Girls behaving badly

An unusually high proportion of girls in the pupil referral unit with which she was working had Edwina Chevens’ curious to learn more about their stories and how they came to be there. Here she summarises her findings and makes some practical suggestions for wider practice.

Girl student having confrontation with the teacher

While working in school improvement and deployed to a pupil referral unit (PRU) to develop behaviour and attendance, I became aware that the cohort of students comprised almost 50 per cent girls in 2013 to 2014, which is atypical of national data.¹ I saw the study of the Key Stage 3 (KS3) and 4 girls as an opportunity to engage with a group of learners.

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      string(5633) "emphasis from the morality of the action to its effects (consequences). It argues that ethical decisions should be judged not by the morality that lies behind the decision but the moral value of its consequences for others. Instead of a focus on doing the right thing, it argues that the ethical leader will focus on achieving the right outcome. Again, ‘right’ is the subjective belief of those involved, so both approaches do not tell you what ‘right’ is, but how you should make your decisions in the light of your beliefs in what is right.However, virtue ethics and consequentialism are not the only alternative ethical perspectives you can use. The third is rule compliance, the obligations we all share to observe the rule and duties that society imposes, both formally (through laws) and informally (through social conventions). The 19th-Century German philosopher Immanuel Kant believed that such obligations were mandatory in all circumstances—a ‘categorical imperative’. We see how this belief in rule compliance works, without even thinking about it. Many foreign visitors to the UK are struck by our willingness to form an orderly queue—there is no law that requires us to do so, but it’s still ‘wrong’ to jump the queue, and we are culturally sensitised to view obeying this convention as being morally right. In reality, most rules and obligations conform to what most people would regard as doing the right thing and producing the right outcome, and many of our decisions that have a moral dimension see all three ethical stances aligned. However, rule compliance can present problems, especially when the rules become complex and extensive. This, it has been argued, is what led to the financial crash in 2008. The financial system had become increasingly rule-bound and the consequence was that those working in the industry ceased to ask ‘Is this right?’ and instead asked ‘Is this allowed by the rules?’ Excessive rule-making can remove personal moral responsibility and moral wisdom.Applying ethical perspectives to decisionsThat’s the theory, so what about the practice? Let’s look at one of the serious and growing problems in schools, the number of pupils being temporarily or permanently excluded. In the school year 2015/6, in England, 6,685 pupils were permanently excluded (78% of them boys) and 339,364 were excluded for a fixed period (74% of them boys).From a rule-compliance perspective, exclusion is easily presented as a response to rule non-compliance—the student broke the rules and therefore must suffer a sanction. A strict Kantian would say that societal rules must be obeyed within a system of justice and fairness. This appears to remove the decision from the ethical world to one of objective appraisal—the rules exist, the rules were broken, the sanctions must be applied. However, adopting a rule-compliance framework for making decisions about others’ behaviour is an ethical choice—by setting rules and saying that others must obey them we are applying moral standards. The word ‘must’ (or ‘should’) are moral obligations and thus we are engaged in ethical decisions.Equally, we can approach this from a virtue ethics perspective. In the virtue ethicist’s world, both the pupils themselves and the people making the decision about whether exclude are moral beings who are able to judge right or wrong. By behaving in a way that is morally wrong, the pupils have failed to abide by the moral imperative to do no wrong, but by judging their behaviour, the manager is also engaged in making moral choices. Is it right to punish these pupils? Did they know they were doing wrong, and were they able to control their behaviour sufficiently to make the choice to behave badly?This, of course, raises serious questions about the perpetrators. Have they learned to distinguish between right and wrong? If their family background is disordered or they have been diagnosed with a clinical condition such as ADHD or autism, does this inhibit them from making moral choices that conform to the norms that exist in a school? If not, how can you sanction them for not conforming to the standards the school expects if they are not able to make the choices that this implies? Is that not unethical?Furthermore, there is a serious imbalance in numbers between boys and girls and even greater imbalance between ethnic groups, with boys from black Caribbean backgrounds being 46 times more likely to be sanctioned than girls from Asian backgrounds! This raises questions about equality in the system, something a virtue ethicist, who is concerned with doing the right thing, must be alarmed at, while those who adopt a rule-compliance perspective would be asking if the rules are truly based on a shared social acceptance:Are the rules fair?Is the process of judging and sanctioning fair? Similarly, a consequentialist, would also be asking about the effect of excluding pupils. Does exclusion lead to the right outcome? On one hand, classrooms may be better controlled and the learning improved for those who remain, but what is the impact on the current and future life chances of those who are excluded, and does this negative impact balance out the positive impact on others? If those who are excluded already have fewer life chances than those others, is the latter’s enhanced opportunity worth more than the excluded pupils’ even worse prospects?Being an ethical leaderDoes any of this help? 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Conflict Resolution

The Ethical Dilemma

23 Jan 2019

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      string(5627) "In the same week as Ofsted chief Wilshaw went public with dire warnings about small independent Islamic faith schools spreading homophobic and anti-Semitic views, and providing low quality education in sub-standard, unhealthy buildings, parents at a predominantly white state school in Blackpool made national news by resisting the take-over of their school by a government-supported Islamic Faith Academy Trust.Unpicking this bald statement of fact clarifies the issues somewhat. But the deeper you look, the weirder it gets. Blackpool secondary schools are definitely in trouble. They not only have the Northern Underperformance Syndrome, but they also seem to be able to turn good outcomes from their primary schools into complete reverse! Only half the secondary schools are good or better, which means half ‘Require Improvement’ or are in special measures, with Ofsted saying that 2,500 students in the town are receiving an inadequate education. 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Leadership

Blackpool, Faith Schools and the Weirding of English Education

8 Jan 2015

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      string(5614) "frightening experiences in your life. Understand how the life event impacted on you – talk about what happened with a trusted empathic adult.Once you address what happened in the past, you’re allowed to get angry about it or grieve with someone who can help make sense of what happened.Sarah. age 14When Sarah was 14 she developed phobias and suffered from panic attacks. She dealt with them by avoiding any social situation outside of school. Her friends gave up on her as she never wanted to go out with them anymore. She then started to become fearful of going to school, and her attendance plummeted to only 6 percent.Sarah began to visit Miss Anderson, who was a trauma trained teacher at her school. It was the first time Sarah had really trusted an adult. One day, Sarah told Miss Anderson about having been badly bullied in her primary school when she was 10. The bullies had put her head down the toilet and she thought she would die. It all happened at a time when her parents were splitting up. Miss Anderson listened so well. Her reflective words “so alone”,” so un-helped”, “no one knew” helped Sarah feel her feelings about bullying for the first time. It was particularly helpful when Miss Anderson used the word shock as Sarah realized it was exactly that. The words terrified and utter aloneness also brought her particular relief.Before these vital conversations with Miss Anderson, Sarah had played down the bullying in her mind. Her parents often told her what a strong confident girl she was, which meant she implicitly received the message that forgetting about painful events, burying them and moving on was the ‘strong’ course of action. In actual fact, all of the research shows that the opposite is true.With Miss Anderson, Sarah cried about the awful bullying for the first time and felt angry instead of a helpless victim. With Miss Anderson’s help, she drew pictures of the bullies and wrote angry words all over them, tore up the paper and threw it in the bin (research shows that the key to therapeutic change is to change ‘emotion with emotion’). Sarah also grieved about multiple losses she experienced from her parents splitting up.Miss Anderson received permission from the Headteacher to text Sarah – particularly because she was so school phobic. This is a sample of one of the texts:Sarah – Miss I feel horrible this morning, my tummy is going crazy I feel crazy I feel like I am going madMiss Anderson – Oh Sarah how painful this must be for you, and frightening, I guess. I am so sorry you are feeling so overwhelmed in this way.Sarah: Yes, that’s right Miss. It’s exhaustingMiss Anderson You are in my mind and in my thoughts Sarah. I suggest you do that breathing exercise I told you aboutSarah – Ok miss I’ll do that nowMiss Anderson That’s brill Sarah – and hope you feel calm enough to come in: remember I’ll be here for you at break.Over three months, Sarah’s attendance shot up and went from 6 percent to 90 percent. She talked of feeling calm for the first time in her life.So how did Sarah get better?It was a combination of factors:Sarah was able to focus on the traumatic memory (which was fueling her social anxiety) and was able to talk about it and process her feelings for the first time. This is known as ‘memory reconsolidation’. If a memory is talked through and met with compassion and understanding, it ‘reconsolidated’ in the mind as something manageable. As the famous neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp says, “Bad memories are not like a big impenetrable mountain, they are changed by dynamic interaction with the environment through human interaction. “Sarah changed ‘emotion with emotion’ (meaning instead of fear and shame she felt empowerment, anger and grief)Through repeated soothing and emotionally regulating connection with Miss Anderson, Sarah developed effective stress regulatory systems in her brain, calming the amygdalaSarah developed a secure attachment with Miss Anderson. Secure attachment triggers optimal levels of opioids and oxytocin in the brain (these are anti-anxiety neurochemicals)Sarah knew she really mattered to Miss Anderson. Research showed a marked decrease in troubled behaviour when a child/ teenager feels they really matter to a mentor. (Kelley et al 2018)In conclusion, schools need many more Miss Andersons who are trained to be emotionally available adults for children like Sarah. Training doesn’t have to be long, drawn out or complicated – it’s simply about training existing school staff with natural empathy to listen, understand, and be there.And if we do nothing?… Children and teenagers are likely to carry on doing extreme things just to calm themselves down, including:Self harmDrink alcohol (it releases calming chemicals in the brain)Practice controlling behaviours like counting calories which can transfer the focus of their anxiety to their bodyAdopt extreme avoidance strategies – continuing to miss even more schoolUse prescription drugs to self- medicate. There have been several tragic cases of teenagers becoming addicted to Xanax and taking their own lives due to this.I strongly believe that doing nothing and failing to train teachers in basic empathetic and listening skills is tantamount to physical and emotional neglect. It’s time for radical change, which has an easy solution already being implemented up and down the country. 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Special Needs

Sarah's Story: Helping Children And Teenagers Who Live With Anxiety

14 Apr 2020

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      string(5629) "TUDORS INTRO.pdf30 Teaching & Learning November/December 2004The TudorsLiteracy, numeracy and science through the topic of The TudorsTeaching & LearningCreative teachingIntroductionThe Tudors were a family who ruled over England from 1485 until1603. They came to the throne as a result of the power strugglesbetween the Dukes of York and Lancaster, which we now knowas the Wars of the Roses. The time of The Tudors is a fascinatingperiod to study for children and adults alike. So, this issue ofTeaching & Learning looks at The Tudors in some detail and offerslesson plans that can help you teach literacy, numeracy andscience through this exciting theme.Teachers’ notesHenry VIIIHenry VIII was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth ofYork and was born on 28 June, 1491 at Greenwich. After hiselder brother died, Henry became next in line to be King.He became King in 1509. Henry was athletic, handsome andintelligent. He married six times during his lifetime and muchof the intrigue and excitement that surrounds The Tudorscomes from his constant yearning for a male heir – a needthat forced him to take so many wives.Catherine of AragonAt first, Catherine was married to Henry VIII’s brother, Arthur.However, six months after Arthur died she got engaged toHenry. A special dispensation was needed from the Pope (asEngland at this time was still very much a Catholic country)for Henry to marry Catherine. Eventually, they were marriedwhen he became King in 1509. She had many children, butonly one survived, Mary, who would later become Queen.Because Catherine only produced a female heir (and Henry sodesperately wanted a son) he divorced her to marry AnneBoleyn. To do this he had to break from the Catholic Church asthe Pope would not agree to the divorce. Henry made himselfHead of the Church in England and approved his own divorce.Anne BoleynHenry married Anne in 1533, and later that year she gave birthto a girl, Elizabeth who eventually became the Queen ofEngland. However, again possibly because Anne did not giveHenry a male heir and also because of personal differences,Henry decided that he wanted to get rid of Anne. He accusedher of adultery with a number of men (including her ownbrother) and Anne was beheaded at the Tower of London.Eleven days later Henry married his third wife, Jane Seymour.Jane SeymourJane gave birth to a son in 1537, Edward. Henry was delightedas it seemed that at long last he had the male heir he sodesperately wanted. However, 12 days after giving birth Janedied. Some historians believe that Henry truly loved Jane andhe waited two years before marrying again.Anne of ClevesFor various political and financial reasons, Henry wanted tomake a ‘good’ marriage this time and decided to look all overEurope for a bride. He sent painters to paint any eligiblebrides so he could see what they looked like. A picture wasshown to him of Anne of Cleves and he agreed to marry her.But when she arrived in England, Henry took an instantdislike to her and found her ugly. Henry could not break hispromise to marry Anne, so after six months they weredivorced. Anne sensibly agreed to the divorce and she andHenry became friends.Katherine HowardAfter Anne of Cleves, Henry married Katherine Howard, who wasbarely a teenager when she married Henry. However she waspreviously, secretly engaged to one man and possibly a second onetoo. When the King found out he had Katherine beheaded in 1542.CreativeTeaching andLearning31November/December 2004 Teaching & LearningKathryn ParrHenry’s last wife was Kathryn Parr. By the time he marriedKathryn, Henry was very fat and ill and Kathryn became hisnurse more than his wife. She was a kind woman and was thefirst wife to bring all three of his children to live togetherunder one roof. When Henry died in 1547, Kathryn marriedThomas Seymour (her fourth husband). Sadly she died inchildbirth a year later in 1548.Edward VIEdward VI became King at the age of nine. DuringEdward’s reign, the Church of England became even moreProtestant – Edward himself was very much aProtestant. Edward was ill for most of his life and died in1553. Edward did not want his sister Mary to take thethrone after his death as she was a staunch Catholic. So,he made Lady Jane Grey his heir.Lady Jane GreyOn the death of Edward, Jane assumed the throne and herclaim was recognised by the Council of England. However, thecountry did not agree and supported Mary I, Catherine ofAragon’s daughter. Jane reigned for only nine days and wasexecuted in 1554.Mary IMary I was the first Queen Regnant (that is, a Queenreigning in her own right rather than a Queen throughmarriage to a King). Mary restored papal supremacy inEngland, abandoned the title of Supreme Head of theChurch, reintroduced Roman Catholic bishops and began theslow reintroduction of monastic orders. Mary also hadaround 300 Protestants burnt at the stake and this earnedher the nickname ‘Bloody Mary’. Mary wanted to marry andhave children, leaving a Catholic heir to consolidate herreligious reforms, and removing her half-sister Elizabeth Ifrom direct succession. But, Mary’s decision to marry Philip,King of Spain from 1556, in 1554 was very unpopular. Themarriage was childless and Mary died, leaving the crown toher half-sister Elizabeth I.Elizabeth IElizabeth I was the last Tudor monarch. She was born atGreenwich on 7 September 1533, the daughter of Henry VIIIand his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth succeeded to thethrone on her half-sister’s death in November 1558. She wasvery well-educated (fluent in six languages), and"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Project Based Learning - Tudors - Full Plan

22 Aug 2017