The C.A.R.E. Cube

As a supply teacher, I have had the honour of being able to teach a wide variety of students.  I have taught in schools in London, Suffolk and the Midlands; in the private sector, state-funded and faith schools.  There is a common thread found in every school - kids behaving badly!

No matter how prestigious the school, or how faith-filled the ethos, children are children and as such, they are going to push against the boundaries laid out for them.  I actually think that this is a very human endeavour, after all, how would we create new things if we didn't push against boundaries?

Once we, as educators, accept the fact of classroom misbehaviour, it is time to decide what we will tolerate and which battles we will fight.  Despite the metaphor, this is not an Us vs. Them fight. It's an Us vs. Exam Resits fight, because let's face it, distracting behaviour impedes learning and ultimately reduces life chances.

I have developed a model for how to maintain a serene classroom - most of the time.  It is based on 25+ years of teaching; 18+ years of academic study and a solutions-focused approach.  I call it the C.A.R.E. Cube, and it is made up of 4 interconnected cubes.

Cool Control - The first part of the cube reinforces our need for self-management.  Let's be honest, our inability to keep cool in the classroom, is often because we're exhausted from the weekend's gallivanting.

Amicable Authority - Nobody likes dictators.  The balance of being liked enough to be listened to, and accepting your authoritative role in the classroom is tricky, but possible when you know how.

Real Rewards - When the school's reward system is exciting enough to elicit engagement, half of your battle is won.  On the flip side, disciplines that cost students time or energy (like good ol' detentions or jogging around the playground) may not deter habitual bad behaviour, but it will definitely create a lasting connection between bad behaviour and discomfort!

Empowering Excellence - Lastly, I am a big believer in the 'if you can't beat them, then join them' mantra.  If a student can't seem to sit still for very long, then maybe they just can't keep still for very long, and we need to be savvy enough to plan active lessons, inject bursts of activity or allow them to do our job for a while (in the way of peer-tutoring or show and tell).

What it boils down to is this - if we maintain rigorous self-care, and show our students that we in turn care about them, we will be okay.  After the few years that we've all had, I think that we should aim for 'okay' not perfection.

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