Day 23 - Contradictory Idiocy

I was supervising the Community Action Project group again today. I supervise two groups of Year 9 students who have all been removed from French lessons because of, and let's make no bones about this, their poor behaviour which means that they are "disadvantaging other students" to use the pc terminology. What I really mean is "disruptive little blighters" (and that's being polite). They talked over each other constantly, talked over the tutor, refused to take part in the Team Building exercises and generally acted like the feral creatures everybody believes them to be.

So when the tutor eventually called them on their behaviour, the exchange went something like this:

Tutor: You said earlier that all the teachers just shout at you and it doesn't make any difference.
Pupil 1: Yeah. We're used to it so it don't have any affect on us.
Pupil 2: Yeah, it just goes in through one ear and out the other.
Pupil 3: I don't even listen no more. It's not worth it. I don't care.
Pupil 1: They just shouts all the time.
Tutor: So I'm not going to shout at you, because I know it won't have the slightest effect. But you lot are behaving appallingly today. You're not listening to each other and you're being so rude.
(During this statement, Pupil 3 attempted to interrupt the Tutor after almost every word she said. It was almost as if he couldn't stop himself)
Pupil 1: They treats us like...like...we're a child. They don't respect us.
Tutor: But you don't have any respect for them either. Or for each other.
Pupil 1: They expect us to behave like adults, but we're not, we're children!
Tutor: They don't expect you to behave like adults, but they certainly don't expect you to be so childish still. You know how to behave.
Pupil 3: Yeah, but we gets angry sometimes.
Tutor: So what could you do about that? To manage your anger?
Pupil 3: Go to Anger Management.
Tutor: Yes. Good.
Pupil 3: But I don't go to Anger Management.
Tutor: But you could manage your anger. If you know you're going to be angry, you can do something about it. You don't have to give in to it.
Pupil 3: Yeah, but I don't go to Anger Management.
Tutor: Listen, I am seething with boiling rage at the moment, but I'm managing to control it.
Pupil 3: But we gets angry.


And so on. The session ended soon after that with the Assistant Head's arrival and a threat that next week's session would be cancelled.

I'm not entirely certain that any of the group would be that bothered.