Becoming a Primary School Teacher

Dominic Wyse

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2003
• eBook ISBN: 9781134576692
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This book is essential reading for students just beginning a career in primary school teaching. Written with the needs and questions of the new student teacher in mind, it covers the fundamental aspects of the job of the primary school teacher in an inspiring yet down-to-earth way. Each chapter covers a key issue in primary education.
Becoming a Primary School Teacher is the perfect introductory text for the student teacher, helping them to prepare for their first school experience. It will also be of interest to more experienced teachers and teacher trainers.

Chapter I

Working with people

What are inter-personal skills? Why are they so important?

Inter-personal skills are social attributes that we use in order to communicate with and relate well to people. It is not that all people in the school should be close friends, but teachers’ inter-personal skills need to be well developed in order to form positive and productive relationships. It has been said that ‘you can’t learn from someone you don’t like’. This is perhaps a little extreme but it illustrates how important the teacher-learner relationship is.

Working with children

Your attitudes to children

The attitudes you hold about children and their learning are important because they have an impact on the quality of your relationships. Some of the following ideas are not unarguable facts, but they do reflect many teachers’ views on how to deal with children.

Children want to learn. From a very young age they are fascinated by the world around them. I remember seeing a television programme which reinforced this belief. The programme was called Baby Monthly. It looked at the experiences of different parents over the first six months of their babies’ lives. The parents had access to various researchers. One of the interesting general things that came from the researchers was that they had moved away from theories that young babies couldn’t understand much, to theories that they could understand a great deal. The researchers were still finding new things that young children could do. One example was an experiment where a baby’s dummy was linked to a computer. When the baby sucked on the dummy the screen image changed. The six-day-old baby was able to keep sucking until the picture of its mother was on screen and then stop sucking for several seconds to prevent the image from changing into a different mother: at just six days old!

This early incredible appetite for learning continues when children start formal education. Children are very enthusiastic to learn all the things that teachers and other adults can teach them. This is something that is positive about children and should form the basis of your opinion about their capabilities.

The difficulty comes when some children appear to show that they do not want to learn. There may be many reasons for this: an uninteresting lesson; a subject they do not particularly like; a problem in their lives; tiredness; other children stopping them working and so on. One of the teacher’s jobs is to understand about the children in their class. Sensitive teachers can sometimes pick up reasons why children may not be very motivated on a particular day. Sometimes a child’s attitude to the work seems to be negative over longer periods of time. The response of the teacher has to be (1) remind yourself that children want to learn; (2) try and make the curriculum as interesting as possible; (3) if there are problems try and find out what these are; (4) recognise that changing some children’s behaviour can be a long process.

Much of what I have said in the previous paragraph is about being positive. All people - and children are no exception - respond better to positive interaction. Some teachers recommend ‘four positives to each negative’ which is a good rule of thumb. There are many ways that you can show you are being positive. Simple phrases such as ‘that’s really good’, ‘well done’, ‘lovely work’ and positive body language such as smiling are straightforward. At a more demanding level it is good if you can offer specific positive feedback, for example, ‘I liked the way that you had a try at that spelling’ or ‘Well done, you worked out that word by reading to the end of the sentence’.

The other important element about being positive is to do with the way you respond to ‘wrong’ answers or ‘misconceptions’. Remember that children want to learn, which means that when they offer an answer to a question or a suggestion it is nearly always meant seriously. You should never ridicule a child for an answer and always try to search for the positive thinking and/or knowledge behind it. Even in a subject such as maths which has ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ answers to computations, it is possible to value the child’s thinking. First, a positive response from the teacher (A); second, an unhelpful one (B):

Teacher A: What’s 6 doubled?

Child: 3.

Teacher A: Good try. 3 is half of 6, can you think what 6 is doubled?

Teacher B: What’s 6 doubled?

Child: 3.

Teacher B: No that’s wrong.

In the first example the child would have learned more, as would the other children in the group, because the teacher used the opportunity to enhance the children’s knowledge by talking about ‘half of 6’. The teacher also helped the child to understand the problem with their answer in a sensitive way. In the second example the child may have felt slightly ‘stupid’ and would not have known why the answer was wrong. Another good strategy is to ask the child how they arrived at an answer, which can give more opportunity to praise logical thinking even if the final answer is incorrect. The point here is not to say that teachers should never let children know when they are wrong but that this should be done sensitively.

When you meet a group of children for the first time it is important to establish an appropriate professional relationship. In a nutshell this is one that is firm but friendly. It is firm because you need to make sure that the children do as they are asked, as you will see in Chapter 4 on managing behaviour. It is friendly because you form quite a close relationship with your class over the year. You become a trusted adult whom they may need to talk to in order to resolve their problems. You must be approachable so that those children who are shy still feel able to talk to you.

As part of your friendly side you will sometimes come into physical contact with children. Infant children sometimes welcome an arm around the shoulder and may want to hold your hand at playtime or if out on a walking trip. The main point to remember is to be sensitive to what the children need, both as individuals and as an age group. Men sometimes find this more difficult than women but they should not be unduly worried by physical contact provided they are sensitive to children’s needs. As you work with them you will realise what physical support is necessary. As children get older their growing confidence means that physical contact is rarely necessary.

Because children are small in size and developing as human beings there is a tendency to patronise them; this should be resisted at all costs. They should be given the same respect as adults. One way of achieving this is to try not to talk to them in a way that is radically different to how you might talk to respected adults. Obviously there are differences, mainly related to children’s understanding, but overall you should aim to show them respect, empathise with them and be genuine with them. One of the enjoyable differences however can be in their sense of humour which good teachers tap into. David McKee’s picture book Who’s a Clever Baby Then? is a lovely example of slightly over-the-top baby talk and its consequences.

Part of showing that you respect children is illustrated by how you talk about them when they are not there. Occasionally, primary school staff rooms have people who talk in inappropriate ways about children. Part of your professional awareness is to avoid this. Perhaps one way to guard against being inappropriately negative is to imagine how a child might feel if they could hear what was being said. A colleague once told me that she had heard a teacher refer to a child as a ‘plank’. She asked the teacher whether he thought this was appropriate. The teacher said that it was only a joke and the child had laughed. The problem with this explanation is that children quickly develop the idea that it can be in their best interests to laugh at teachers’ jokes - however poor they are. Consider how a teacher would feel if a child called them a ‘plank’.

A less offensive example, although one which is important, is the use of the terms ‘bright’ or ‘not very bright’: ‘Sharon’s a bright girl’ or ‘Hmm, Ahmed, he’s not very bright is he?’ The problem with terms like bright, clever, intelligent and their opposites is that they may suggest that children’s achievement is fixed and there is nothing that can be done. All learners develop at different rates at different times in their lives. Looking back on my own learning I feel that I excelled at primary school, I was weak up to and including my O levels, A levels were a little better, my first degree was average, my Masters degree was much better, but it is only now at the age of 37 that I feel my learning is most productive and of the highest standard. The idea of labelling children with terms such as ‘bright’ is related to poor understanding of the nature of intelligence and can become a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’: if teachers believe something about a child then there is a danger that it might come true because of the teacher’s low expectations. However, there are some problems with language here: ‘high attainment child’ and ‘low attainment child’ are a bit of a mouthful even if they are more accurate. Perhaps it is better not to generalise about children’s achievements but to talk about specific examples instead; for example, ‘Ahmed worked really hard on some history work but I wish I could get him to copy less’.

Getting to know your class

Even before you start teaching your class there are things that can be done to learn more about the children. Reception classes usually encourage visits from nurseries so that the children can get to know a little about their new class. This kind of work also happens with older children when you talk to the previous teacher and read the children’s records. Experienced teachers also have informal opportunities to meet the children who are going to be in their class at various times throughout the school day, including lunch-times and break-times.

One of the most basic things about forming a relationship is knowing someone’s name. Learning the names of children whom you teach is a first step in developing a relationship and teaching them better. Think about how irritating it is when people get your name wrong. Some years ago a colleague of mine carried out an inspection of a school. While he watched a lesson the teacher constantly referred to two boys as ‘Fred and Bob’. Their real names were Asian. When the inspector asked the teacher about this he replied ‘It’s just a bit of fun, they don’t mind.’ When the inspector asked the boys they said ‘We don’t like it because they’re not our proper names.’ Some names are quite difficult to pronounce at first but it is really important to ask the child how to pronounce them correctly. Even large, impersonal media organisations make a lot of effort to ensure that names of all kinds are accurately pronounced. For primary teachers who form such close relationships with the children they teach it is essential.

One job that is carried out at the beginning of each morning and afternoon session can help you to learn the names quickly: registration. The register is an important legal document that must be completed by all teachers. In the first week with your new class it is also a helpful way to get to know the children. As you call the names you look at each child when they answer and this helps your memory. Teachers have adopted several strategies for registration. Some prefer to read the register as follows:

T: Good morning Amy

Amy: Good morning Mr Wyse

T: Good morning Brian

(etc.)

Some just call the names without the ‘Good morning’ and are happy with ‘Yes Sir’ or ‘Yes Miss’. Others encourage the children to call their names out in order (without the teacher prompting them) and the teacher marks them as present or absent (there are also various symbols for such categories as authorised or unauthorised absence, holidays, medical reasons for absence, etc.). Some teachers have even supervised children as they take their turn to call the register and make the marks in it. This can be a good reading activity and allows the children to see the way the register book works. It also provides the opportunity for some maths by adding up the figures. The registration of children in nurseries and reception is often less formal. Nurseries tend to admit new children at different times so that the staff can get to know them gradually. In the early years, children’s names are a very important general tool to support their developing literacy skills, and these are used in a wide variety of ways including matching games, labelling, lists, etc.

In the first week with a new class it is useful to play some ice-breaking games. If the children are new in school this can help with the learning of names and the getting-to-know process. Even if the class have been together for some time it is often the case that new children join the class at the beginning of a year. The games can also be a useful tool for working on inter-personal relationships between the children.

Ice-breakers are often played by sitting in a circle in a comfortable area of the classroom and are one example of ‘circle games’. One of the simplest is to say ‘my name is …’ and then to throw a teddy bear to someone else in the circle who says ‘Thanks … my name is …’. Other ice-breakers can involve walking round the room, finding out another person’s name and some information, remembering it and then sharing it with someone else: ‘I met … they told me that …’.

Apart from learning names, circle games have been used for a wide range of issues and subjects. For example, there are musical games, such as tapping a rhythm on the back of the person next to you, which they have to pass on to the next person. The circle can also be a time for discussion about social and behavioural issues: ‘Give the day a score out of 10’ or ‘Tell us one thing that was good about today’. Drama can involve activities such as ‘hot-seating’, a dramatic technique where the child takes on a certain role. The rest of the class ask the child questions, and the child answers those questions as if he or she were the character.

Although playground duty can be a chilly business in winter it is also a great opportunity to get to know children more informally. Children often appear to be quite different characters once they move from the classroom to the playground. Children who are shy in class sometimes become leaders in the playground and vice versa. Infant children in particular enjoy teachers who occasionally join in with some of their games and this gives a further opportunity to get to know not only the children in your class but other children in the school community, some of whom will join your class at a later date.

Trips out of school are one of the best ways to develop a relationship with the children in your class. Trips that involve nights away from school are often fondly remembered experiences for teachers and children alike. But even shorter day trips and walking tours of the local environment can be an opportunity to informally chat to children whom you feel you would like to know better.

Skills of interaction

Teachers’ ability to talk with children is one of their most important skills. This talking requires the skills of several professionals rolled into one: an actor, a counsellor, a judge, a police officer and so on. Acting skills are necessary to bring lessons alive, for example, when reading stories and poetry. Like the police officer, good order has to be maintained and rules need to be upheld. The skills of a judge are required when children make complaints about other children.

Another important role of teachers is to counsel children if they have problems. Professional counselling requires great skill and it is a job, like teaching, that one is always learning to do better. Counsellors themselves have to be professionally counselled throughout their careers as part of their lifelong learning. Clearly teachers will not develop these skills to such a high level but there are some basic lessons to be learned. One of the key counselling skills is the ability to really listen to what people say. This has been succinctly summed up by the acronym REG: when you listen to children - and to other people - you need to show them Respect, Empathy and Genuineness. Respect can come from your positive attitude to children and the way you value their opinions. It can also come through being attentive to what they are saying, for example, by maintaining eye contact (be aware that some British Asian children and other ethnic minority groups may have customs which encourage children to look down at times rather than maintaining eye contact). Empathy is about really trying to understand how the child is feeling and appreciating their point of view. As an adult it is all to easy to dismiss children’s views just because they are immature. Genuineness is about being honest with the child and answering their questions with as much truthful information as possible.

The main aim of your interaction during lessons is to take the children’s learning forward. This will differ depending on whether you are working with the whole class, a small group or an individual child. Whole class work tends to be more formal than small group and individual interaction. Taking turns to talk is an important aspect of this because when children talk over each other nobody can hear. Small group work can benefit those children who lack the confidence to contribute much in the whole class group. Individual interaction allows for true sharing of ideas and the opportunity to really address a child’s needs.

One of the well-documented interaction skills is the ability to use questions to enhance learning. First, a couple of general points. Questions teachers ask are different from questions children are asked at home. Usually when someone asks a child a question at home they do so for the genuine reason that they want to know the answer: ‘What do you want to drink?’ ‘What happened at the party?’ When teachers ask questions they often have the answer in their head with the intention of assessing understanding: ‘When did the fire of London happen?’ It is useful to remember that at times you should ask questions where you are genuinely interested in the child’s opinion in addition to your more assessment-focused ones.

Some people believe that the main role of the teacher is to act as a facilitator. This means that they prepare activities for c...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Becoming a Primary School Teacher
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 Working with people
• 2 Organising the classroom
• 3 Planning the curriculum
• 4 Managing behaviour
• 5 Assessing and record keeping
• 6 Thinking about education
• 7 Becoming a professional
• References
• Further reading
• Index