If I had any doubts at all that I was doing the right thing in leaving this school and going to another, today eradicated those doubts once and for all.
I was asked to cover the last lesson of the day and I readily agreed - after all, at the moment, it's what I'm paid for... I made my way to the classroom and I was met with a scene of such chaotic mayhem that I wanted to turn tail and scamper back to my hidey-hole. But I couldn't. I had to go in.
There were tables upended, chairs strewn across the room and about 7 pupils were having a whale of a time causing merry Hell.
I calmly walked in and began righting the furniture, and struggled to make myself heard above the din without actually yelling at the top of my voice.
Rowdy Pupil 1: Orrrh, av we go you, Miss?
TwP: Yes, you have.
Rowdy Pupil 1: Orrrh, no.
Thus the tone was set for the whole lesson. Pupils filed in late and sat down, or didn't. They began getting out their pencil cases, or didn't. They looked expectantly at me for direction, or didn't. There was a distinct divide between pupils who were prepared for the lesson and those who weren't. Those who weren't preferred to continue rearranging the furniture, screeching and generally showing me that I didn't matter one jot.
Rowdy Pupil 2: She's gonna call someone over now!
TwP thinks: No, I'm not. I'm going to deal with this situation!
I tried my usual counting down from 5 routine. There was a lull in the noise long enough for me to explain that I was going to take the register and put their work on the board.
Rowdy Pupil 3: Orrh, we got work, Miss?
TwP: Yes.
I called the register. It took 9 minutes. During this 9 minutes, Rowdy Pupil 4 was attempting to balance a table on two legs. It tottered precariously before falling onto the pupils sitting at it. I asked Rowdy Pupil 4 to step outside. I told him I would come and speak to him in a moment.
With their work up on the board, I distributed the paper they would need to complete said work. The Rowdies began making paper aeroplanes. I went outside to speak to Rowdy Pupil 4, who maintained that he "hadn't done nothing". I didn't make an issue of the double negative; merely left him outside the room and went back to the bedlam within.
Now, throwing paper aeroplanes doesn't seem the biggest sin in the world, and if it were being done in fun, as a silly jape, a teacher might smile fondly and say, "Come on now, let's get down to it", but there was something wrong with this aeroplane throwing - there was an aggression to it. Pupils were out of their seats, removing chairs as if they were obstructions to purpose, and this was all specifically designed to get a reaction from me.
It could have gone either way. By this point, I was trembling, as I struggled to fight my flight instinct.
I began writing on the board.
Darryl, please sit down in your own chair.
Chelsea, could you put your gum in the bin, please?
Lucy, put the table back down.*
One by one, they began reading the board. There was another lull. It lasted about 45 seconds. Before long, the rowdies were back to shouting, pushing each other, launching themselves across tables, at each other, screaming, back to trying to get me to explode with frustration. It was a calculated attack by an unruly mob.
The rest of the lesson passed with my ignoring most of the rowdy behaviour and eventually it died down to a dull roar once they realised I was not going to react in the way they wanted me to. Two girls came to ask me if I was going to do anything about the rowdy pupils as they were "doing our 'eads in, Miss!"
What I wanted to say:
Do you think it would make a blind bit of difference, girls? These children are animals. They are out of control and quite frankly, I don't feel I can confront them in case one of them stabs me! If I were you, I'd get your parents to complain to the Governors.
What I actually said:
I am going to keep them behind after the lesson, girls, and I will talk to them then, because I don't think they will listen now, do you? If you can do your best to get on with the work set, that would be brilliant.
At the end of the lesson, I read out a list of names of the pupils I wanted to speak to.
Did they stay behind? Did they bog roll.
I used the school Sleuth system to log the incident. I went to speak to the Deputy Head about my experiences that afternoon. I told her that there was an undercurrent of deliberately violent aggression in that room and that I never wanted to feel threatened in that way ever again.
And come December, I hope I never will.
*
not their real names
