ABSTRACT
Such ‘discussion’ interactions seem to be regularly interspersed with ‘control’ episodes-it is apparent, through explicit instructions and the almost inviolate ‘teacher speaks, child speaks’ sequencing of the conversation, that children accept the teacher’s right to speak, and that their right to speak is governed by the teacher’s will. Explicit control appears throughout the transcript although, as all the children were not expected to sit and listen throughout the session, it might be less in evidence than in a more formal situation where all children are expected to listen quietly. Nevertheless, some administrative jobs, such as registration, are an integral part of such a session, and for this and other times when I thought all the children could gain by listening, they were called to order. It is noticeable that the teacher feels entitled to do this and that the children unquestioningly accept that entitlement. Parents and children accept the authority of the teacher in the classroom. Those children who came with messages for other children and those parents who arrived in the classroom with their children after the start of the session felt the ‘rightness’ of speaking to me first.
