Classrooms benefit from support.
From time to time, our students struggle with the complexity of the classroom, particularly as they move from one class - where the learning might feel more straightforward - to another, where the learning might feel more demanding. We acknowledge the truth of this. A student might find it easy to find herself in Music, for example, but might struggle in Mathematics. She might not know how to find her feet, so to speak. To make matters worse, as the curriculum gets harder, a student might compare her previous experiences with this one, and find that she is not enjoying the subject as much as she did.
I wanted to discuss what happens when our students become concerned about their classroom in some way. Our PLC Sydney students are supremely polite and kind, and never seek to hurt or disrespect our teachers. From time to time they will come to me or to a relevant Head of Faculty about a concern in the classroom. I want to bring you into our thinking when this sort of thing occurs.
Schools are extremely complex places, both in terms of the demands of a single timetable to coordinate about 1200 people at any one time in the senior school, and in terms of the social complexity of any one of those meetings between students and teachers. It is why schools remain one of the most rewarding and fascinating places to work and learn; no two lessons are ever the same, and nor are the demands of one classroom the same as the next.
Learning is a journey, and circumventing the rigours of relationships is to circumvent the deep learning that can take place when things do not come as easily as expected.
From time to time, our students struggle with this, particularly as they move from one class - where the learning might feel more straightforward - to another, where the learning might feel more demanding. We acknowledge the truth of this. A student might find it easy to find herself in Music, for example, but might struggle in Mathematics. She might not know how to find her feet, so to speak. To make matters worse, as the curriculum gets harder, a student might compare her previous experiences with this one, and find that she is not enjoying the subject as much as she did.
When such a situation arises, we reach to teaching and learning for solutions. Why? It is tempting to suggest that the easiest way to relieve a student’s distress is to act structurally, to change the teacher and the classroom and therefore relieve the student’s distress. It is in this moment that I often hear a student say something along the lines of “this teacher’s style doesn’t suit my learning style”. And this student might be right … for the moment. Why “for the moment”? Learning is a journey, and circumventing the rigours of relationships is to circumvent the deep learning that can take place when things do not come as easily as expected. To move a student’s class because of a perceived mismatch of teacher and student would do a disservice to the complexity of the classroom; factors to consider would be curriculum, topic, other students, relationships and how they are formed, previous experiences in the subject. Still further, making a decision such as this one before student and teacher have had time to grow ensures that neither teacher or student is able to learn the other’s “style”. In other words, in a situation such as this, if teaching and learning is the problem, then we must seek a solution in teaching and learning.
when issues of teaching and learning come up, we will always approach them with curiosity, and with the confidence that solutions can be found in teaching and learning..
Dr Sarah Golsby-Smith, Head of Learning and Teaching
In addition, moving a student from class to class for fear of a mismatch weakens the fabric of a school. We risk moving from a community to a marketplace. At PLC Sydney, we actively pursue a model where our students risk to reach reward, rather than seeking guarantee - which may ensure safety, but also ensures limited growth. This is not all. Differently to a commercial environment, where a customer could select a red product, but later switch to a white product, if we limit a successful classroom to only a student’s perception of what is working and what is not, then we weaken not only the timetable and the integrity of our classrooms, but we also hamper the possibility of the gift of real learning that the student does not expect. A student cannot know what she does not know.
In this way, when issues of teaching and learning come up, we will always approach them with curiosity, and with the confidence that solutions can be found in teaching and learning. We very rarely move students from class to class within the same subject, particularly where a student is concerned about a teaching style or learning style. What we will do is listen hard in the first instance. We will seek to understand what is going on for a student. Then we will initiate a conversation - with parent/teacher, teacher/student, teacher/teacher, HoF/teacher - whatever combination suits the particular moment. We will keep those conversations going until student and teacher have found a way of communicating that ensures good learning and good teaching.
Students are often concerned that these conversations might offend their teacher. Quite the contrary. Our teachers welcome direct conversation with our students. In girls’ schools in particular, there is the tendency to think that communicating concern is the same thing as disrespect. Far from it. We want our students to be able to speak when they need to, in such a way that communicates the respect that we know they have for their teachers, but also aptly and clearly gives voice to their concerns. We want to nurture young women as they learn to speak.
So, when these concerns come up, what should a student and her family do? And not do?
- She should not hide her concerns from her teacher, and failing that, the Head of Faculty or Head of Learning and Teaching. We are here and care very much.
- Trust in the school. Trust that speaking to our staff will in absolutely no way result in any recrimination. Trust that these conversations will change things for the better. We value the voice of young people. We will protect it, at every level.
- Try to come to staff with the problem, willing to talk, rather than the neat problem/solution of moving classes to avoid discomfort.
- Trust the process of classrooms and their growth.
- Avoid echo chambers of the playground, where staff cannot hear a growing concern and therefore cannot act.
I hope this clarifies for you our thinking and processes. Please encourage your daughter to keep dialogue open with us. Great classrooms often foster great conversations and we are not naive enough to think that classrooms do not benefit from support from time to time. That is why we ask for your honesty and support as your daughter moves through the Senior School, in the many and various classrooms she will experience.
Please do reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. We value your daughters and their experience. After all, they are what makes our classrooms what they are.
Dr Sarah Golsby-Smith
Head of Learning and Teaching at PLC Sydney
Sarah has also taught in both government and independent schools, as well as across co-ed and both single sex schools i.e. girls schools and boys schools.