Spare the Voice... Spoil the Child?

One of the very first pieces of advice I received before my first steps in a classroom was to "show no mercy".

I think many trainees would have received this advice in one form or the other. The idea behind it was to always be more firm, more strict than usual in front of the class, in order to gain their attention, and their [?] respect. The other idea was also to show that you may be a relief teacher/trainee teacher/temporary teacher but you sure as heck was NOT going to let this class get in your way.

Then again, the next question some trainees may ask is, "So just HOW strict?"

Some trainees and I were mulling over this question just the other day. We agreed that we had to be firm and strict, but to some of us, this had to be out of character, because, well, we just weren't really that fierce in real life.

Not only that, but we also felt that we didn't want to create an environment of fear in our classroom, where the students tremble at every sound the teacher made, and lived in fear of stepping out of line.

As a trainee myself, I witnessed 2 kinds of teaching methods in my mentors.

Some mentors were real fierce. The way they screamed and shouted at their students made me shudder inwardly when I sat in their classes for observation. I wondered, naively, whether the students would actually learn this way, and whether such an environment was conducive to learning, let alone to my own voice and blood pressure.

[of course, the thing is that after the lesson, they can quickly switch face and speak to me in a more lenient tone. thank goodness for that]

It was only when I had to teach a rowdy class on my own that I realised why they had to act those characters. Because if you didn't shout, you'd never get heard above the ruckus of the class. If you weren't strict as hell, they sure as hell weren't gonna listen to you.

I've also known other trainees who suffered in front of their class, because they weren't strict enough at first, and then the class just decided not to listen to them anymore.

Then again, this creates other problems. Apparently, if you, the form teacher, are too strict in your class, other subject teachers suffer because when they step in your class when you're not around, the whole class takes your absence as an opportunity to descend into chaos, never mind that another teacher is around.

Then again, I've also seen other teachers who weren't that strict, except when necessary. They spoke nicely to their class, they cracked jokes, and they were still generally popular with the class, and the class was generally well-behaved in front of them.

So one didn't have to be a complete gorgon all the time......

I guess it generally depends on the class. If your school does what most schools do, then students of generally the same standard ability are lumped together in the same class. So all the brightest sparks will be in the A classes, while the...... not as gifted...... would be in the Z classes. [you get the idea]

If you teach an A class, then congrats for you. Your classroom management is that much easier. The children will listen to you, follow your instructions, and sit by quietly waiting for further instructions, because that's what they've been trained to do.

If you teach a Z class......... Prepare the Prozac.