I’m up in Sheffield enjoying some time with my folks this half term. My Mother had recorded a Channel Five program for me called Classroom Chaos which aired last year (must have been repeated recently) where a 50 year old women returned to the teaching profession after a gap of 20 years to do some supply work. She filmed secretly in schools all over the country, the images are blurred in post production so you can’t identify the schools or the children.
I can’t say that I saw anything suprising on the film. That’s how it is in lots of schools. Certainly I experienced very similar situations in my first placement. But of course the sport of baiting supply teachers (and student teachers) existed when I was at school too.
I see building up a positive relationship as key, but also you need a supportive school culture. The second half of the film actually featured a school that had turned itself around behaviourally and that was based on a headmaster who was continually in the corridors enforcing very high standards in behaviour.
Read more about it
BBC comment on the show
Teachit Disscussion Thread
And here’s a laugh, on doing a search for “classroom chaos” I found this game that you can download:
“Classroom Chaos is a fun action and strategy game. You play a substitute teacher, hired to teach a class of girls for one week. You must try to make them behave and raise their grades before the week is up. However, there’s more to being a good teacher than discipline. Choose from lesson plans or rearrange the class to keep troublemakers apart. Try and keep the girls under control or they may drive you up the wall”
http://downloads.zdnet.co.uk/0,39025604,39103220s,00.htm
