New Year’s resolutions and I are very well acquainted. At the start of 2024, my resolution was that my relationship with chocolate was over: never again would I spend an evening gorging on Dairy Milk.
On 5 January, I spent an evening gorging on Dairy Milk.
The simple fact is that the research suggests that, despite our best efforts, we don’t stick to New Year’s resolutions. Often, they are too ambitious, too wide in scope and we don’t set out a plan for achieving our new goals.
The start of a new school year often arrives with a similar change mentality: what will be different about my practice this academic year, what will be different about me and what teaching resolutions shall I set?
Often, as the initial weeks and term pass, our lofty goals slip away - much like my chocolate self-control.
Setting intentions rather than firm goals
For this academic year, perhaps we should consider setting some intentions, rather than firm resolutions. Intentions are more aligned with our values and less goal orientated, and serve to really clarify what matters.
I am English lead for the professional graduate diploma in education (better known as PGDE, the graduate entry route into teaching in Scotland) at Edinburgh Napier University. In that role, I am fortunate to visit lots of schools across Scotland.
The behaviour of young people is a frequent topic of conversation in those schools. It is, to offer with some understatement, a challenging landscape out there - with teachers often facing difficulties in their classrooms.
What is also very clear is that this is an area that matters deeply to teachers - they want to have a classroom that can facilitate calm and good learning.
With that in mind, what might be some helpful behaviour intentions to ease these pressures that can be taken into the school year that has just started in Scotland?
1. Focus on what you can control
I often feel like Stephen Covey’s idea of the circle of concern versus the circle of influence should be on every teacher’s fridge. The circle of influence is where, I would argue, brilliant teachers operate.
The circle of influence is what we can directly shape and control: where we can be at our most proactive. The circle of concern, on the other hand, is what we cannot control or influence.
In terms of behaviour, there is much in our circle of influence: we can manage our own actions; only we can control our way of communicating; we can shape the plan of the lesson; we can take steps to proactively manage our own emotional regulation.
That isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but it is an encouraging one. By focusing on our circle of influence, we do everything in our own power to positively influence behaviour in our classrooms.
2. Focus on the balance of positives and negatives
It can certainly be very easy in the classroom to allow negativity to take over, particularly in the face of challenging behaviour. While we are inevitably going to have to use some more corrective and negative language, it can be a helpful intention to try to keep the language in our classrooms much more towards the positive.
Shining a light on young people who are displaying the good behaviours we want to see can be one way to achieve this. In doing so, we subtly shape and influence our classroom norms: more positive language reinforces that, in our classrooms, young people make good decisions.
3. Seek support
Many teachers still suffer poor behaviour in silence. It is in our circle of influence, however, to reach out to support networks around us. It might be asking a colleague to pop in and see how they manage behaviour, it might be sitting down to discuss with a coach or mentor how you might manage a lively group of students.
Either way, in open and trusted professional dialogue we often find the strength and strategies to move forward positively with challenging students and classes.
Jamie Thom is English lead for the PGDE at Edinburgh Napier University, author of five books on education and the host of Beyond Survival: The New Teacher Podcast. He also blogs, focusing on teacher support
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