During the last inter-term break, a group of over 200 educators from four different schools (Australian Christian College Marsden Park, Australian Christian College Singleton, Medowie Christian School, and Brightwaters Christian School), each operated in NSW by Christian Education Ministries, gathered at the Waterview Conference Centre at Homebush to learn together the 'why' and the 'how' of leading for behaviour management from the world-recognised expert, Dr Bill Rogers. From experienced school leadership to first-year-out and early career teachers, the day held invaluable insights, instruction and examples. There are at least three essential aspects of that establishment phase we have to get as right as we can. The first one is those core routines. They cover everything from the way we enter the class; coming from a restless, busy playground environment where there’s a lot of noise and movement into a quieter, calmer setting. Even that movement, that transition between if you like ‘social’ time and ‘class’ time is crucial. Teachers who establish positive routines in these areas will find a kind of a smooth running developing in those critical first weeks. And that includes issues like how we establish whole class focus and attention, seating arrangements, noise level in the room – the volume of noise with 25 students plus their teacher in a small space – right through to keeping the place reasonably tidy and organised and monitor systems, right through to lesson closure and the way we leave the room. He whinges that he wasn’t playing with it. She tactically ignores his frown and sulky whingeing tone and keeps the focus – briefly – on the primary issue at this point. She repeats the directed choice and walks away to give him ‘take-up time’. She notices, a little later, that he has sulkily put the toy away and resumed his classwork. She goes over to quietly encourage him in his progress. This is probably the Bill-based-belief that many teachers find it hardest to embody. From our own school days we are used to getting pulled up for these such transgressions ourselves, so it seems only natural to try to clamp down on ‘disrespectful' behaviour in our own classrooms. It has helped me to consider the fact that, just as it's hard for us to implement these new behaviour leadership techniques (as we are trying to overwrite our natural impulses much of the time), so is it difficult for our teenage students to overcome their conditioned response of an eye roll or huff and puff. These behaviour leadership techniques could be thought of as similar to a martial art, something that we need to practice the fundamentals of over and over again so as to ensure that the above techniques become reactions that are embodied and ingrained to the point of automaticity (a process that Josh Waitzkin writes inspiringly about).

There is a time and place for everything, and Bill Rogers recommends that you use conditional permissionto reinforce this.He has written a number of books on behaviour management, discipline, colleague support, and teacher stress. The balance between appropriate leadership, including behaviour management and also building a positive working relationship with students, is a balance that teachers work with all the time. It’s possible to be appropriately firm where we need to be with students, particularly when there’s distracting and disruptive behaviour, but also respectful and positive with students. That comes down very much to consciously thinking about our language. We’re not there as a teacher-leader simply to want to want to be liked by our students, we’re there in a professional role, but that role involves a relationship. Getting that balance between the teacher-leadership role and the necessities of leadership and management is not an easy one but it is one within which that creative tension can be balanced by positive, respectful language, avoiding unnecessary confrontation when you’re managing behaviour and also not easily buying into some of the behaviours that children exhibit – like sulking and pouting, argumentation and so on. The focus is on the primary behaviour, giving students take up time and a choice about consequences. Expecting compliance is key but we should not regard ‘giving in’ as a sign of weakness. Communicating to students that you may be wrong is an important part of building relationships whilst maintaining your authority. My pet hate is a teacher who wants his pound of flesh; is uncompromising and moans about kids ‘getting away with it’. It never ever helps. (This is where I find the concept of Emotional Intelligence helpful…some teachers simply cannot bear it when asked to give ground; it is a problem they need help to recognise.) JE: Bill Rogers, welcome to Teacher magazine. In your book [ You Know the Fair Rule], you talk quite a bit about building a positive classroom environment and, within that, you say the first phase is actually establishing a new class. So, what are the things teachers should be doing in those early days and weeks in terms of setting the tone?

This avoids the horrific teacher domineering – “come here Boy!” nonsense. Simply, “Michael…(pause to gain attention)… come up here a sec please.” Then deliberately look away… talk to someone else. Michael will come. He just will. In his own time. It works – try it. It also works in the corridor. “John, come over here for sec please… then walk away to a private area, away from peers. John will follow – and not lose face.” You can then have a quiet word about the behaviour without the show-down. So, we begin with the right and then look at the basic behaviours that ought to express that right in an age appropriate way. Do you want to come and take the lesson?” (This to a group of chatty girls in the instructional phase of the lesson.)

It really is important not to hold things in and think that you’re the only one that’s struggling – because there are natural struggles in our profession, particularly if we’re in more challenging schools. So, it’s crucial in those first few weeks, if things are not working out as well as you’d hoped and you know that there are issues with individual students or even the whole class that are not working well, it’s absolutely crucial to ask your colleagues for support – both that moral support but also that practical support and guidance. Sometimes that might even mean teachers working together sometimes with more difficult classes. You can also use the yes-whenstructure to answer students as they ask for permission. Yes, we can have the air-conditioner on, whenit’s hotter than 24°C. Be an Assertive teacher: This teacher expects compliance but refuses to rely on power or role status to gain respect. The teacher plans for discipline, uses clear, firm direction and correction, but acts respectfully, keeping the aims of discipline clearly in mind. The when-then structure offers you an easy way to use conditional permission. When you have finished your notes, then you can search for suitable images for your assignment. When you have eaten your fruit, then you may go to play.

I mean, right from day one the more distracting and disruptive students who tend to be attentionally insecure do need a fair bit of guidance from their teachers about their behaviour, both in the public sphere of the classroom itself and also following up with students one-to-one who’ve been particularly difficult in those first few lessons. And again, there’s plenty of very clear research that effective and positive teachers follow up with students one-to-one away from their audience, where they’re able to have those behaviour conversations respectfully about the way in which that student has affected the rights of others in the room. And it might even be on the first few days that the teacher will be following up with one or two students who are the more attentionally insecure students. That balance between the public behaviour leadership and the private behaviour conversations are crucial in those first few weeks. Even that is part of building relationships with those more challenging students. Some teachers struggle with this one, but it is one of the most potent behaviour management techniques you could use. This avoids the horrific teacher domineering – “come here Boy!” nonsense. Simply, “Michael…(pause to gain attention)… come up here a sec please.” Then deliberately look away… talk to someone else. Michael will come. He just will. In his own time. It works – try it. It also works in the corridor. “John, come over here for sec please… then walk away to a private area, away from peers. John will follow– and not lose face.” You can then have a quiet word about the behaviour without the show-down. In The Art and Science of Teaching, these questions are broken up to chapters of the book to provide the most knowledge in each of the sections and further enhance knowledge.

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Positive correction refers to the on-the-spot techniques you use to manage students while teaching. It assumes you have already established things such as rules, routines and relationships with your students. However, you use it before having to use formal consequences (or in some school’s – being sent to the Responsible Thinking Classroom). In short, it is a set of strategies that help you nip small problems in the bud and keep everyone’s focus on the lesson at hand.

Written jargon-free in Bill′s accessible and empathetic voice it includes in-depth strategies, practical examples, case studies and pragmatic hints and tips to put in to practice. This will make for informative and inspiring reading to all those involved in educating our children and young people. Dr Bill Rogers has worked in many challenging schools in Australia and the UK as a mentor teacher, teaching alongside colleagues and encouraging shared peer reflection on teacher leadership.Bill Rogers has a strong line on teachers being able to model the behaviour they expect. This includes not wanting the last word. Partial Agreement is an essential strategy for avoiding or resolving conflict. It means teachers not trying to have the last word, or asserting their power in a situation when a student disputes their judgement.