I sometimes find expectations of y7 are lower than y6 from some staff so they expect and accept a lot more silliness and disorganisation than the primaries would.
Yup. Sometimes I think people need to take a step back from the emotional side of thinking about Y7s starting school in a new place, understandably a bit anxious etc. and ask what is actually happening.
An 11 year old goes to school. They’re suddenly enjoying a new level of freedom; probably been given their first smart phone, getting the bus by themselves, choosing new friends and clubs, etc. Okay, so far so good.
But they’re a small fish in a big pond. They’re out from under the collective thumb of a very small group of staff who know their and their behaviours very well. They suddenly have teachers they only see once a week, who don’t even know their names, who don’t know their parents or see them face-to-face apart from once a year.
Some of them - a significant minority - aren’t as daft as they look. They can’t help it. A little lightbulb goes on. 💡
“What can I get away with here?”
Will anybody actually notice if I don’t do my homework?
If I talk in class, will the teacher bother telling my parents?
If I say I don’t remember my Accelerated Reader password, can I get away without reading this book because I didn’t take a quiz on it?
If I’m a few minutes late for class, can I say I got lost?
If I tell this teacher on duty my name is Monty Python, will she think that’s a real person?
They can’t help it!