ABSTRACT
Many years ago I was teaching in a small school for the maladjusted. Next door to my classroom, was a teacher with six difficult children. So difficult in fact, that they seemed to take apart the classroom and the contents and to leave the room in a state of total chaos and disrepair. Most of the children could not recognize their letters and all of the children were very physical and abusive. The class assistant spent most of the day with one arm across the doorway to stop the children leaving the classroom. No teaching took place — only containment. I had my own worries at the time. I had the youngest very active class and I was involved in getting their reading off the ground and getting to grips with their behaviours. The school had little policy at that time, it was a sink or swim situation and a 'send you to the all forgiving head' if things get too bad. The teacher next door left in the middle of the year and I was asked to take over the class. It was easy to prepare the class, everything went out to the rubbish except just enough tables and chairs. I decided that as soon as the children walked in the new regime would start. The class assistant was relieved of her job as bouncer and given particular jobs to do. What next? How does one start to manage? What decisions do you make about what strategies to use? How do you make children respect a room and environment that has meant very little? Where do you start teaching and what to teach? No-one told me I would be faced with this in teacher training. I am not a bully myself, so threatening adult behaviour is not my style. How I remediated the situation, using some of the strategies and therapies mentioned here, is continued at the end of the chapter.
