Report on an unsolved critical incident

Three years ago I used to teach at a rural school to a group of students between 11 and 18 years old. We only had lessons on Thursdays from 9.30 to 11 a.m. There was an average of 10 permanent students, the rest of the class was usually absent or came to classes sporadically. Most of them came from a harsh family environment and from a very low social class. However, they behaved well and were respectful to me in every way. At the same time, younger children had classes with the principal in the next room.

Students were describing pictures of famous people, and despite the fact that it was very difficult for them to speak English they were very enthusiastic and showed interest in the subject. In the middle of the class, the little students who were supposed to be in the next room, began throwing seeds from the window, so Felipe * stood up and shouted at the principal because he was not doing his job i.e. taking care of the little children and giving them their proper lessons. He accused him of being unfairly in his position and insulted him too. The principal got really angry and refused to serve breakfast to the entire class. I tried to persuade him to give the meal to the students, but he denied my petition. We finished the class in silence, working with written exercises on copies.

Sometimes, lack of respect might be caused by teenager internal conflicts, problems students bring from home or failure of the authorities to trace limits in order to control students’ behavior.  Alternatively, some teachers do not consider  that students are members of a system which usually fails to satisfy their basic needs, which often seems to forget that they are also human beings and that there are ways to solve these kind of problems by sharing and trying out different solutions.

Talking personally to the student, working with activities related to values inside and outside the school and organizing integrative school meetings where students can express their feelings and receive a specialist counseling are some suggestions to deal with behavior issues.

To sum up, teachers should analyze the causes of students’ misbehavior within the classroom in order to avoid future conflicts and help students improve personal relationships inside the school since they are the basis of a healthy learning environment. Sharing experiences with colleagues and analyzing events about daily practice is of critical importance to enable teachers to go beyond knowledge and carry out their practices more effectively.
Note: I have decided to change the student’s name in order to preserve his identity.