Pupils Behaviour!

[russdev]

Tone of the voice.... Well put that is what I meant when I was on about projecting the voice and all...

 

Just put more elegantly..

 

But I am going to check out that book...

 

Russ

[Guest Guest]

I started when i was 20 and had the same concerns. It will come with time.

 

Talk to them like you would expect to be spoken too. If you start being a dick to them they will be twice of a dick to you, and theres no need for you to speak to them like a child - they will not respect you for this.

 

Obviously this depends on situation; but answer them back. They will either go bright red and run off, or they will take it as a joke and see you are treating them as an equal, not as their superior. I found the mouthy ones now just like to have a laugh with me rather than trying to wind me.

 

Dont react, they'll come back and do it again if they think they'll get a reaction.

 

And probably most importantly (imo) - dont hold a grudge and dont go on what other people tell you. Just because a "bad boy" has a name doesnt mean he actaully is bad, he could be loverly underneath and just happened to go though a rough patch thus earning a name he cant shake (which shouldnt be the case as we are supposed to be the adults, as such we should give 2nd chances).

Going on what other people opinions are just confirms the childs befiefs that "everyones out to get him", which is perfectly justified if supposedly impartial adults wont give him a fair chance. Ive found that the "bad boys" are fine with me as i treat them how they expect to be treat, like adults.

 

Obviously theres always one little barstuard who will never get the message, but give everyone the benfit of the doubt and you'll be alright

[enjay]

I suspect that your biggest problem is that, being only 19, you probably find it hard to be authoritative with anyone, especially people so similar in age to you (I had similar here, as I am much closer to the students' age than I am to most of my colleagues!) but what you need to remember is that you are a staff member so you should feel able to act like one. What's more, the students will see you as a staff member (maybe a young and "cool" staff member, but a staff member nonetheless) so wouldn't be surprised by discipline from you. They should offer you the same level of respect which they do to the teaching staff - e.g. politeness, obedience, holding doors open, etc.

 

The jokes, door knocking and giggles will almost certainly subside once the novelty of a new bloke wears off, and also once they've got the measure of you (and once they've got bored and moved on to other things too). Try not to take these things personally, as I doubt they mean them in that way.

 

I don't think that being in an independent school (as I am too) means they "own" you and can therefore treat you how they want to. Again, they should offer you the same respect which they give the teachers because, let's face it, they also pay the Headteacher, but I'm sure they'd never act up like that for him!

 

I can't comment on whether or not you can give detentions, as schools differ on that. At my school, I can't sign the detention slip, however the ICT Co-ordinator is yet to refuse to sign one on my behalf. In one instance, I told a kid off for messing around and the ICT Co-ord (who was also in the room) then had a go at the student for a)messing around and b) distracting me from my work! Also, as others have said, uphold whatever the school rules are. If they see that they can get away with stuff in front of you, then they are more likely to take you for a ride and you will find disciplining them much harder if you later need to.

 

Treat the students as you would like to be treated; generally I can have a laugh with our girls (even the "bad" ones) yet I still have their respect and they will do as I ask them.

 

I think that the short answer to you question (which this hasn't been!) is that it will largely come with time and experience, however you should not expect to take any cr*p - you are a member of staff and should be treated like one, feel free to act like one :-)

[Netwacky87]

Im very grateful to you and everyone on this topic for there reply's! its really greatly appreciated!

 

I think the problem mainly boils down to age, i think its down to about 1 year ago i was in there place, - a student!, Maybe ive just gotta make the transition to thinking im a member of staff.... :S

[_Bat_]

How glad I am that I didn't start in a secondary school for this reason. I'm 21 and I think starting in a secondary would have put me off working in education forever.

 

In a primary school I don't have the trouble of being the same age as the pupils. In fact the only people that are my age are the student teachers who come there from college on a temp basis.

[elsiegee40]

Age is difficult and not something you can overcome easily... I'm old enough to be Mum to the OP and a few others on this thread and did a Computer Science degree at Lancaster Uni, but started on Punch Cards... the first DOS PCs came in during my final year.

 

Zimmer frame aside, I have found through the years that the kids don't actually have a clue how old you are. It's in your mind! You're staff and therefore geriatric!

 

I worked for an adventure holiday company for schools during my uni vacations and only came unstuck when the grammar school I had been to stayed at the site where I was working. They remembered me being at the school only 18 months before and my sister was still there! It was extremely hard for me to call the teachers who I knew as Mrs X and Mr Y by their first names, never mind pulling rank on oiks that had ignored me as a prefect!

 

It really is time for mind over matter! Good luck! (... and read that book I recommended earlier!)

 

Lin

[sqdge]

I am also the youngest member of staff at school, and so have felt that I can't be quite as powerful as other members of staff. On top of this, our school receives all the expelled kids from the surrounding schools, so behaviour is an issue.

 

I have found the most successful way of disciplining a child is through punishments they are not expecting. They all expect detentions and lines, so I avoid giving them those. Instead, I have found that, since they are affecting the work I can do on the computers, I will affect the work they can do. "Deleting" the contents of their personal drive (well, just cutting and pasting to a hidden folder...but they don't need to know that) is quite successful. However, my personal favourite is just blocking the internet for them - simple yet gets the message across.

[sidewinder]

I dont really have any problems with the kids. I was a bit nervous and overwhelmed when I first started but it didnt take long to get used to it

 

I still think being young helps (although the gap is always increasing!) as you know what they are talking about and can relate to them a bit more and they seem to respect that, in the same way the younger teachers seem to be more popular at school

 

I just go the route of trying to be their mate, and would never shout at them. Im sure some think Im a loser but most seem alright.

 

Possibly contarary to what everyone else thinks, I find them easier to deal with the older they get. Yes year 11 girls for example are really mouthy but as long as you can take a joke and maybe make fun of them a bit, and most of all avoid getting embarrased, its alright.

[enjay]

I think the problem mainly boils down to age, i think its down to about 1 year ago i was in there place, - a student!, Maybe ive just gotta make the transition to thinking im a member of staff.... :S

With all respect, I think that is the big one. As elsiegee40 says, you are over 18 and therefore generically "old" to the students. Time to start acting it! :-) I had the exact same problem when I started here. I was 25 and one of only 3 staff members under 30 (most are 40+) and had always previously been near the bottom of the pack in other jobs, so I found it difficult to pull rank / be authoritative.

 

I also found it difficult to get respect from some of my colleagues - I was just the young know-it-all kid (younger than most of my colleagues' children!) - but that's another story for another post :-)

[Kained]

I am also the youngest memeber of staff at the school and yes it is difficult not just with the children but with the adults as both take offence to being "told off" for doing things they shouldnt, the way i work it is iam doing my job and if your gonna attempt to make my life hard i will return the favour

[AshF]

Age is a weird one in Education... as I've now been here 4 years I'm thankfully no longer the youngest member of staff as others have come in after me. Although I am the youngest member of staff in the IT support team, and also the most senior... and boy that can be fun at times.

 

Before I worked here (6th Form College), I worked in a Secondary School with incl. 6th Form. The differences are sometimes extreme, sometimes not. Different students behave different ways. There are some who'll say hello, ask how things are, remark on X, Y, Z, they've had problems with, or even have a friendly conversation with whilst waiting for the train...

 

These are the ones that have grasped that being at a college means acting responsibly.

 

Then there are the mouse-ball stealing, rubbish-throwing, screen-drawing knuckle draggers (of both genders). And my attitude with them will be different. I'm good for a joke, good for some humour, and will often verbally spar with both students and staff alike. Its who I am. But if crossed... I know exactly who I am, and what my level of power is. When I was first put into position of Network Manager a few tried to leapfrog over me thinking 'oh he's only doing this until they can find someone better...' unaware i'd been running the show for quite a while. It stopped and now I guess i'm given as much respect as one can expect for a slightly overweight, long haired, army-boot stomping hippy.

 

To deal with the young'uns... master the confident walk... get to know the campus well. So you don't need to stop and look around. The more confident you seem, the less grief you will likely recieve. And if you think you are going to be griefed... work out in your head what your response is ahead of time. A gobby over agressive student can usually be cut down with a good response, and if there's an entire class of them, turn the class onto your side.

 

Most importantly, don't give in, and don't forget, you're paid to be there. Which is one up on them.

[acrobson]

The comment regarding controling internet access works for me too, i am in a similar situation where i studied at the college at which i currently work at, it also helps to remind them that you can control which websites get blocked.

 

If you cant give out detentions, i fine carrying out spot checks on their index.dat (using the free index.dat suite from majorgeeks) helps, it lists every URL the user has ever visited, then just hand it into there head of year to deal with. Sorted!

[t_guest]

i don't know how im gonna cope when i start work

as most of the school know me as a pupil but in September i will be a member of staff so i think they may have some respect for me but it's gonna feel weird telling my friends to stop that or something similar

and calling the teachers by there first names but at least i know the teachers well and most of the pupils

[Roberto]

Thanks for all the help guys,

 

Im just finding it really hard to be able to shout or have authority over the kids.

 

Is this something that comes with time or does it take you to be that sort of person?

 

Don't shout if it isn't "you". Even if you do feel comfortable with it, I personally would try to avoid over-using it. Authority comes from being confident of yourself and your knowledge and position, so try and remember you're there because you know what you are doing and you are a valuable part of helping shape the future of these kids.

 

Be yourself is the most important advice you can have, and I've seen it mentioned already among the good advice you've had already. Be the "you" that is responsible, in control, and knows what is going on around you. Things will certainly improve with time and practice, but I'm sure you have it in you already.

[Espada]

i don't know how im gonna cope when i start work

as most of the school know me as a pupil but in September i will be a member of staff so i think they may have some respect for me but it's gonna feel weird telling my friends to stop that or something similar

and calling the teachers by there first names but at least i know the teachers well and most of the pupils

 

You might find that because the kids know you well they may give you some more respect and so do what you ask them. It could however go the other way in which case don't struggle alone.

[Espada]

@mmoseley

 

First things first. Discipline is not your responsibility, if you can't handle it ask a teacher, the more senior the better. They have a responsibility to support you there.

 

If you know their names disable their account, when they come running saying they can't logon tell them that if they mess around again then you will be referring it to the scariest teacher in school. If they do it again, then refer them. Whatever you do don't make promises you cannot keep and if you make a promise keep it.

[Netwacky87]

Hey, im over-whelmed by the responces, thanks guys...

 

Yeh i know discipline isnt my responcablity but its a factor if kids are mis-behaving.

 

Thanks for all the replys u guys!