ABSTRACT
My teacher training course was of little help in preparing me to manage actual classes and deal with the sheer frustration I would feel as a result of my inability to do so. After a couple of teaching practices and a maternity cover in generally pleasant schools where I occasionally raised my voice if needed and it worked, I arrived in my fi rst permanent post in a high school in more challenging circumstances. Here my one behaviour management strategy of shouting and sending students out of the room was exposed. The sight of me losing my cool was no doubt a great entertainment to the students who didn’t actually want to be in the room in the fi rst place and, if sent out, could create further disruption by face pulling through the window.
