My form are awful (Y9)

[friendswithacat]

I've had to take them over due to another teacher being on long term sick.

It's as if I'm not there. They yell and shout across the room, ask questions ('miss. Miss. Miss. MISS!' when I'm trying to get quiet and then do that incredibly fucking annoying thing of flinging their arms in the air in mock- outrage when I ask them to wait, come in late and make it a huge drama.

I'm starting to dread seeing them. And I have them twice a day!!!

Does the Head of Year do the rounds each morning? Get them to pop in. They usually hold more clout and will get straight on the phone to parents.
Write in planners? Parents will see comments when getting signed.
Secret student? Say you will call home for one student. Use lolly sticks (or an app) to pick a random name at end. Call home. If they have been good - nowt to worry about. Give praise for compliance. However, if they have stepped out of line- let parent know.

Sympathies- my two Y9 groups are actually quite placid (for bottom sets anyway) but my Y8s are vile. They are Just. So. Loud.

It's Miss, Miss, Miss, MISS every second. One of me trying to give my time and attention to 31 of them.

Ds has just started in y7 and at his school they have vertical tutor groups rather than year based ones. Not sure if you said it was for a tutor gp lesson or subject lesson (in ehich case ignore!).

Could be worth suggesting - seems to work well for them as you only get about 4 from each year in the group so not enough gain critical mass to be so annoying...

I've personally never taught anywhere with the vertical system, although I know it's popular.

I haven't been a form tutor since 2011. Then I had year 7s who were placid and keen to please. Now I have hulking grunting chip-obsessed year 9s. Also, my classroom has steamed up and someone has drawn a giant cock on my window

Trying to have A Very Serious Talk About Your Behaviour with that facing me is - well!

You are all total saints and

I don't know how you do it but I'm bloody glad you do! so I don't have to

Sorry about the window cock but that did make me laugh

It made me laugh as well

This is my new favourite thread! I used to work in a boys' school and they used to draw cocks on EVERYTHING. I used to have to lock away the whiteboard markers they were hilarious though so I used to feign rage whilst laughing on the inside. If it's any consolation, I'm sure you know already that the boisterous gobby classes usually end up being your absolute favourites and your staunchest defenders, once the initial mayhem has settled down

I have them too.
The ones who are stepping over the line get detention and their parents contacted by email.
i find that works very well.

Oh my god, this is so depressing. I'm a parent of a Y8. So wish I had enough money to send her private.

Why, because of the shrieking cock drawing proles?

The mock outrage thing is the single most annoying thing for me. 'Sam, stop talking' - arms flung, mouth open, looking around... YOU WERE FUCKING TALKING STOP LOOKING LIKE I AM TRYING TO RUIN YOUR LIFE

Also we have vertical forms and it's genuinely the best part of the day. The behaviour for the rest of the day is ridiculous.

Depressed by the behaviour and the group punishments, your descriptions are brilliant but I'm now dreading y9. I can hear my dd is a pain from the stories she tells. But how the hell can any kid learn well in this? Don't mean to derail your thread though - it is very funny.

Email all the parents of the worst offenders. Give detentions to all who misbehaved for constant low key disruption

On Monday present a simple bullet point list of behaviour expectations to each child.

Contact parents and give detentions again if necessary.

Do last man standing weekly

At bloody hard work

They don't learn in form time, that's the problem :) They learn in lessons, fear not, with the odd arms-flung-out, mouth a wide O of shock because you've told them to sit down and stop sharpening their pencil.

I concur, it's infuriating

Just stick to the basics. Follow rules to the letter. Use consequences and stick with them.
Don't 'throw' sweets!!
It may take a while but with determination and no room for manoeuvre, it will work.

Will hold the hardest groups become "your staunchest allies". I think that is so true. Makes the herding of the pack more bearable.

Not a teacher but reading this thread reminded me about this Guardian article about how awful Y9 is (I had a DC in Y9 when I read it - found it so depressing). How any of you manage is beyond me. I'd be the teacher rocking in a corner swigging from a gin bottle.

I read aloud in form time - choose a good, gripping novel and it hypnotises them. You can get a keen reader to read a bit whilst you tick off the register. You can sneak in a bit of SMCS with discussion of the issues in the novel once they're settled. I find Y8 the worst but recognise every bit of your description!

Even with the naughtiest/most disenfranchised classes you can usually find something To have as common ground to enable there to be a working relationship. However the transfer over from being public enemy number one to one of the gang is usually so gradual you don't notice it until you suddenly realise that you're laughing with them rather than shouting at them and you realise that they are behaving much much worse for other people, and you feel like the control has moved back from them to you.
Tutor time is tricky as it's perceived as a bit of a doss, and you can't use the threat of exam results etc as a motivator.

Cocochoco it makes no difference. The only benefit is that there are smaller classes, but private schools have their fair share of clowns and hormones too.

I can testify that teenagers are just the same in private schools. Just slightly less of them at a time but different challenges.

My tutor group started acting up in year 9! Many of them would play up to the rest of the group. So, for a couple of weeks I would send them to join a year 7 tutor group to teach them a lesson!

😂

Yes sorry to disapoint but the year 9s in question from my post are being privately educated.

They aren't so bad really. I don't want all the proles being written off. Just loud, prone to theatrics and annoying. No different to any other teenager but there are thirty of them and one of me. Like Fred and Richard - they weren't being naughty, they were just asking for a tissue but haven't yet learned the art of Waiting For An Appropriate Moment.

The arms flung out, mock outrage, looking around for support - I see a lot of but hadn't registered as a thing. Now you have identified it - I realise my own DS does it a lot too at home