I recently received a warning. A non-teaching member of staff was on a learning walk, and saw that a student had headphones in while working. I was summoned by the head of department and told it could never happen again. I should, they said, be following our school policies to the letter.

How strict is too strict at school?

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I admit that I』m perhaps more flexible than some teachers when it comes to rules. Instead of dishing out sanctions for every phone I see, every swear word I hear and every student out of their seat, I tend to give verbal admonishment and leave it at that.

My school has strict rules and punishments for these things and many more – listening to music, wearing a coat in class or having ties too short, for example. But these issues are not what make the difference to how well my students learn. I rarely send students out of the classroom because many of these things are so minor. In fact, relaxing some of the rules has helped me treble one class’s output since the start of last year.

Initially, I dreaded the days I taught these students. They were out of control – impossible to keep quiet, throwing things and refusing to work. I had students physically hurting or threatening each other. One day I came in to find all manner of things stuck to the ceiling.

But I managed to turn it around. This was in part through trying out different teaching techniques – marking in class, getting rid of textbook time and limiting how long I spent in front of the class – but also because I decided to focus on the bigger picture rather than the small issues considered problematic by the school.

It made a real difference. Now the students enjoy my subject and trust me. They know that if they push it too far I will send them out, email home, or give a detention – but that is not the norm. They make progress. They ask questions. They know what is expected of them. Parents and senior management are pleased with how far they』ve come.

I understand the need for rules, but we need flexibility. It has become almost too easy to remove a student from a class to the hallway or to senior management. Many of my colleagues take this approach. Students miss large amounts of school due to internal suspensions or isolations from other teachers, and end up falling further behind. They then often play up more to cover up what they don』t know. We should be looking to build confidence, increase time spent in the classroom, and help students one to one.

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The people making these decisions do so from their offices rather than the classroom. Having non-teachers working in a school can be an asset: for those students who need social care, emotional support, medical attention or military-style discipline. But they shouldn』t be making rules about how we manage our classes. Teachers who have worked their way up and have the inside scoop on how their students work best should have the final say on this front. Let’s get some perspective on what really matters.

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本文來源：https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/mar/31/secret-teacher-my-schools-endless-rules-do-more-harm-than-good