When I speak to children about fixing up certain behaviours or sorting things out, they often suggest: ‘Give some lines’, ‘Pick up papers’, ‘Stay back’.
The question the teacher needs to respond with is, ‘How will that fix up the damaged desk, the busted racquet, the writing on the wall, the hurt child, the spit on the floor, the clay balls on the cupboard, the repeated calling out in class, the swearing and hurt your swearing caused …?’
Providing the teacher is not sarcastic, cruel, authoritarian or revengeful, most children respond to such questions with an understanding of account-ability and a sense of basic justice. It is useful to ask them, ‘What will you do about …?’ or ‘What should you do …?’ It is an attempt to foster some connection in their thinking between what they did, the right affected by their behaviour and future action to repair/rebuild. Behavioural consequences in this sense can start as early as preschool (McPherson & Rogers 2009). With most children,
behavioural consequences are obviously not applied to accidents or forgetful-ness. In these cases, we simply encourage the student to clean up, repair or fix things up with an apology where necessary.
Ibrahim, aged nine, had been ‘belting up’ children in the playground using sticks and fists and feet. Some teachers had nagged, some had yelled, some had pleaded.
Worst of all, some had been dismissive—‘boys will be boys’. After some staff discussion, it was decided to use related behaviour consequences. His teacher, with the principal, explained: ‘Ibrahim, because you have chosen to hurt other children in the playground, you will have to play by yourself; alone without other children.’
He whined that it wasn’t fair.
The teacher didn’t engage Ibrahim in a discussion but repeated the consequence.
‘Because you keep hurting others in the playground you’ll have to play by yourself and not with other students at normal play time.’
His parents didn’t exactly like the idea initially but agreed that their son ‘could be very difficult’. We explained this was a consequence to help him learn safe play and fair behaviour.
At lunch recess, Ibrahim was kept in and he looked through the window at the other children enjoying their freedom. He then had his due play time later with a minder (a rotated staff member). No one to punch, hit or strike, except the trees and asphalt! In this case it was important that the student ‘feel’ the consequences of his behaviour.
Ibrahim, all by himself
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After one week he was craving to be given another go. ‘Sure, Ibrahim—as long as you play by the fair rules for play time.’ A simple behaviour plan was drawn up with a few targeted behaviours for safe and fair play. Each duty teacher received a copy of the plan (with suggestions on how to speak to Ibrahim when they met him on playground duty). The plan was monitored daily, then weekly. This approach was applied calmly, fairly, consistently and expectantly. Ibrahim’s behaviour did improve.
Ella, in a fit of anger, busted a school tennis racquet on the playground fence. What was a reasonable consequence? Her mum was virtually impossible to contact and the third male live-in partner at the caravan park where she lived had made the point, on other occasions, that he couldn’t care at all. Was it worth contacting them again? We were, at times, concerned for her welfare at home. (There is a time, and a due process for parental contact; it was not now.)
When her anger had cooled down later that day, the Physical Education teacher and welfare support teacher sat down with Ella and said, ‘Ella, you’ve completely broken the tennis racquet. It cost over 40 dollars. What are you going to do?’ He didn’t waste time asking Ella why she broke the class racquet. Neither was it worth over-pitying her because of her family life at the caravan park.
‘What are you going to do to fix it up, Ella?’
‘How do I know?’ She was, initially, quite sulky.
Both teachers had a good working relationship with Ella. ‘Well, you think about what you’ve done—it’s your responsibility to fix it up. We can ask your mum to help you to pay for it or we can give you jobs to do around the school to help pay.’
‘I ain’t gonna buy one! Do you have to tell my mum? Anyway, what sort of jobs?’
‘See this card, Ella? You will be asked to do some jobs around the school over the next couple of weeks to help pay for the racquet. This is the way you can earn the money’ (in effect learn about accountability).
She swept, washed, tidied and so on at requested times. The teacher signed the card each day. She was not demeaned, embarrassed or screamed at, just held accountable; firmly, determinedly and supportively.
An example of a similar approach with younger primary-aged children.
Many teachers let torn books, mess and unacceptable social behaviours go unaccounted for, yet resort to yelling, giving lines or writing out school rules.
This is understandable when a teacher is frustrated, but they create an illogical and unrelated perspective (mere punishment) regarding disruptive behaviours in the thinking of children.