Being a teacher in certain schools is an unforgettable experience…for the wrong reasons.
Teachers get stabbed. They’re punched, pushed and spat on. Aside from the physical abuse, these teachers are also verbally abused. Learners speak disrespectfully. The learners themselves mete out the same treatment to one another. Learners fight so brutally that they need medical attention. Bullying and stealing are rampant. Drugs are sold on the property. To end the school year for the poor teacher, the learners produce exam results that are unforgettable…again for the wrong reasons.
Does one abandon hope? The answer is absolutely not. These and other schools can reduce levels of incidents such as abuse, bullying, drugging and stealing. When core values permeate a school, antisocial behaviour drops dramatically. In fact, a completely different and much better school is created.
In the January issue of the Teacher an introductory article described the five pillars of a quality school. The first and most important pillar is values. According to the South African Quality Institute (SAQI) team that designed the model, every quality school has core values.
Values are the “rules of the game” in the organisation. They guide the way in which people behave and interact with one another.
In our teenage South African democracy schools there’s a rainbow range of cultures, which includes many religious faiths practised by learners and staff. Schools try to respect the differences. As a result, many schools don’t promote a particular faith. This means religion can’t be used to teach values, so schools often feel the need for another way to fill the void around values education.
What values should be taught? There are values common to most people that are also maintained by all faiths.
Increasingly, schools are including values education lessons in their curricula. The lessons fall into the Life Orientation learning area of the National Curriculum. Some schools choose a particular value that would be introduced at an assembly. The value would then be followed up throughout the school for a few weeks.
The Human Values Foundation (HVF) in Britain has a school values programme focusing on five basic human values.
These values are regarded as essential, “like the fingers of the hand, each helping towards the proper functioning and efficiency of the whole hand”. (June Auton 2004: Social and Emotional Education, page 8).
If any teacher would like to use the HVF programme in their school, please note that SAQI has a licence agreement. The foundation has generously made its excellent lesson material available to South African schools.
The lessons are suitable for both the primary and junior secondary classroom. If the material is ordered through SAQI, there’s no charge except for the mailing and photostating of the books.
A school might prefer to buy the material via the internet at www.humanvaluesfoundation.com.
Class and school rules make learners aware of values. Where possible, let the learners help formulate the rules. If they make the rules themselves, there’s a strong likelihood of “buy in”. Keep the rules simple. Keep them positive. Give guidelines on expected behaviour rather than a list of “don’ts”.
Here is a set of class rules devised by Mrs M Voget with her grade five class:
Our Class Rules
P – please be polite
E – ensure that all work is done
A – accept others as they are
C – choose to be positive
E – eager to listen
Mahatma Gandhi made the wise observation: “You must be the change that you want to see in the world.”
If teachers expect learners to adhere to certain values, they themselves need to be role models. It is therefore important that the staff agree on values that will guide themselves and the whole school.
The staff can formulate values in a staff development workshop. Every staff member can be given a copy of the agreed-on values.
The values can serve as guidelines on how people interact positively with one another. When values are vibrantly visible, the quality school is being created. It becomes a much valued school.
Dr Richard Hayward has been in school senior management for 34 years, including 21 years in principal posts. At present he is an educational adviser to SAQI
Leadership and management programmes are conducted by the institute. More information: Vuyi Segoa, 012 394 3400 or email [email protected]; or Dr Richard Hayward on 011 888 3262 or email ÂÂ[email protected]