I am utterly sickened by the constant insidious suggestions that Discipline can be ‘enforced' with force. From ‘Dirty Harry' Headteachers, to calls to bring in the Army and hints that teachers might (again) grab hold of children who disrupt lessons. In between the lines a more aggressive response to poor behaviour is being encouraged. It appeals to a primal and emotional urge. It appeals to the ignorant, the unenlightened and the ugliest traditions of the right wing. It suits their purpose to pretend behaviour change is not built on relationships but pure unadulterated control.
Tub thumping head teachers get their needs met. They rarely meet the needs of the most damaged children. In the brave new world of 1950's Behaviour Management those who won't do as they are told are shunned with unpalatable enthusiasm. Control, discipline and force are the hardly perennials of the populist politicians. When are we going to shout Humanity, Respect and Kindness with the same vigour. What kind of models of the adult world are we being encouraged to be? What kind of seeds are we told to plant ?
Raising the question of behaviour with a leading Swedish educationalist he was shocked that it was even an issue in the UK. It certainly isn't in Swedish Schools. Come to think of it I don't recall seeing boot camps and screaming Sergeant majors in the corridors of Swedish, Dutch, French or Spanish schools. I see mutual respect, excellent relationships, care and love. The British insistence on enforced discipline leaves us behind the pack. Encouraging schools to return to ‘them' and ‘us' cultures with rose tinted ridiculousness makes us appear arrogant, unable to learn from others.
Standing up when the teacher walks in is a good example of this. Standing up for teacher doesn't change behaviour. It just further undermines the division between teachers and pupils. It is of course, a sham. A pantomime of false respect played out in classrooms that are never replicated in the adult world. I stood up when my teachers came in the room. I never thought twice about it. It was habit, a minor inconvenience, a triviality. It didn't stop me telling the aggressive ones to fuck off. It didn't make me trust them, like them or respect them. Why do we put up with this ridiculous pretence that doffing your cap to authority somehow makes you behave better. It teaches hierarchy not personal discipline.
The best school behaviour policy that I have read starts with the line ‘all children at this school will be treated with unconditional respect by all adults'. That is a ‘zero tolerance' I can work with. It is the same sentiment that the Governor of an outstanding STC I visited repeated. The same message that every headteacher of a Pupil Referral Unit I have ever met has echoed. The answer does not lie in demanding respect by using power. It lies with a consistency that treats children with absolute respect not as second class citizens. Children who struggle with their behaviour don't follow rules. They follow people.
Transforming schools who struggle with entrenched behaviour issues is not just the preserve of Academies. Academies use their change of status to create these consistencies and constantly refresh expectations. New buildings, new rules and new school uniform give the staff a chance, as one to change their own behaviour. It is a useful springboard. But you can achieve this transformation without superstar headteachers or ‘rebranding' stunts. At its core the change is in the behaviour of the adults. When staff, as one, deliberately change their behaviour they can have a transformational influence on the behaviour of individuals and the way the institution behaves. Consistent changes in staff behaviour provide a sudden irresistible model. Staff bound together in language, attitude and approach. If suddenly everyone around you expects you to succeed it is hard to swim against the tide. Bind staff together with the song sheet that they will all sing from, convince them to deliberately change their behaviour as a consistent mass and you can have control without anger, discipline without brutality.