By Mark Goodwin @markgoodwin8
A version of this was presented at New Voices 2019
I
have been a teacher for over twenty years, so I am well used to “Teacher Conversations”;
the one about the holidays; the one about the short working hours; and the one
that goes something along the lines of “WHY?!...other people’s
kids?..secondary?…what about the behaviour?!?”
Well now, I’ve got a whole new conversation starter (and a very quick
conversation stopper!) because I teach mainly permanently excluded kids. When this
comes up in conversation there is usually a look of mild panic, even fear but,
to be fair, this is quickly followed by a genuine interest and a degree of
respect – at last, in the eyes of some, I might be earning those teacher
holidays!
In
the past, to be put out of the tribe was the ultimate sanction – it meant no
food, shelter or protection so it inevitably and quickly led to death.
Currently, kids are being excluded from schools in staggering numbers and at
ever younger ages. My teaching experience tells me the ‘what’ to teach these
kids but I have developed a whole new ‘how’ to teach them and it is all
encapsulated in a Cookie Jar.
The
whole process of setting up the Cookie Jar starts with a chat about biscuits. I
ask the kids about their favourite…the best for dunking?…cream or plain?...Hob
Nob or Rich Tea?... etc. I remind them that biscuits are a treat and that they
get stored in a special place, the Cookie Jar. But my Jar is not so much about
taking out and stuffing your face with a sweet treat but putting in, building
stores and keeping for the future. In fact, its not really about biscuits at
all, I’m looking for things the kid has done well, learning or behaviour, and
collecting these examples in the Cookie Jar – I am setting out building their
self-esteem by recording, remembering & referencing ‘esteemable acts’….and
putting them in something a kid can understand - The Cookie Jar.
STEP ONE Once the biscuit
conversation is done and the Cookie Jar analogy established I set up the
physical Cookie Jar and just creating the jar is a significant step because I
am saying to the kid – “I have made this to collect examples of you doing well
in the future….the jar is empty at the moment and you may not have done
anything noteworthy for a while….but things are going to BE BETTER…. trust
me I have faith in you… improvement will come, small step by small step,
but it will happen and I will be there to see it and capture it….” By creating
the Jar I am saying that I see and believe in them…even if nobody else does (A
real demonstration of faith in the possibility of change that leaves me pretty
vulnerable if I’m honest!) What does
believing in them sound like? I sometimes start with, ‘some of the greatest
human achievements were made by people exactly in your position…sometime much
worse positions… so of course you got this!’
STEP TWO I put a LABEL on the
jar. I want to really see the kid – there is a wonderful phrase from the
Zulu (and popularised by its use in the film Avatar) Sawubona, which means ‘I
see you and in seeing you I bring you into being’. So I am REALLY trying to see
the kid and find a new label, the opposite of the labels they have heard
already….bad, naughty, disengaged, disaffected, pupil premium, free school
meals, this estate/that postcode or disruptive, potential NEET etc…….labels that
sometimes become an affirmation of the person who their perceived reputation
has lead them to believe they now are….instead, I am seeing past this adopted
mask, peeking behind the curtain and seeing who they really are….and, more
importantly, what they MIGHT BECOME. This simple label on a Cookie Jar is
staking out a small claim and planting a flag in their future. So, the new
label, clearly placed on the Jar is their name, obviously, but also….Singer,
Scientist, Historian, Engineer…king of Kerby! The story of their future is yet to be written
and they now have permission to write a new and better version every day
according to who they might be, turning (my) Belief into (their) Action.
STEP THREE I need to prepare the
way for the Jar to be filled. What do I need to be thinking? What is my
mindset? How am I approaching this kid? I’ve mentioned faith, there is loads of
that, but what about the science and research? Well, there is the Pygmallion effect
– what I believe the kid is capable of doing will influence their
ability to succeed i.e. a self fulfilling prophecy and there is Growth Mindset-
and this leads to conversations about potential.
Talking
about potential is potent because it is about the future, it is hopeful and potential
is strengthened and ultimately realised, by its twin outriders, Responsibility
and Relationships. These anchors, built into my approach to the Cookie Jar,
allow for solutions-focused conversations when things are going well and the
Jar is getting filled but, even more usefully, when things are difficult.
STEP FOUR Fill the Jar! I
want something in the Jar so I throw a wide circle – for work and behaviour – I
create a space where there is challenge and high expectations but also space
for compassion, forgiveness, redemption and second chances. I always double
plan the work – Not an OFSTED planning nightmare! – but simply thinking
about what this work I’m setting looks like from their point of view, with
their experience of learning and with
their needs. And don’t forget What Is In It For Me – I connect the work to
their world and make the work meaningful, then it is easier to catch
them being good, see the best part of a session and start to fill the Jar.
If
I want kids to make positive changes and move from behaviours that I know are
limiting and damaging then I have to make the new space as welcoming and
engaging as nurturing & compassionate as possible. When they respond positively
in this new space, whether behaviour or learning, this is what goes on the
slips of paper and then in the Jar! Completed work? – in the Jar. Stayed on
task? – in the Jar. Read out loud? – in the Jar…. Etc.
I
said at the start about the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of teaching. Well, the Jar
reconnects me with my ‘Teaching Why’ it reminds me to be the teacher that I
wanted to be and more importantly to be the teacher these kids need, as the
mighty Rita Pierson says, to be these kid’s champion. Ultimately, the Cookie
Jar is good for me because it is a practice I am working on, my inside
job, in particular, getting my ego out of the way and being patient and kind – there
are other things far more important than me being right. With the Cookie Jar kids
get new choices not cornered. I get to BE PRESENT. HAVE FAITH. BE VULNERABLE –
hard to do…. but the payback is second chances, new stories and lives back on
track.
I
originally came across the Cookie Jar Analogy in David Goggin’s unbelievable
and inspirational memoir ‘Can’t Hurt Me’.
In
summary - Use the Cookie Jar to connect and build relationships…
- Create: Believe& Be there
- Label: Don’t Badge
- Prepare the way: Bend it
- Fill the jar: Bend it
- Works 2-ways: Be you
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