Sometimes teachers start off strict to set the scene…

[Straightfromthehorsesmouth]

Caveat: This is a lighthearted thread. Teachers don’t have it easy.

DC have gone back to school to their new years with new teachers, with very different styles. I found myself saying sometimes a teacher can seem very strict because they want to be really clear what the rules are and what they expect so that everyone can learn properly. If the rules are followed blah blah blah etc etc etc.

As I was saying it, I realised that it wasn’t actually true in my experience. The ultra strict teachers didn’t get less strict when rules were followed. The way they taught didn’t improve or slide. There were some appalling teachers, some really great teachers and most fell somewhere in between. The level of strictness, and for a couple of teachers real nastiness, seemed to bear absolutely no correlation to the quality of teaching. An ineffectual teacher could be ultra strict or normal and vice versa. However, we were streamed and I was put into a class where behaviour was generally very good, so that may also give me a skewered view.

I would say it's difficult to be a good teacher and incredibly lax. You can't get good results if you let them off not doing their homework or vaping in class.
However, strict teachers are not always good teachers.

I just told my DD the same thing about her strict teacher!
I said, wait until after Christmas, she'll probably ease up a little bit.
Now you mention it- that's not my experience at all!
I'm not sure where I got the idea

" Don't smile 'til Christmas", goes the old saying.

Don’t smile til Xmas

I should think most teachers are exhausted by Christmas in reality!
We didn’t have any lax teachers in terms of behaviour, although I was in a generally well behaved class anyway. Some of the teachers who seemed to have a normal approach may/may not have dialled the strictness up or down in classes where behaviour was an issue. I don’t know.

I'm a secondary teacher, 25 years experience. It's possible to be strict and be warm and approachable. Strict means you have high expectations and hold those boundaries, it doesn't mean you scowl and shout at the children. Children benefit from a calm learning environment where they know the teacher is consistent, and 'firm but fair'- this does take a lot of work to create and maintain.

This is the crux of it. When people say strict, they often just mean unpleasant. You can be strict and a nice person. Most children don't actually enjoy classes where anything goes - it feels chaotic and unsafe.

Is it “strict” to expect clear rules to be followed? Good behaviour and doing the work/homework are the basics.

I’ve been (secondary) teaching 21 years and the only thing that’s worked for me in terms of running my room is a combination of high expectations from the start and total positivity. Every instruction I give is framed as ‘it’s really nice to see X happening’ or ‘I’m so impressed by X behaviour’ or ‘I can see I’ll be awarding lots of positive points today’. As soon as I get annoyed by e.g. repeated non-compliance, things take a turn for the worse in terms of behaviour.

Getting children on-side is much trickier than it used to be, and the approach I use is key, because they’re not used to being given a stern word (many have never faced consequences for their behaviour at home, nor had a bollocking).

Agreed, IME if kids feel like you are pleased they are in the room, they'll engage better. Some kids will work hard regardless but for many, if they think you don't like them they will switch off instantly. You need to form a relationship with your class - whilst having firm boundaries so they don't walk all over you! Firm but fair AND welcoming is my aim.

I was a ‘strict’ teacher but fair. I expected courtesy and was courteous in return. Applied the rules/praises/sanctions camly. The children knew what expect.
The kids respected that it was fair and my classes were calm and purposeful.
Weak trachers often put the ‘usual suspects’ at the front of the class. I put attention seekers at the bacj where they didnt have an audience, but regularly tweaked the seating plan for optimal interactions.
I was friendly and we had a lot of fun -loved being in the classroom and the children made me laugh every day. But politeness to the teacher and classmates is non-negotiable

I’ll be honest, my heart sings when DD is worried about a teacher(who she has never met) that is considered strict, because her class needs it. Tbf, so far none of them have been “that bad” yet.

I was strict but the pupils knew they could learn in my class because I had control of the class. When it came to GCSE they all wanted to be in my group, not with other members of the department. A young woman once recognised me on a tube train and said ‘you were the only teacher who could control our group’.

I’m strict but fair and also loved to have fun with my class. My believe is that you have to be strict when necessary because we are are there to teach not to be friends. I hope that the children I taught could look back on their primary years as being enjoyable because if they don’t enjoy those years they won’t enjoy secondary.
We need to enthuse children, foster inquisitiveness and a love of learning.
Young teachers often find it hard to strike the balance and some then lose control and that’s when problems start.

I’m strict in the sense that I won’t allow pupils to cross boundaries with behaviour/effort/focus however, I laugh every lesson with my pupils. I truly do.

Kids feel safe when they have secure boundaries and know where the line is. Once that is established, they can relax.

Obviously, it helps that I teach in a small school with lovely kids but even when I taught in inner city state comps this was my approach.

I know of a few teachers who are really lovely people but put them in front of a class of kids and they have a sense of humour by-pass and just appear to be mean.

My best teachers were strict. But they were fair. If you weren't a dickhead they were ace and they were really approachable and friendly.

If you were a dick you knew about it.

I ended up picking my A levels ultimately based off the back of my teachers.

My mother worked as a teacher for over 30 years and she said she was hopeless when she just started, and was a bit shouty as a result, but she liked the children and had a good rapport with them, so she felt she got on better than one of her colleagues who was equally hopeless but really didn't seem to like the children at all. My mother often wondered why that colleague had gone into teaching in the first place.

She said you could be forgiven a lot as a teacher if the kids really felt that you were on their side. It was easier to be strict and enforce rules if actually you'd taken the time to build a bond with each of the children, to talk to them and understand them, and often they'd end up self policing their behaviour towards teachers as a group. So they'd tell each other if behaviour was 'out of line' in their eyes.

I'm sure things have changed a lot since she stopped teaching, but I can't think that a 'war' mentality, with children as the enemy, helps anyone.

Too many teachers on this thread - now I’ve learned something! 😊 I’m reevaluating what I mean by strict. I think I perhaps MEANT characteristics such as overdoing the power play, being mean, acting as if pupils are the scum of the earth, scared to smile, unfair, disproportionate, demotivating, not age appropriate, bullying behaviour. Trumpian.

Maybe all my teachers were technically strict then as it wasn’t lax in my classes and behaviour was good. Mrs Adler, you were an absolute star!