Rewards and Consequences

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This was the best advice I had. Not from the school but from some behaviour management person.

There has to be a consequence for every time the students do not meet my expectations and there has to be a reward when they do.

A defined reward system where the students get a good text home or a phone call home if they get their name on the board several times has worked a treat.

I knew it would work when one of my worst behaved students said ' That's the first time I have ever had my name on the board for a good reason' and she worked even harder to get her name on again.

That was a better outcome for me, she usually called me a 'c*ck' and threw her pencil at me.

Glue-gate

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I'm back in September now. I have spent a few days preparing some nice lessons for my year 9 class that I am due to meet next week.

The University trained me, sometimes it felt like they brainwashed me.

"Rich tasks, open tasks, matching tasks" when I was at school I worked from a text book. "No text books" said the Uni. "Take a couple of hours...make a matching task..the students cut them out, match them and stick them in their books"

So I dutifully did exactly that. My students looked at their sheets of paper, scissors and glue. They looked at me. "I don't get it" they said.

"Cut them out, match them stick them in your books"

And the is was as if someone blew a whistle at the beginning of a madhouse show. They got the scissors and started cutting their exercise books, themselves, their clothes, some tried cutting the task out. Then they used the glue to stick themselves to each other, cutting the glue to flick around the classroom.

The task ended with a fight in the middle of the room between Alphamale 1 and Alphamale 2 with glue sticks used like swords.

I was traumatised. I had not been trained for this.

It has now been 7 months since glue-gate and I have just started letting them use glue again. But they have to have finished cutting first. Glue + scissors = a step too far.

It is only now that I realise that I have to spell out exactly what I expect of them with each task. "I expect you to use the glue to stick in your work not each other" and there has to be a consequence. Otherwise why won't they muck around? "If you do not meet my expectations, then I'll be explaining them to you again at lunchtime today during your detention"

Now that works just fine.

Introductions

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I am a Newly Qualified Maths Teacher. There I've said it.

A mature teacher at that.

"Getting these students into shape will be a doddle with my life and parenting skills." That's what I thought a year ago. They almost broke me.

I'm now two terms down and have not had the energy or desire to put my experience into words.

I think now is the time express myself.

Maybe some other NQT or PGCE student will read this and they might draw some strength from my posts. Or maybe not.

I work at a secondary school in a city, so I guess it is an inner-city school. I always thought inner-city meant somewhere like London or Birmingham.

The results aren't great in my school, the behaviour is poor and every day is a battle. But after 2 terms I am starting to look forward to work.