ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1, I focused exclusively on teachers’ perceptions of the job of teaching and the obstacles to performing the work according to their own ideals. But teaching is interactive work. Where there are teachers there are learners, and successful teaching and learning depends on the needs of both being met. A major theme of this book is that much classroom disruption occurs through a clash of needs and a clash of perceptions. Teachers cannot be effectively supported without taking into consideration pupils’ needs and their perceptions of what is going on in the classroom. This chapter is therefore devoted to describing pupils’ classroom needs based on informal and semi-structured interviews with pupils at Eastbank School, reinforced by conversations I have had over the years with pupils I have taught.
