I was told this story by a Headteacher about a year ago, and it has stuck in my mind.
D, 11 years old, hadn’t been in a classroom for almost two years due to his severely challenging behaviour. After being educated in isolation, he came to look around his new school and went to watch a lesson with what would hopefully become his new class. The Head sat in with him, her heart racing in case he suddenly became overwhelmed or agitated by being in a classroom, near other pupils and with a lesson in full swing. Based on the information provided by his previous school, she anticipated that he might respond negatively, throwing a chair or worse.
She watched him discreetly during the visit and noticed that he seemed particularly interested in the way children spoke to each other during whole-class dialogue, and the way the teacher listened and probed, and asked others what they thought. He looked at the children changing their RAG cups to red to show that they disagreed with a peer. He listened as pupils spoke to each other using language such as I have a different idea… I’d like to challenge what you said because… At one point he engaged wholeheartedly in dialogue with the teacher about the meaning of freedom and made knowledgeable references to world leaders. He was articulate, interesting and polite.
‘I didn’t know schools like this existed’
As they walked down the stairs, she asked him, So, what did you think? He replied that he had never seen anything like it. He said, 'I didn't know that schools like this existed.' He continued by sharing that in his previous schools you got in trouble if you disagreed or asked questions. He said that he had been considered rude for having differing views and that the only people he’d ever seen speak in this way – where disagreement was ok – were his mum and her friends.
His reintegration into education went remarkably well. Better than anyone had hoped.
We think that a key factor was the culture of respectful dialogue which permeated the new environment and the way that a space had been created for opposing views to be heard, valued and learned from.
