kids I deal with are not easy but as for teenagers, I'm not sure I could do it. I would have to modify my teaching quite a bit and grow another layer of skin to boot. Salutations Curt

Quote: roscoff @ April 10 2009, 4:09 PM BST

It's the few that's the problem Aaron. Even in a socially deprived area like the one I teach in most of the kids are fine. It's the few that have little or no respect for the teacher. Plus you also forget that many of these 'good' kids are little sods at home. In the last three Inspection reports the Chief Inspector observed kids behaviour outside the school as well as inside and found that the little darling that held the door open for him when he came in and said 'Good morning' is now a foul mouthed brat.

View original

Mm, yes, all true. It's ... uh. Yeah. I've lost track now.

Daniel Hannan's brilliant, isn't he?

Quote: Aaron @ April 10 2009, 4:20 PM BST

Daniel Hannan's brilliant, isn't he?

View original

Who? Does he teach at Curt's school?

I was wandering more about inherent unearend respect. Little things like not sitting on the disabled seat when the bus is crowded, or getting up if someone needs the seat more than you. Or something as simple as not pushing to the front of a queue.

I have recently started reading the Daily Mail.

But I am certain people used to queue to get on buses more.

Now to write another sketch about Satana and abortions.

I bet Roscoff and Curt would be ace in a sitcom about 2 teachers; one a oung Canadian transfer to Wales, the other an embitterred alcoholic bear.

Oh Canada, it's unbearable?

One of the many golden rules I was taught is never, ever, on no account, raise your voice to a student so you're on the right track there Curt. Raising your voice to a student is a sign of weakness and shows the class that you are not in absolute control of the situation.

You also hit on a point that the bad kids only get attention when being yelled at. Kids aren't 'bad' for no reason, one of the most common reasons is that they don't get the attention they would like or feel they deserve, they substitute for this by using antisocial behavior as a guaranteed method of receiving attention. There are no bad kids, only misunderstood kids who can be eventually turned if one has the patience to work on it.

I know I'm going to get slammed for this post but don't care, I speak from experience and stick to my opinions. Teachers who go through the day just teaching are missing out on a golden opportunity, there is much, much more than to being a teacher than teaching, I can go on about this for pages and pages but won't. Students will remember their teachers for the rest of their lives, long after the teacher is dead. We remember the bad ones because they were crap, but mostly we remember the good ones because we respected them, they helped form us into the people we have become.

It's not easy I know, I have often had classes of right little monsters, criminals, some even trying to deal in class, etc..At times I have felt like throttling the whole bloody lot of them, but that's illegal so we have to come up with other methods.

Quote: roscoff @ April 10 2009, 4:22 PM BST

Who? Does he teach at Curt's school?

View original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs

And if that pleases you, check out this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGyJdw8dtfo

I could argue that the lack of respect for authority has something to do with the iconoclasm of the sixties which taught us to distrust all forms of authority, or the philosophy of public service economics promulgated by the Thatcherite economists of the early eighties, who taught us that there was no such thing as society or public duty and that everyone was only out for what they could get for themselves.

I suspect that the reason there is not enough respect is that people are not taught to respect themselves.

If you disrespect anybody that you run in to
How in the world do you think anybody's s'posed to respect you
If you don't give a heck 'bout the man with the bible in his hand
Just get out the way, and let the gentleman do his thing
You the kind of gentleman that want everything your way
Take the sheet off your face, boy, it's a brand new day

Staple Singers

Quote: Aaron @ April 10 2009, 3:01 PM BST

You could argue that a teacher is a figure of authority and so should be respected anyway, but 7 year olds (for example) don't have that reasoning. They may have fear depending on their upbringing, but they don't have that actual respect.

View original

7 year olds should do what they are told. End of. It's not an issue of respect; I'm not sure that I ever contemplated who I did or did not respect when I was a kid. It's a modern phenomena where it seems everyone, from the age of about 4, seems to have a defined sense of their 'rights'. I.e. what they can get away with, and what they can't be prevented from doing.

'Respect' is one of those words that has been hijacked and doesn't mean anything anymore. Once upon a time kids did respect their elders because of the 'wealth of knowledge and experience' they are perceived to have accumulated. If pressed, then one could argue that a teacher should have automatic respect due to the position they have in our society, or the amount of study they have done or qualifications attained. I don't think 'respect' is something that necessarily has to be earned, but neither is it an automatic right.

However, we live in a world where no student is deemed to have failed, where nobody takes responsibility for their actions, where everything is someone else's fault. And someone else must pay.

I was on the bus coming back from work a few weeks ago when a kid got on, dumped a few pence on the shelf by the driver and sauntered to a seat without a word. The driver called him back as he hadn't paid enough. A stand off ensued as the driver refused to move the bus...
Da Yoot wasn't going to go back, wasn't going to pay the correct amount, but 'aksed' the driver if he was disrespecting him! What about disrespecting the driver (I thought *quietly* to myself...)?

Edited by Aaron - grammar.

Quote: Curt @ April 10 2009, 4:07 PM BST

I really love teaching so far

The two biggest things I've learned are
#1 Take nothing personal
#2 Show no weakness
#3 Show no fear

View original

You teach math, right?

Quote: sootyj @ April 10 2009, 4:40 PM BST

I bet Roscoff and Curt would be ace in a sitcom about 2 teachers; one a oung Canadian transfer to Wales, the other an embitterred alcoholic bear.

View original

I support any sitcom that has a bear as the main character.

Quote: Maurice Minor @ April 10 2009, 5:34 PM BST

7 year olds should do what they are told. End of. It's not an issue of respect; I'm not sure that I ever contemplated who I did or did not respect when I was a kid.

View original

You're missing the point too, and being incredibly patronising and underestimating children.

Oh, and respect doesn't need to be 'contemplated'. It's subconscious.