teaching unchained | january 2011

8/6/2019 Teaching Unchained | January 2011

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In this Issue

EDITORIAL

i Is school teaching children the right value? 02

ii Share, Delegate, Earn Trust in the Classroom 03

iii Inculcating Positive Discipline 04

iv Inside Scoop 04

v The Creation of a Teacher 05

Jenny Mosley 06

vi As a H.M of a school, how do you maintain disciplinewithout resorting to corporal punishments? 08

vii Teacher as a Scaffold 10

Dear Teacher,

Happy New Year!

This quarters edition is centered around DISCIPLINE.Discipline is the secret of coherence in any organized group; Soccer Teams,

Political Parties, Whatever.No discipline, No coherence.

Discipline is a necessary life skill for all achievement, especially greatachievements. Without discipline, there can be no scienti c advances (eg.penicillin); no entrepreneurial and industrial achievement (eg. mass-producedmotor cars); no settled system of Law and Order (look at any advanced democraticcountry) and no literary achievements (eg. Chetan Bhagat). Children have tobe able to take care of themselves to make it inside and outside of school life. Itis very unique that each individual knows how to carry themselves. The way wespeak, what we speak, things we do, speaks volumes about us.

The importance of using Rewards and Recognitions to Lead; How to create afair environment where everyone feels important and The importance of taskallocation are the hallmarks of the towering personality pro led in this issue. Shehas brought a sea change through her work in the UK and abroad. Read about

Jenny Mosley,

In this issue, we are also going to read different points of view with regard to theact of disciplining. Students and teachers have expressed their thoughts andviews on the topic.

Read on and send me your thoughts on the views presented at

[email protected]

Cheers

Editor

Volume 9, Issue 1 JanuaryMarch 2011


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2 Teaching Unchained JanuaryMarch 11

Recently I came across this poser in one othe newspapers. Over the past ew months,

we are waking up to the news about the CWGraud or about how the politicians are raking

in big money at the expense o us poor taxpayers. Are corruption and cheating the onlyorm o dishonesty? In my opinion dishonestycan take various orms.

We Indians have discovered a game which we all play with lanright rom childhood and we take special e ort to hone this skillat all times. The name o this game is passing the buck! There usal to take the onus o responsibility and nding a scapegoator our actions is the major character faw o us Indians. Take theexample o a child who alls down as it takes the rst ew altering

steps or as it rides its new cycle. We display our anger on aninanimate object that caused the all or the nearest person whowe could hold responsible.

Blame gameNeedless to say our intention is to divert the childs attention, butvery rarely have I ound a parent say, alling is a part o growingup! and brushing away the incident. Soon, the child graduates toblaming the peer or lost books or pencils and the partial teachersand tough question papers or missing marks! I am yet to comeacross a student saying, These poor marks are a true refectiono my complete lack o preparation!

Many a times it is not schools or any institution but the adult in achilds li e that leads to this dishonest trait in us.

In my early years o teaching, I ound mysel only dealing withcomplaints o young students. I came up with a bright complaintbox wherein all complaints had to be placed and the matterswould be sorted out in the last period o the week. Trust me, thecomplaints slowly petered out and by the third week the box wasmade redundant. The whole episode went on to prove that whenwe have sympathetic ears, our complaints are usually voci erous.

Children need to be given brownie points whenever they accepttheir mistakes and take responsibility or their actions both athome and school. Needless to say, the adults should set anexample or the same and not blame the barking o the dog orthe burnt o ering on the dining table!

Taking credit or others job is another major drawback o usIndians. Recently, I read an article on how a young girl resh out o

college shared her brainwave with her colleagues over lunch andound that someone in her group had passed o the idea as herown to the boss. Can we say to the shattered girl, Welcome tothe corporate world!

Isnt it unethical to pass o others ideas as your own? Foreignuniversities take a serious view to plagiarism, and we needto teach our children to exercise sel -check. It would also bebene cial i schools encourage projects that demand team e ort.

This would teach students to be a team player and accept thatevery drop in the ocean counts.

I am not talking about personal wealth. It is sharing o relevantin ormation with your colleagues and employees. We are astbecoming world class poker champions and we hold importantin ormation close to us that we do not mind costing the companybig money or holding success at bay all or the simple pleasureo playing power games. It would be bene cial or these powermongers to ollow Joseph Badaracco, a pro essor o HarvardBusiness School, In todays environment, hoarding knowledgeultimately erodes your power. I you know something veryimportant, the way to get power is by actually sharing it.

Finally, the revival o conducting moral value classes in schoolswould not be amiss. When I go down memory lane, I remembersome amazing stories told at these classes and I appreciate themmore today than I did at that time.

By Chandrika Krishnan in The Deccan Herald on 19th Nov, 2010

1Is school teaching

children the right value?


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Many o li es circumstances are createdby three basic choices: the disciplines youchoose to keep, the people you choose tobe with and the laws you choose to obey.

Charles Mill huff

Positive discipline is a program designed to teach young peopleto become responsible, respect ul and resource ul members o their community. At DPS we believe that sel discipline is betterlearned through guidance than through punishment. It is betterlearned through a we are a team, I am the leader, its my job tohelp you grow up approach rather than through a me againstyou approach.

At the Primary level listening and answering as an equal and notas an instructor is encouraged. Criticising, discouraging, creatingobstacles and barriers, using sarcastic or cruel humour orusing physical punishment is strictly discouraged. The students

are allowed to eel valued. Children are motivated to changestrategies rather than blame others.

Positive discipline is ostered by an e cient management o dayto day activities and by upholding high standards o conduct.

The institution should set a high bench mark in discipline whichthe students attain not only by means o written rules butalso by an unwritten code o conduct prevailing in the school.Cleanliness, punctuality, courtesy, respect and help ulness arepositive attributes that the school inculcates in its students.

These traits are carried with them beyond the portals o theschool into their personal and pro essional lives. All this can beachieved by a sel -imposed discipline which is the driving orcebehind the success o every individual. Discipline that is en orcedwith corporal or other punishment is super cial and may breedrebellion. On the other hand positive discipline promotescharacter building and this is what schools should strive hardto achieve.

3Inculcating Positive

DisciplineManju Sharma, Principal,Delhi Public School (Bangalore South)

For someone rom outside India, the clause in The Right to Education Act banning corporalpunishment was surprising. In my mind,

using physical or verbal aggression is counter productive to learning--students just dontlearn and think i theyre scared or bullied!

The best way to prevent discipline problems is to have a wellthought out, clearly structured and engaging lesson. I rst heardthese words as a teacher in training and remind mysel o themevery time I plan .

Would I be bored in this class i I were a student? I theanswer is yes, then I rework my plan-more activities, moremovement and relevant examples. I do not give students timeto get bored or misbehave. The next question is always, Arethe expectations clear? Con usion leads to uncertainty andopportunities or disruptive behavior.

Students rightly want to be paid attention-good or bad. Toensure its positive attention, I dont sit down when I teach-I am always walking around the room, moving rom studentto student and insisting on their participation. As someonestarts to squirm or look as i they are plotting somethingdisruptive, I dont wait or the act, but stand next to thestudent, insist he or she read or ask a question. I studentsknow youre watching-all the time-the attempts to sneak ina poke or pass a note arent there anymore.

Let the students ask questions, be engaged and share whatthey know. I I show them respect when they speak- ace them,give them ull attention-they ollow my model and return itto me and their peers. They are people with eelings, justas teachers are, and treating each other accordingly buildsa learning environment o mutual respect.

Everston and Randolph write, classroom management must notbe seen as an end in itsel , but as a contributing actor in studentlearning. So it is important to rst think about what learningexperiences we want our students to have and then developpositive classroom management techniques to support thoseaimsand not to let classroom discipline strategies dictate thelearning process.

4 INSIDESCOOP


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Teaching Unchained JanuaryMarch 11 5

The Good Lord was creating teachers. It was His sixth day o overtime and He knew that this was a tremendous responsibilityor teachers would touch the lives o so many impressionableyoung children. An angel appeared to Him and said, You aretaking a long time to gure this one out. Yes, said the Lord, but have you read the specs on this order?

TEACHER:must stand above all students, yet be on their level... must be able to do 180 things not connected with the subjectbeing taught... must run on co ee and le tovers,... must communicate vital knowledge to all students daily andbe right most o the time... must have more time or others than or hersel /himsel ... must have a smile that can endure through pay cuts,problematic children, and worried parents... must go on teaching when parents question every move andothers are not supportive... must have 6 pair o hands.

Six pair o hands, said the angel, thats impossibleWell, said the Lord, it is not the hands that are the problem. Itis the three pairs o eyes that are presenting the most di culty!

The angel looked incredulous, Three pairs o eyes...on astandard model? The Lord nodded His head, One pair cansee a student or what he is and not what others have labeledhim as. Another pair o eyes is in the back o the teachers headto see what should not be seen, but what must be known. Theeyes in the ront are only to look at the child as he/she acts outin order to refect, I understand and I still believe in you,without

so much as saying a word to the child.

Lord, said the angel, this is a very large project and I thinkyou should work on it tomorrow.

I cant, said the Lord, or I have come very close to creatingsomething much like Mysel . I have one that comes to workwhen he/she is sick.....teaches a class o children that do notwant to learn....has a special place in his/her heart or childrenwho are not his/her own.....understands the struggles o thosewho have di culty....never takes the students or granted... Theangel looked closely at the model the Lord was creating.

It is too so t-hearted, said the angel.

Yes, said the Lord, but also tough, You can not imagine whatthis teacher can endure or do, i necessary.

Can this teacher think? asked the angel.

5The Creation of a Teacher

Author Unknown

Not only think, said the Lord,. but reason & compromise.

The angel came closer to have a better look at the model andran his nger over the teachers cheek.

Well, Lord, said the angel, your job looks ne but there isa leak. I told you that you were putting too much into this

model. You can not imagine the stress that will be placedupon the teacher.

The Lord moved in closer and li ted the drop o moisture romthe teachers cheek. It shone and glistened in the light.

It is not a leak, He said, It is a tear.

A tear? What is that? asked the angel, What is a tear or?

The Lord replied with great thought, It is or the joy andpride o seeing a child accomplish even the smallest task.It is or the loneliness o children who have a hard time to tin and it is or compassion or the eelings o their parents. Itcomes rom the pain o not being able to reach some childrenand the disappointment those children eel in themselves. Itcomes o ten when a teacher has been with a class or a yearand must say good-bye to those students and get ready towelcome a new class.

My, said the angel, The tear thing is a great idea...You area genius!!

The Lord looked somber, I didnt put it there.


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Jenny Mosley

Jenny Mosley is the ounder o Jenny MosleyConsultancies, a vibrant training companyand exciting resources organization. Jennyhas developed her highly success ul school

and classroom management model over the years based upon a background o teachingexperience, research and collaboration with localeducation authorities and schools. Jennys keymodel, Quality Circle Time (QCT), encompassesa whole-school approach to,

Promoting Positive Relationships

Creating a caring and respect ul ethos

Helping children develop their sel -esteemand sel -confdence

Providing e fcient and e ective systemsand support or all sta

Creating great lunchtimes and playtimes

Nurturing the creativity in all people in schooland Promoting social and emotionaldevelopment o all children in EducationalInstitutions.

This approach has been recommended in many Guidance reportsin the UK and more recently in the UK Social and Emotional

Aspects o Learning Document, or primary and secondaryschools, and or Early Years too. Jenny has a talented, highlyexperienced and well-supervised team o consultants, who, alongwith her, take the model to the ull range o educational settings:mainstream primary and secondary schools, Independent andSpecial Schools, Nurseries, Care Homes and Adult Education.

The Consultancys training includes a comprehensive suite o creative and innovative courses designed or todays learning

environments, including courses or boosting energy, raisingsel -esteem, relaxation, success ul transitions, emotional literacy,listening skills, parents, peer mediation, lunchtimes, playtimes andmore. Jennys key to positive behavior management is her Golden

Time incentives and sanctions system. Her Golden Time systemallows teachers to manage behaviour in a positive manner.

She understands that recognising and praising good behaviouris equally, i not more, important than punishing children or badbehaviour. These strategies are used in the majority o schoolsup and down the UK, encouraging children towards positivebehaviour and as a celebration o positive behaviour within thewhole school community. Jenny has authored and co-authored


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many books, including best sellingTurn Your School Around,Quality Circle Time in the Primary Classroom, Quality Circle

Time in the Secondary School and Positive Playtimes. The Teacher Foundation and Jenny Mosley Consultancies hasbeen working hand in hand through the last decade to bring a

positive change into school relationships; between teachers andstudents, heads o schools and teachers, among teachers andespecially among students themselves. TTF has enabled theprocess o setting up e cient and e ective support or all sta ,gentle handling o children and nurturing the inherent creativity inall the people in a school.

When asked to speak about her passion she had this to say...

I started my career in 1972 in a secondary modern boys schooland became very interested in how the creative arts could helpchildren express their conficts and develop sel -esteem. I thenworked in inner London in an EBD school or young people o all

ages. Again, through working with some great teachers, I becameeven more interested in weaving listening and drama activitiesinto the circle. Much later in my career, having developed aparticular circle time approach, I was asked to pilot my modelin 30 di erent schools. From this early work in the mid-eighties,I then worked on an Eco - systemic approach to raising sel -esteem and promoting positive relationships which has now beendeveloped into the Whole School Quality Circle Time model.For 15 years I combined my work as an M.Ed lecturer at BristolUniversity, a visiting lecturer at London University with running myown consultancy company. Now I, and my team o teachers andconsultants, concentrate on providing national and internationalin-service training or all teachers, support sta , parents, childrenand their partnership agencies.

People o ten ask where I get my energy rom I think energycomes rom making sure that there is some balance in yourpersonal and pro essional li e, making sure there is un andspending some time and money on yoursel ! People o ten eelguilty about ocusing on themselves. But you cant keep ongiving out i you are not putting back in. A small tongue incheek scenario that I mention is that when I am working with avery di cult child or colleague I just think quietly to mysel oryour sake I am going to book mysel a massageit somehowmakes some o our harder work less di cult as there are some

days when we shouldnt attempt too much other than to try andget through the day with treats and dignity!

Constant change, inspection and target-setting have taken theirtoll on the psyche o the nations teachers. Yet, research provesthat teachers with sound sel -esteem and a strong sense o sel -respect oster high sel -esteem pupils who, in turn, can ul ll theirtrue academic and social potential.

On our training programmes we invite in the whole schoolcommunity and we teach a range o collective and sel -carestrategies. We encourage team-building and corporate policiesto help sta look a ter each other and themselves. We try to pointout that until the adults start to model happiness, pleasure andrespect, we shall have a generation o children not wanting togrow up!

Children su ering rom mental health problems . need to besurrounded by energetic, yet calm role models. In order that thewhole community can speak and listen to each other, we involve

the schools in a commitment to setting up an ongoing, timetabled process o circle meetings. Through these orums,which are governed by strict ground rules, all individuals tacklethe key interpersonal issues a ecting their school development.

The circle meetings incorporate a range o strategies to ensure

not only that everyone eels supported, but also that theirrelationship skills are continuously being enhanced.

We implement a visible moral values system, with attendantpractical imperatives (sa ety routines); the establishment o ahighly motivational system o sanctions and incentives that isdemocratically shared by all adults and children; the promotiono strategies to create calmer, more productive lunchtimes;the implementation o daily success programmes andtherapeutic intervention to help children who are beyondthe usual motivational strategies; and the shared back-upsystem o support o teachers themselves under unacceptablelevels o stress. Once all these structures are in place, the circle

meetings, timetabled or all adults and children, continueto act as a review body.

Once a circle o people have learnt to listen and respecteach other, research shows that pupils eel sa e enoughto become creatively adventurous. There is no ear o abacklash i they make a mistake, as there is now a cultureo support and celebration.It needs courage to be part o a growing, trans orming culture, and courage which is ueledby the quality o relationships.

Opinions of students from Delhi Public School(Bangalore South) on Circle Time:

SASS has been helping everyone, not just me. It has helpedus to understand ourselves better. With entertaining games wealways learn something; like, developing listening skills, learningmore about our class mates, openly discussing our problems.We eagerly look orward or the next sessionSanaa Alvira

It has been very important in moulding my inter-personaland intra- personal relationships. This is a never-seen-be ore plat orm where students can have a heart to heartconversation on sensitive issues, knowing that the secrets arenot going to be betrayed. The teacher shares some anecdotestoo, which makes the experience un lled and enjoyable. Wetoo o ten see that we are not the only ones; the whole classmay have undergone the same situation. Thus to sum it up, theQCT session has helped us to open up, interact and have un.Briti Ghosh

This is a plat orm or us to get closer to our riends as well asteachers

Aakash Varma

During these sessions, the teacher becomes our riend andhelps us with our problems

Sai Preetam

It increases our aith in the teachers and class mates. This alsostrengthens our relationship with our riendsVaibhav Malani


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Rajalakshmi, Gurukul, Kanakpura Road, Bangalore Apart rom being Head Mistress, I am also a teacher, aguide, a riend and a parent. As I live in these various roles,I am imbibed with the power to understand, refect andcomprehend the deeper eelings o a child. So I have shed myego and arrogance; hence I do not dictate terms, I place theacts & expectations in ront o them. I make them set goals,inspire them to dream & cherish the ruits o their small & bigachievement.

I o er the best to my team to display their talent, take upchallenges and opportunity to grow. This makes me turn awayrom corporal punishment. Thus sow a thought and reap anaction. Reap an action & reap a habit sow a habit & reap acharacter, sow a character & reap a destiny. I empower myteam o teachers with skills to ace the challenge o handlingstudents without resorting to corporal punishment.

Correct and timely realization and implementation o simple

changes in my behavior as a parent, riend, guide, teacherand mother enables me to be less stress ul. It has smoothenedand strengthened the bond between me and the child.

So corporal punishment is not a tool or me.

6Different

Perspectivesin Disciplining Mrs. Lily Periera, Director, Babyland Childrens Education hadthis to say...

The rst and oremost thing is to be a loving person to children.I the child is aware o your true love, he or she will try toavoid wrong behavior or ear o losing the teachers love. Thewithdrawal technique helps a great deal to modi y behaviour tocreate discipline.Be rm and not rude. Use motivation and not pressure. Use theword therapy and not punishment.

DISCIPLINE by Archana Srivastava , Principal-Vibgyor High,

BangaloreI eel positive discipline provides a sa e environment or thestudents. It is imperative to set boundaries and lay down groundrules or the students to behave.

One needs to remember a ew things while disciplining thestudents such as: not harming the sel esteem o a child and nodwelling or reminding them o their past mistakes. One shouldalso keep in mind that discipline is individualistic in nature,


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meaning even though the situation or the mistake committedby two students may be similar , one cannot handle both thestudents in the same way!

We need to avoid meting out our anger or rustration on them.Finally ,I eel that i expectations are laid down clearly, childrenwill learn to unction and behave accordingly. Lets reward themimmediately instead o looking or immediate punishments!

Mr. Khan as Head o Citizen School, Banaglore was askedwhat he did to maintain discipline among his students, withoutresorting to corporal punishment.

He had this to say, The Academic Coordinator and theteachers work very closely with each other. There are dailyin ormal meetings where the teachers are ree to discuss anyissue they have to deal with.

The important points that came across were that they madesure no child elt le t out o the school activities. Children wereencouraged to participate and any child showing leadershipqualities was given appropriate, additional responsibilities.Whiling away o time was rowned upon by the Head o theSchool, so the teachers were on their guard against unrulybehavior. Counseling was an integral part o the school ethos.

There was no corporal punishment and long term solutionswere the ocus when there was a problem at hand. A quick xwas too temporary and not something looked at by the SchoolManagement. He added that there was better discipline amongthe students since the last two years, rom the time they started

working with The Teacher Foundation on the Whole School Turnaround project.

Some Pearls of WisdomEncourage or reprimand

A better way to encourage good behavior is to remember

to praise them as o ten as needed. This doesnt meannever reprimanding them or doing something wrong. Butits important to criticize the childs behaviour rather thanthe child as a person. Instead o saying, You are verynaughty, say something like, I dont like what youredoing, or, We wont allow that behavior.

Think about what to say and how you speak to the childUse the same tone o voice with children as you wantpeople to use with you. Talk respect ully to them andabout them. Its very tempting to ridicule children in thehope that constantly pointing out bad behavior will makethem stop doing it. But this o ten has the opposite e ect.Children soon learn that they get attention by doing thingsteachers dont like.

Teaching children by way of exampleOne way children learn is by imitating & copying others.

This is why parents need to behave in ways which setgood examples. Its important that we, as parents, showrespect or children - Naturally, children who are shownrespect themselves will show respect to others. Althoughchildren need to know they are unique individuals, theyalso need to know they are part o a group too. This iswhy we need to teach them to share, to listen to others

and to take turns.

Avoid smacking / hitting / physical punishment as it onlyteaches children that violence is the best way to maintaincontrol and it encourages them to hit other children.


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de nitely many commitments which both students and childrenshould make and uphold. I think the behaviour we as teachersexhibit in the classroom should role model the behaviour that weexpect rom our students. It is important or us to analyse how weact with our children and how we think and eel about them. Weneed to think about the kind o people we want them to be andwhat our long term goals or our students are. When I did thatthinking, I realised that very o ten the practices in my classroomwere not leading to many o those long term goals. I wantedchildren to be sensitive, independent and well balanced people,yet there were times in the classroom that I mysel did not exhibitthose behaviours.

How we eel about the children isnt as important as how they

experience those eelings and how they think they have beentreated. That is where using Quality Circle time came as agodsend. It was a good solution to providing a ramework o whatwe value as long term goals or all citizens in a society. It wassomething that all o us were committed to uphold whether youwere a student or a teacher. However, the part that I had a lot o trouble implementing was the rewards and sanctions part, as Ideep down did not agree with the philosophy. I eel that drivingdiscipline through rewards and consequences treats caring as aprivilege and not a gi t. I think the relationship that students musthave with their peers should not be one o reciprocity but basedon caring.

I know that this sounds idealistic, but keeping track o everygood deed a child did and rewarding him/her or it was a verytiresome task. What however, was easier ,was talking withchildren about consequences and therein lay the problem. It wasmuch easier to ocus on the negatives and not make a big dealabout the positives and thats where I elt that it was becominga di cult system to ollow. Firstly it was time intensive to notedown positives and secondly it was di cult to schedule rewardsin a packed curriculum day. I elt it is much easier to work withchildren on the premise that what you do is not tied to a rewardor consequence.

The I do something or you, i you do something or meormula was di cult to ollow, I think would be best le t or laterIn li e, when the rule o reciprocity would apply to their work andeconomic dealings. It is something that we should protect ourchildren rom. Children should eel that even i they do somethingwrong, they are still valued by their peers and teacher.

I remember, that very o ten there were some children whoalways got into trouble and they began to be labelled, and withwithdrawal o privileges, it was evident to the whole class thatthey had broken their commitments. But isnt there a way o working things out? I o ten talked with children during a bubble

time about how their behaviour made them and me eel. Iencouraged them to write or draw about their eelings i theywere unable to speak about them. This opportunity to vent itsel

sometimes was the solution. I ound using circle time andgetting peers to solve problems was a great way o addressingissues in the classroom. Just getting children to realise thatthey are all important members o the classroom communitywhere all is air and equal was what I think this methodologyaddressed. I used QCT very e ectively, that there came a pointin time that whenever children had a confict, they themselveswould huddle in a circle, one assuming the role o a acilitatorand solve problems independently.

They remembered to listen to each other, take turns, and usepositive language while giving solutions. It was an absoluteeye opener or me and I think that that day still remains asthe most rewarding day o my career as a teacher. It did take

time and sustained e ort to use QCT, but the results not onlymade children accountable or their own behaviour but alsogave them the ability to receive eedback positively and act onit on their own initiative. It also made me realise that disciplinethrough airness and reason is ar more e ective than disciplinethrough rewards and conditions. I did not use privileges andconsequences, just the power ul world o emotions, eelingand words and lots o instinct and it worked just ne. I had acaring sensitive class, who were ocused and involved in theirlearning, as well as enjoying positive and ul lling relationshipswith their peers.


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teaching unchained | january 2011

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