Topical Teaching

This is a point made very clear in a recent article entitled, Why we’re losing the fight against bullying.  The article suggests that school policies are flawed or just simply ineffective and bullying continues to be as rampant as ever.  Before I discuss my approach to the issue, I want to point out some interesting points made in the article:

“Some parents, I am sad to say, are not at all bothered if their child is a bully. In fact, they can be quite proud of it,” explains Ken Rigby, a bullying expert in Australia.

Schools can post warm and fuzzy messages about tolerance in the hallways, and hand out good-citizen awards at assemblies – both well-meaning, and necessary – but that strategy speaks loudest to students who wouldn’t bully in the first place, and many of those who do (between 10 and 20 per cent) don’t necessarily see their behaviour that way.

Schools can post warm and fuzzy messages about tolerance in the hallways, and hand out good-citizen awards at assemblies – both well-meaning, and necessary – but that strategy speaks loudest to students who wouldn’t bully in the first place, and many of those who do (between 10 and 20 per cent) don’t necessarily see their behaviour that way.

Zero-tolerance policies on fighting, as cases in Canada have shown, do not solve the problem either, often leading to punishment without investigation, and little follow-up.

I have very strong views on bullying and anti-bullying policy formulation.  It is my opinion that we have our emphasis wrong.  Bullying isn’t a priority – it is THE PRIORITY.  As a teacher, I am entrusted not with people’s money or belongings but with the most important and precious things they have – their children.  It is my responsibility to ensure that they are safe and secure.  Sure, I have to teach them and help them grow academically, but even more so, I have to do my best to make sure that the child they dropped off at my classroom is going to come back in as good if not better emotional shape than when they arrived.

When I speak to my class at the beginning of the year, I tell them there is a sure-fire way for them to have to repeat the year a second time.  It’s not if they find the work difficult or are struggling to pass assessments – it’s if they are not treating their classmates with respect.  Because if they are not ready to treat others with respect, they are not emotionally ready to go up a year level. 

I’m not joking.  I really do mean it.

There is a lot of talk about child centered learning vs teacher centered learning.  I prescribe to neither.  Instead, I believe in what I call “class centred learning”.  The main focus of my teaching is that everyone in the class must respect each other.  It is the fundamental rule for assessing my own performance.  They don’t have to like each other.  But they absolutely must respect each other.  And ultimately, it is my duty to empower the class and create an environment of closeness and mutual respect.

Does it mean that there is no bullying in my classroom?  Absolutely not.  I wish.  I’m only an average teacher.  What it means is, I take more interest in the welfare of my class than any other consideration.

So that means your actual “teaching” suffers?  Absolutely not.  In fact, if there is tension, poor self-esteem, bullying and disharmony in the classroom, there is no way a teacher is going to get the class to work at their potential.  Think about how hard it is for us adults to operate at work with colleagues that don’t respect us.

I think of it this way.  If my students go home still unsure about a maths problem, I can fix that up the following day.  But, if my students go home victimised by fellow classmates due to my inaction – then I may have caused potential damage.