Case Study Create and maintain supportive and safe

learning environments:

A dilemma

The setting:
I was teaching a Marine Biology Year 10 class in my third week full-time teaching
block. I had had this class for eight periods so far, and had been on a full-day
excursion to the Melbourne Aquarium with the group. I knew them well and had built
strong rapports with most of them. There are 26 students in the class with 21 being
female. The class was a double and consisted of period five and six on a Monday
afternoon. The students are normally a little more testy in this class compared to
when I have them periods one and two on a Wednesday morning, so I knew Id be
getting right in and amongst it in terms of classroom management techniques. My
mentor had been coaching me on a few specific classroom management techniques
to use. However - all in all the students were a generally well behaved and an
intelligent cohort that caused me not many problems.
When the class begun there was a very tense feeling among the students, you could
taste the hostility in the air. The people involve couldnt hide their emotions and every
other student in the room was well aware there was something unfolding. So it was
inevitable that this was going to be a hard double period to keep everyone focused!
My mentor teachers had to have known, but she had been very good at not
interfering and therefore allowing me to sought out my class myself. However this
was no normal happening that I was privy to.
From what I could initially gather and by having an inconspicuous whisper to my
mentor teacher to bounce off the thought, there must have been an incident that
occurred during lunchtime or rather recently that involved five of the female students
in this class. They were usually all best of friends, however today there was three
sitting together on one side of the room, and furthest away on the other side of the
room was the remaining two who were both in tears.

The action that occurred:
So I made a quick decision to get the lesson started as I had previously planned and
pretended like nothing was any different to any other day. I tried to be as upbeat and
positive as possible. I thought and hoped that all the emotion might subside naturally.
However after about 10 minutes of persistence, it became clear it was not going to
be successful. Everyone was very disinterested in what I had to say about marine
adaptations and their attention and thoughts was clearly elsewhere on the drama
that sat before them. I knew something had to happen, but what was the best way to
approach this situation. I had a worksheet that would occupy 30 minutes of time and
required no prior knowledge on the topic. So I gave it out. Then I approached three of
the girls sitting at one end of the class and asked them for a chat outside. Fear had
gripped me what on earth am I doing, do I really want to know what is going on?
Plus it was none of my business - so I didnt ask them for details, I simply said was
everything ok and was there anything I could do to help? There was not much
conversing, as they seemed quite happy to say nothing. So we went back into the
class. I then asked the other two girls for a chat. These two girls were much more
willing to tell me exactly what was wrong and I didnt even have to ask them! It
turned out to be a bit of a he said she said and related to some older male students
at the school and certainly nothing I felt worthy of getting involved in. But as it turned
out I was very much now involved. I got the feeling both sides of girls thought that
during our separate discussions outside that they had gone into detail on what had
actually happened between the groups.

The outcome of the situation:
I continued on with the class and was walking around the room assisting students
with their worksheet. About 20 minutes had passed and then one of the girls walked
over to put something in the bins. Perhaps I should have stopped the girl and seen
the altercation coming. The bin happened to be very close to the two girls who were
implicated in the conflict and words were said. It was something like you f*&(ing slut
Im going to smash you after class. Then my mentor teacher got up and said right
your out and take Sa%^h with you. The student tried to argue back, but my mentor
was firm and sent them both to the silent room for the remainder of the period.

Reflections:
This was an event that Im glad I got to see and experience. In refection and through
discussion with my mentor, we both agreed that it was not my place to get involved
and if anything I should simply ignore it. However it was also agreed that I did not do
anything wrong and there was no clearly defined best way to approach method
available for this situation. Now when looking at it, I feel I could have suggested that
the most upset person and a friend visit the sick bay or go for a walk. I guess
sometimes it might be better to not try and become involved and just get on with the
class as best a possible.
I strongly believe school and education has the ability to be the great equaliser in
life, enabling society to pursue democracy and equality for all (Mann, 1868; Nieto,
2000, p.31). Therefore I will never put one student ahead of another.
My disciplining methods will never involve ridicule or humiliation. I strongly support
the schools goals and its ability to provide a safe environment including free from
harassment, bullying and defamation. This is why I chose to see if I could help and
assist in the well being of the students involved.
I will follow the schools policy that assigns a designated person to dealing with
issues that are beyond my expertise (Hopkins, 2005).

My role in this context is to display respect by acting with care and compassion and
treating students fairly and impartially. I will demonstrate my responsibility by
providing quality teaching, maintaining and developing professional practice and
working cooperatively with colleagues in the best interest of my students (Victorian
Institute of Teaching, 2011). If these students were constantly ignoring classroom
agreements, rules or code of conduct, and students were in danger is injury, I would
consult my mentor teacher and ask for advice. The students safety is of highest
priority.
After class had finished, I could have tried and engage the students in order to build
a rapport and see if there was anything I could assist with. I could speak with other
teachers who teach the students in question and see if they can assist with any
information that might help me deal with the situation. If there was continuing
concern during our next teaching periods, I could call the student parents or
guardians to inform them and seek greater understanding (Victorian Institute of
Teaching, 2011).
As a teacher I will always seek advice from as many credible sources as possible in
order to get a holistic view of the issue and the best result for the students.

Current situation:
My next class with these students was approaching, so I asked my mentor teacher
what happens now and how will this affect the students involved? She said I bet itll
have sorted itself out and it was pretty much par for the course and wasnt worth
wasting time and effort on. Anyway my mentor was rather relaxed by it all, and she
was right and the next lesson I had the class for, all the students involved were sitting
together. It was like nothing had ever happened!





References:
Victorian Institute of Teaching, (2011) the Victorian teaching profession code of
ethics and code of conduct, retrieved from:
http://stalbansdiped.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/64911934/code_of_conduct_March%2
02011-1.pdf viewed 15
th
April 2014

Hopkins, D (2005). Teachers, students and the law: A quick reference guide for
Australian teachers, Victorian Law Foundation.

Nieto, S (2000), Puerto Rican Students in U.S. Schools. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.