Of course my subtitle is slightly tongue in cheek but I
think will resonate with many Secondary school teachers. I’m actually part of a
rare breed in the UK, a middle school teacher. Whilst middle schools have not
really taken on in the UK, as opposed to our neighbours across the pond, I
really do think they do the world of good for pupils. A halfway house between
leaving primary and starting a huge secondary school. Sadly, however, those of
us who think that are in a minority and those in charge definitely do not like
middle schools so they are being shut down one by one.
But let us not dwell, whilst there are pupils to teach,
engage and enthuse my job goes on! These are my top 5 classroom tips for a
happy, successful classroom. I will be writing these from a Secondary
perspective as once pupils hit puberty keeping them engaged is all the harder!
1. Grab your pupils by the throat the moment they enter the
room. No not literally, please don’t do that or there will be trouble ahead and
not in the moonlight, dancing, romance sort of way (admit it you started to
sing it too). What I mean is first impressions DO count. The moment your pupils
step over that threshold into your domain they must want to be there. Drab
classroom displays, formal layouts, Arial black on a white screen are not going
to excite anyone let alone 30 14 year olds straight after lunch.
Think carefully about your subject, no matter what it is
there will be something there to spark interest. Does it link into popular
culture? Are there famous practitioners you can display? My subject is RE so I
go for a full sensory attack:
Sight- My classroom is bright, colourful and has a number of
permanent displays alongside pupils’ work. This means that there is always
something to look at and read when you enter my room. RE lends itself to bright
colours so I have used saris, artefacts, posters alongside pupil work. 
Sound- I’m a big believer in using music to inspire a
lesson. I will often have music related to the lesson playing as pupils enter
the room and have a policy of working music during the lesson. Music = work in
my room! There also items in my classroom that makes sound such as rainmakers,
Diwali sticks and my trusted wind
Smell- smell is important to our learning. By using smell
you can fully immerse yourself into the subject you are studying. Now
admittedly this is trickier in some subjects but in RE incense adds a wonderful
quality to lessons. I have a variety of incense sticks and cones dotted around
my room, such as Nag Champa and Frankincense. Pupils are allowed to handle and
smell these under supervision during lessons and are very popular.
Taste- special festivals have special foods! I have often
been seen carting in various delicacies to my classroom around the academic
& religious calendar. We have sampled Diwali sweets, Matzo crackers, Seder
plate items, Eid celebration food, vegetarian food as served in a langar to
name but a few. These extra experiences have added a new depth of understanding
to pupils’ work.
Touch- my room is full of artefacts from the 6 major world
religions and I encourage their use in lessons. My favourites are my story
telling dolls which tell the story of Rama & Sita and also the Temptation
of the Buddha. The pupils’ favourites are usually the 5Ks, mainly the kirpan
(small sword), they are always disappointed to discover it glued within its
sheath!
2. Create a safe environment. I’m not just talking about
from a Health & Safety perspective, although this is important too, rather
do your pupils feel emotionally safe in your room? Are the encouraged to
experiment? Most importantly are they allowed to safely fail? Failure is a part
of life and we cannot shield children from it no matter how hard we try. You
can encourage good failure by creating a working environment that allows
critical analysis of why things failed and how to work to improve. Children who
cannot fail safely will learn to fear it and in a secondary environment that
can often present itself as “I can’t fail if I don’t try” and a block to
education occurs.
3. A thinking classroom is a successful classroom. Critical
thinking skills are...well…critical! Enabling pupils to think for themselves,
to analyse the information and to critique it is the best achievement as a
teacher. Critical thinking is not the preserve of the more able either, every
single pupil can become a critical thinker and once the skill is mastered it
will open doors to learning. Blooms Taxonomy is key to tailoring lessons to
pupils’ needs.
My classroom is very much pupil-led. Due to the nature of my
subject there is a lot pupils don’t know but are fascinated to find out. So we
go with that, they tell me the areas they want to find out more and I
facilitate that. It works very well. So well in fact that I was graded
Outstanding by Ofsted in July 2013 (yes in 30° heat and whilst 7 months
pregnant!). This approach sounds like hard work and yes it does take a little
bit of getting used to but once you are in the swing of it you will find it
creates LESS work not more. The pupils are engaged, much more likely to work independently,
do research at home to bring in and a lot more interested in their final piece
of work. You are there to guide, to assist and mainly to answer any inquiries
that arise. I find it a very interesting and rewarding way to work.
4. Boundaries. Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries. Have I
made my point? I have a more relaxed teaching style to some of my colleagues; I
find it suits me, my classes and my subject better. However there are some
things that are set in stone. Hard-fast rules that are not to be broken under
any circumstances. RE brings with it a lot of debate and is very heavily
influenced by the home life of the pupils. Misconceptions are common place and
it is my job to gently guide the pupils through the facts so they come to their
own conclusions not those portrayed in the media for example.
5. You have to enjoy it yourself. There is no point turning
up each day if you don’t have an enthusiasm for your subject. Yes there will be
bad days, and awful days and days you wonder just why you bother at all but
deep down you must share your love of your subject. There are always elements
of each subject we like least but it is our job as professionals to overcome
those so we are doing the very best for our pupils.
