To be sick of having my stuff trashed

[flobird]

Stupid rant and I just want sympathy but I am so fucking sick of giving pens and rulers out only for them to be smashed and thrown across the room or crushed/wrecked.

I feel like I'm constantly replacing stuff

What is the school policy on this? Are teachers expected to provide pens, pencils etc out of their own money?

Admittedly we have a marking system so if they don't "trade" for a pen and therefore do no work they can't get a good mark and earn rewards/credits.

I teach in a school made up entirely of teenagers who have been permenantly excluded for repeated violent behaviour in mainstream schools. It can be done, but other posters are right; you need backup.

Isnt turning up for school without proper equipment a flag for other issues? I am sure I saw it mentioned on here before that its one of the things SS ask about.

Have you looked at Classcraft? It turns the classroom into a mmrpg - where students earn XP for themselves or their team. Sounds like it might motivate some kids where traditional methods don't.

I never give out pens. My rule is you need to borrow from a member of your class. If no one feels benevolent, or there aren't any pens spare, you sit in my lesson in silence, then do the work you miss at lunchtime. You'll be surprised how quickly pens are scraped together, and I've not seen any damage to their peers' property. In 9 years I've only done 5 detentions for no equipment. I also know the idea of swapping mobiles for a pen (until the end of lesson obviously) and charging 10p, so they can keep the pen but you can afford to replenish your stock, work well.

There is absolutely no way other kids would have a spare pen. No way. Plus, even if they did, it's not exactly fair if their stuff gets ruined!

Problem is with sitting in silence and doing the work at lunchtime - it won't happen, put simply. They'd become disruptive and bored and we only have a 25 minute lunch so keeping them in detention then would also mean starving them!

They won't have money and phones are an ongoing issue.

Solid - given a box at the beginning of the year. Most have gone - and yep, I know it's October!

I used to work in a school where half a class would have no pen. At the beginning of every year, you would be given thirty pens which would be trashed/stolen in a week. We were told by SMT that we could not refuse to hand out pens but no more were ever provided. Complaining to HOY etc was pointless. You would end up in the wrong, not the child.

I now work in an area that is much more deprived. We do a daily equipment check in form time and there are punishments for lack of pen, pencil or ruler. It can be done but only if SMT actually give a shit.

Sounds very difficult, op. What does your line manager suggest, or the SLT?

Jeez I thought our local schools were bad. This is so sad - do they just not want to be there? Is there stuff they would rather be doing (apart form sitting looking at an x box all day?)

I wonder where all these kids come from and also, what happens to them when they get older.

I haven't mentioned it. It's just one of those very bloody annoying things.

Flo that is sort of what happened to my son. Child kept taking and trashing my son's white board marker which they have to have as part of their equipment which is checked every week.

Said child gets negative in his planner, does this every week but it doesn't accumulate enough to get him a detention.

I contacted head of year 7 to say it is all well and good to give the child a negative but maybe if he started to pay for the pens he steals at 80p a time he would stop doing it.

That is what school made him do pay for the pen. But the head of year 7 gave my son "his" board pen so the child owed the HOY the pen, not my son.

Never did it again.

It is the reason we chose the school. Discipline is very strict.

I can answer that Ana - a glance at the local papers' court sentencing reads like a typical class register

I haven't mentioned it.

then how do you expect things to change?

If you bring it up at a staff meeting other teachers will agree that yes, there is a problem and that may force a change. It may not of course, but moaning about it and doing nothing isnt going to help is it?

At dd's old school, coming to a lesson ill-equipped resulted in detention. Doing it persistently meant a day or so in the behaviour unit.

are the pens actually any good? sone.of the cheap ones really can leak or be really scratchy and even with careful use don't last five mins.

obviously I'm. Not saying you should buy expensive ones as clearky they have no respect for other people's stuff or their work but theres a reason sone.pens are sold in pound shops/the works etc.

what happens when you tell the parents? is he tempted to send them.the bill personally. but not a teacher obviously. agree it must he sone kind of red flag and sounds really tough

How hellish. In primary we gave out school stationery but they would find ways of making handwriting pens explode. They would nick them etc. Spend ages sharpening pencils. Destroy rubbers by boring holes in them.
Snap rulers... I was eagle-eyed but they would do these things when I was helping individual pupils. I often did pencil case inspection and gave house points to people who had all their kit. I feel your pain. Sounds like the school need to come down hard though. You can't do this on your own.

Yeah that's the problem derxa; sometimes I find shattered pens at the end of the lesson and don't know the culprit though I can guess!

Bogey, I can't see things changing to be honest insofar as this is concerned.

The students are taught well by me (though i say so myself!) but we are dealing with lateness and attendance and child explotation and fighting and drink and drugs - not in school usually and child protection issues and phones and energy drinks and a building falling down around our ears.

I don't play the teacher martyr card but I know if there isn't any work in the books (and there wouldn't be) I would be handed my P45!

Sometimes you have to just grit your teeth

MrsDeVere your previous point doesn't appear to be very helpful.

the OP is asking for help, not sarcasm.

I feel your pain Flobird and I wish I had an answer for you - but despite the fact that many people can't see the problem - just put them in detention etc - that doesn't take into account the time all this takes and the toll it takes on your energy and morale. Detentions mean you have to set it (we had to telephone - ten pupils per class, five classes a day - when do you do any other work (or see your own family)? Usually they are booked up in detention for weeks. Then, when you finally do manage to book them, you have to sit with them in detention - I would have loads of difficult kids in after school (before I went to telephone to set the next lot of detentions) and not a member of management to be seen for help.

Doing the work at lunch - well they just walk out, and when you report this to management, what do they suggest? Oh, an after-school detention. Nice.

Swap a pen for a shoe - ha - well firstly we were told not to do this because it is a H&S issue - if there is a fire alarm then they are all scratting round for their shoes. IMO it is also a hygiene issue - teenage boys (and girls) often have really sweaty feet - and then the others all start whining!

I think that most people who do not have a connection with "bog-standard" secondary schools would be horrified at the amount of time which is wasted in class due to low level disruption (yes, throwing pens counts as low level disruption which is why management always deflect it back to the classroom teacher). I am not surprised when people don't report these sorts of things upwards as eventually it comes back to haunt you. After all, surely these children wouldn't behave in this way if your lesson was interesting enough.

In the end I just used to accept that a certain amount (well quite a lot) on my own money went on equipment for other people's children to use and that I wouldn't get most of it back in one piece or at all.

It is all down to management - it trickles down from above - and if you don't have their support it is probably a good idea to start looking for a better school.

totally agree, Miaow.
discipline must come from the top, or all is lost.
otherwise, i would consider looking for another job TBH.

I am pretty much with your penultimate paragraph.

I've worked in schools with a majority of pleasant and compliant children - must admit, I would not ever ask a child for their SHOE - the sort of kid who'd meekly hand their shoe over is not the sort of kid you worry about trashing your pen! - and yes, they stink! Plus, I've no carpet and there's all manner of shit on the floor. I might not like some of them much but it doesn't mean I want to cause them an injury!

We have to give two warnings before a detention. Warning one - you have no pen! Even if that worked you then get a Lauren Tate gobful spoken at the speed of light and with all the fire and passion of Cicero's Phillipics - 'OH MA DAYZ, she's just gi'en me a WARNIN coz I've no pen and I TOLD her it was cause Becky had it this morning and then, then yeah I gave it back to her and yeah, she lost it then I came 'ere on time and I could've been having a fag down the field so it's YOUR fault ...' Meanwhile Becky and friends are cheerleading encouragements and boo hissing bad teacher. Not exactly a calm start, which can be averted with 'yeah, there' and giving a pen

(That's a nicer kid. The not so nice will say 'fuck you then')

jesus christ. where is the principal? asleep in his/her chair?

This is ridiculous - how old are these children?