It was the best of times; it was the worst of times

By

John Hellner

Nothing worked. Year 10 fidgeted; year 10 chatted; year 10 failed to focus; sometimes
they verged on pandemonium. Margaret, the teacher, paused and waited and waited;
she glared, with both hands on her hips the double teapot; she used names and her
signature terms Im waiting, listening, pens down; she gave consequences
see me after class, move to anther seat. Very behaviouralist.

It happened after year 10 had been in Mr. So and Sos class, where they rampaged all the
time; it happened near the end of the term; it happened Friday after lunch; sometimes it
just happened because the wind blew outside. Nothing worked: very worst of times.

While Margaret managed one student, anther broke out and another and another. She felt
very much like the proverbial little Dutch boy with his finger plugging holes in the dike
while other holes appeared and threatened to flood the village. Nothing worked: very
frustrating.

Margaret never gave up. Instead, she tried something different. As she said, expecting
year 10 to settle, because I told them to settle, was like asking a whale to ride a bicycle
because its a mammal. As an alternative, Margaret took the focus off herself and
abdicated the traditional role of the teacher being ostensibly in charge and let her lesson
structure and pace manage year 10: very post-modern.

It went something like this:

She began with notes, or a map, or a diagram on the whiteboard or an OHT for the class
to copy at the start of the lesson. The notes either reviewed the last days lesson and/or
previewed the days lesson. She greeted the class at the door and told each individual to
copy off the whiteboard work - about 5-8 minutes worth of work. The notes serveed as
the bulk of her introduction: no formal attention gaining, or pausing, just got them going,
settled and silent, starting right at the door.

While Year 10 copied, Margaret circulated to get them on task as individuals or in

clusters. Once they settled, she hurried to the front of the room and spent a couple of
minutes to prep or to access pre-prepared information and instructions the class would
need to get on with the next sequential task: either a hand-out given to them at their
desks, or an OHT, or writing on the board. The instructions and the task were simple,
aiming to minimise any opportunity for confusion. She didnt want any down time in the
transitions between activities.

Just BEFORE they finished the copying, briefly, Margaret gained attention and directed
year 10 to the next task. She was brief: this was the "window" she had while "they
caught their breath" no time to drift. She gave noise levels and time frames - about 10
minutes asked if they had any questions at the moment and said if they need help while
they worked, to raise their hand and she would come to see them.

Margaret paused in front of the room, until most of Year 10 began to work, then she once
again circulated in the room to manage individuals and clusters of students. Any
corrections she offered, she kept private and whispered: the less teacher intrusion into the
work atmosphere, the better. She made the occasional "too loud" remark to the whole
class, but the focus remained on individual corrections, not the whole class. Naturally,
Margaret had the high moral ground when she made her "too loud" remark because she
was careful to set very precise directions for noise levels: for example, "work quietly"
may have been too general and so she said "whispered, desk talk to person next to you
only."

She repeated the same process for the next activity. She created enjoyable and
reasonably simple activities, obviously relevant to the curriculum, but not needing much
explanation or introduction: she wanted to concentrate more on conduct training than on
subject matter or skill development for the moment.

Margaret tried to convey an extra sense of urgency in the lesson because she wanted to
use lesson structure, urgency, pace and activities to manage behaviour, rather than
teacher oriented correction, to regain the work ethic. Throughout the lesson Margaret
remained poker faced, used quick staccato words, a level tone, and brisk movements: she
wanted to send the message this is a place of business and I dont want you to miss a
single bit of it.

Year 10 learned the drill quickly. When they began to demonstrate constructive work
behaviours, Margaret injected more of her infectious enthusiasm into the learning, they
negotiated (to a degree) what they would study, they undertook interesting and
challenging tasks, they worked in groups, they reported back their findings, and answered
thought provoking questions from the top of Blooms taxonomy. Thats the type of
lesson year 10 wanted all along anyways: very constructivist.

Year 10 never really knew how it happened and not even Margaret was sure why year 10
became more fun to teach they just were: very post modern. Rachael needed to use less
and less overt and intrusive class management and year 10s work ethic grew
exponentially: it was the best of times.