ABSTRACT
In 1974, the eminent psychologist Walter Mischel conducted a famous experiment: The Marshmallow Test. Two fluffy cubes of sugar would come to symbolise a child's capacity for self-control. It was a simply designed test: a child was given one marshmallow. They were sat in a room for a short time and if they could fend off eating the single marshmallow then they were granted a second marshmallow as a reward. It was a classic exercise in impulse control and delayed gratification. A common story is played out in every school, seemingly in every country. In self-defence, we attribute any student misbehaviour to our students and factors outside of our control. Anxiety about failing to manage our classroom cuts deep at our sense of pride. To paint the scene would prove something of a parody of a gothic tale: rain lashing against a rickety temporary classroom and the darkness of an English winter gathering in.
