Perhaps trying to understand is the problem?

I assume that everyone who works in education would like their school to understand their personal context and to take this into account in how they are treated?

Are you the kind of person who tries to find reasons why things happen? Do you seek to investigate and consider the causes of why people do things? Maybe you are of the view that if you can understand why something happens then you will be able to better avoid it happening in future, or indeed make it more likely to happen. This is definitely the kind of person I try to be, and for me it helps me to be both better at managing situations as well as helping those around me to experience more positive events and fewer negative things.

I do not dismiss the impact of appalling behaviour on those who are on the receiving end. Over my twenty years of teaching I have experienced most things that could be put into the category, both from young people and on occasions from their parents or other family members. I have been physically attacked, threatened both physically and verbally, broken up physical altercations, been personally abused, experienced false allegations, been complained about maliciously, and suffered public attack in the media. Some of the things that have been said and done to me as a teacher would most definitely meet the threshold of meaning that “I walk the walk, as well as talking the talk”. This is important as those who hold views which are at odds with my own seem so keen on requiring that you have done this before you are allowed to comment on this situation.

This is not to say that I always get it right, or always manage to properly understand why things happen as they do. Sometimes I miss the point entirely, sometimes I find that my balance is off, and I assign too much or too little significance to what has caused things to occur, and of course other times I just get it wrong. This is where I rely on those around me, my colleagues, my peers and the community I serve to help me to get it right. I think that is how a professional should work; as part of an organisation where although there are formal leaders, everyone has a part to play and sometimes gets to be the lead.

However, I find myself troubled by what I see as attacks on this principle of investigation, review and analysis in schools. I absolutely believe in the view that all behaviours are expressions of unmet needs. Young people placed in the same situation in different contexts do not respond in exactly the same manner every time. Therefore, the context must be key in understanding why something has happened. Simply rejecting the causes of the actions of a young person and then rejecting any attempt to understand why they have acted in that way is in my view inhumane and a failure to live up to the values that all those who have chosen to work in schools should have as part of their core beliefs.

There are so many things that could cause a young person to engage in a certain behaviour. We can never truly know exactly what is going on in a young person’s life, and how they will react to this. Two young people can have virtually the same good or bad personal situations and react to this in completely different ways. How often do we as teachers look at the life experience of one of our students and be simply thankful that we do not have to go through that?

It is so easy to just dismissively say “I wonder what unmet need that behaviour was communicating?” when a terrible act by a young person is reported. What such statements betray is a lack of compassion and a lack of holistic thinking. Whatever the young person has done, however appalling their actions may be, this is a result of the context of the situation. Most of the causes will not be anything to do with the person on the receiving end of the behaviour. They will have done little if anything to have actually caused the behaviour. However, if we just say that the behaviour is appalling and reject any attempt to understand then what message are we sending out both to that young person and to the other young people who we have responsibility for. What we are doing is telling them that we do not care, are not interested in their personal situation, and that they have to just deal with it because the adults do not care enough about them. I just don’t understand how it is possible to choose to work with young people and hold that attitude.

If a young person has done something that is a clear criminal offence which has directly impacted on their victim, then they most definitely should be dealt with by whatever combination of the courts and the school that is appropriate. Schools who refuse to report serious attacks on teachers to the police are failing everyone involved. If a young person has acted in a manner which makes their continued presence in their school impossible then they should no longer attend their school. By pretending to young people that schools are not bound by the same laws as wider society a false situation is created that helps nobody. School staff deserve to be protected and safe while they do their jobs.

The problem with this debate is for me the fact that those who refuse to recognise that behaviour reflects unmet needs are simply making it worse for all involved. I know that I am in part responsible for some of the occasions when I have been threatened, abused or worse. I know that I chose my words poorly, that I left situations unresolved, that I gave off the wrong messages with my body language, or that I sought to achieve an outcome that was unrealistic or lacked forethought. I don’t believe that makes me a bad teacher or that it means that by admitting that I am in part to blame that I should not be able to see the perpetrator have to deal with their behaviour. What it does mean is that I never believe I am entirely right and will always seek to understand why a young person behaved as they have so that I can help to provide the education and support that they need.

After all, I assume that everyone who works in education would like their school to understand their personal context and to take this into account in how they are treated?