Written by Paul Dix
Every school has a Big Beast. In some schools they roam the corridors ready to pounce on straggling children who have become separated from the pack. In others they are kept caged in their offices, ready at a moments notice to savage badly behaved children who dare to challenge the status quo. You won't find The Big Beast of Behaviour in any policy document or behaviour strategy. They lurk underneath the surface, renegade, untamed.
Is the Big Beast of Behaviour a relic of old school brutality to be ridiculed or are they an essential element of good order and discipline? Can a BB be useful if deployed carefully or are they too dangerous to be released onto modern children?
What type of Beast do you have?
Every child knows who the big beasts are. When I was at school, Chopper Harris was ours. Four fingers on one hand, the physical stature of a Yeti with the temperament of a battle hardened Sergeant. He was a man who loved violence and through the medium of the board rubber shared that love with us. Daily.
I've worked alongside some big beasts too. Diminutive deputy head attack dogs who would leave classes of gnarled year 11 girls whimpering and dead ‘ard boys with a 1000 yard stare; Year Heads whose own behaviour was brilliantly unpredictable it terrified and unnerved in equal measure; and Headteachers who could shout a cocky year-9 down to the floor from 100 yards.
In schools in chaos a Big Beast can be phenomenally useful. Where the status quo has changed and teachers are running scared of the students someone has to take control. They are magnificent at holding the line, re-establishing behavioural norms and leading "bollocking assemblies". For crowd control they are second to none. They often have advanced skills in hard stares, quieting a raucous canteen and a boisterous corridor in the blink of an unblinking eye. In the jungle of teenage chaos when behaviour has really slipped you need a BB to pull you out of the shit. Children understand power and hierarchy well before they understand responsibility and restoration. A BB can take you from chaos to consistency.
In schools where there is less chaos and more calm, less pandemonium and more purpose the beasts are quieter but no less important. Regardless of how well ordered your school is there is a place for someone with a different role. Someone who draws the line firmly in the sand. Someone who is the unbending face of discipline. Someone who does not attempt last minute mentoring, coaching or cups of tea. A calmer, more considered BB can be more effective than a raging torrent of adult emotion. Their performance is more measured. Often cold, never aggressive.
Making Best Use of Your Beast
A BB can be very useful if you use it well. Sending children to the BB is not going to help you build a relationship with the child, more than likely it will do some damage. Yet sometimes that is a necessary part of tough love. The BB won't solve your behaviour issues, but it will get the child's attention, fast. A skillful BB will smooth a path back into the class that allows the teacher and pupil to maintain their pride and begin the next lesson from a better position. A good BB won't stop there. The best and most effective big beasts are ones that help you to follow up incidents, support sanctions and repair damage.
For new teachers who are finding their feet and struggling to maintain order, a BB is essential. In the first year of teaching we all need a lot of help. The BB will make the space for you to convince the children that you are capable of being in charge. They carve out time for you to be heard, to deliver instructions and to get the learning moving. As you get to know your colleagues you will find others who can tailor support better for you. But for now the shock and awe reminds everyone that you are not alone. Never feel guilty about using the BB while you are establishing yourself in a new post. However if you are still pulling on the emergency cord in as an experienced teacher there are dangers lurking.
Misusing Beasts
Experienced teachers who over use the BB undermine their own authority with the children. Used sparingly it is a sharp reminder that the adults are all connected. Overuse the BB and you soon delegate power away from your classroom. If you persistently show the children that you are lower on the food chain they will only take their orders from higher up. For an experienced teacher a BB is most useful when it is standing alongside, often gently growling but supporting not taking over.
Inviting the BB in to give the class a ‘roasting' might feel great for a moment but as soon as they walk out of the door you have a mountain to climb. Whole class punishments never end well. Instead of waiting until the frustration is overwhelming ask a BB to pop in regularly, without growling and just ‘see how we are getting along'. Children don't like it when the BB ‘pops in', it raises the stakes, increases the risks for those tempted to disrupt. Yet the BB can impose a temporary learning environment giving you a chance to rebuild your own.
Don't be tempted to unleash a BB on the 5% of children who ignore status and have no fear of adults. These children need skillful mentoring, calm assertive leadership. They have met bigger beasts in their family lives and conquered them. A BB may be highly effective for dealing with the vast majority of children who defer to hierarchy and fear castigation. Yet unleashing the BB on damaged and vulnerable children is garnishing misery on the pain. Using a BB to discipline children who do not have the strength to recover from a mauling is cruel.
How to find the Beast
If you wondering who the Big Beast is in your school there is a simply way to find out. The next time there is a fire drill watch carefully. Big Beasts love the fire drill. It is their natural habitat. They prowl with menace and intent. Waiting for their moment. In glorious bellowing above the idle chatter of 1800 students the roar of the BB goes out. All are hushed, cowed before the beast and all is well in the jungle.