Posted on 4/03/2016 by David Owen

While consistency is important, students perform best when teachers tailor sanctions to the individual, not the behaviour

Put yourself in the shoes of a child for a moment (if it’s not too uncomfortable). Aside from expecting that the teacher will not physically abuse you, what is the minimum expectation that you should have of them when it comes to behaviour management?

At the very least, most teachers agree that we must be consistent. Children, like all humans, get confused if they do the same thing on successive days and get a different reaction.

If a child pokes Dwayne in the eye with a pencil on a Tuesday, for instance, and gets away with it (as the teacher says that Dwayne shouldn’t have put his eye in the way), and then does it again on Wednesday and gets a detention, you end up with a confused child. “Sir seems to have relocated the goalposts on to another pitch entirely today,” mouths Poor Tiny Tim.

http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/content/adjusting-behaviour-management-suit-student