This article was commissioned by GB News on 8th March 2024.
Respect is an overused word nowadays, it’s often bandied around in terms of people keen on asserting their ‘rights’ while neglecting their responsibilities. The dictionary definition of respect is ‘to have due regard for the feelings, wishes or rights of others’ or to ‘have a deep admiration for someone or something’. Most people working in education might feel a distinct lack of due regard or admiration towards them and that respect is sorely missing in many aspects of their jobs, but how to bring it back?
We have to start by addressing bad pupil behaviour in the classroom. It seems almost too obvious to say it out loud, but if children are messing about, they will not be learning effectively.
Mobile phones bring us many benefits but I think that they should be totally banned for all pupils whilst on school premises. I recently visited the Eastwood Academy Trust in my constituency of Southend West and was impressed that they have successfully implemented a no-phones policy since 2010.
The teaching staff told me how behaviour has improved along with educational outcomes. For the time spent at school, the pupils are free from distractions, free from any online bullying and are not tempted to use phones for nefarious purposes such as sending inappropriate pictures or messages. I’d like to see all schools operate on this basis.
If children are not learning, then they won’t be hitting educational targets or preparing well for their adult lives as working, productive members of society. If they’re not working adults, supporting themselves and paying taxes, they could become a drain on society.
Another thing I’d like to see is parents routinely giving their backing to teachers in terms of disciplining their children. Too often children behave badly in the classroom but when teachers apply the few tools at their disposal to exert chastisements or punishments they come up against parents who instead of joining forces with the school to rein in their child’s behaviour, effectively gang up with their child against the school.
This is not right. Children are not daft and if they see an opportunity to ‘get one over’ on their teacher they will probably take it. This leads to undesirable outcomes and can mean a teacher having a child focusing more on his or her ‘rights’ rather than behaving well and learning.
Along with praise, care, understanding and kindness, children also need to have clear boundaries, firm rules and dare I say it, a little bit of fear of facing the consequences of bad behaviour, to keep them in line. Gradually over the past 30 years or so teachers have incrementally lost most of the (albeit crude) forms of keeping pupils in line such as corporal punishment or expulsion.
As a Conservative I believe firmly in a good education being the key to a good future. Children born into unfortunate circumstances can be lifted up and out of poverty by receiving an education that enables them to fulfil their potential in whichever field their particular talents lie. If a child grows up, gains good qualifications and goes into a job that makes them happy, then they’re likely to be healthier too and not take up precious NHS resources. What parent would not want that for their child?
While I’m not advocating bringing back the cane or the slipper, teachers do need to possess methods that are more effective at rapidly bringing unruly pupils back into line for the benefit of all the pupils in that class. An unruly child not only jeopardises their own education but disrupts the learning opportunities of every other child in that class if the teacher is having to focus on ‘crowd control’ rather than teaching.
ENDS.
