The name is absent

214

dislocation needs to be worked with and accepted as different rather
. 18

than inferior or incomplete. The student’s knowledge of school
is gradually accumulated and comes from a variety of sources. It
encompasses the school in the widest sense and allows informal observ-
ation to fill in, question or expand official statements. Here School
A and School B are approaching comparison of their schools via a
lecture given in the Institute by the Head of School B.

IV

School B and A 29.1.82  P3∕4 hi

B

Tutor

So what the Head is trying to do is work
with a system which is based on rationality,
on non-confrontation, on talking things
through with kids, talking kids down - that
notion of sitting down when you’re in a bad
situation, being responsive .....

BSS2 One of the other points which he made in
that lecture which I don’t think is a point
you usually get made by teachers in how they
control kids is the possibility of being
affectionate to kids which you do see working
- someone put his arm round a boy just kind
of casually which is now part of their anti-
sexist policy. Showing that sort of affection
is a way of counteracting that macho ethos
that you are likely to get in all boys schools.

BM2 At the same time he’s not prepared to tolerate
overt abuse of that system. Senior school
assembly last term when the whole theme was
that he was not going to tolerate whole gangs
of kids wandering around the corridors disrup-
ting classes - but it was based on the fact
that he understood why some of them might
be opting out of school ..... and even brought

in the whole thing about 'Many of you being
worried by not getting jobs .....'  but the

disruption can no longer be tolerated’.
So although he was very sensitive about it
he obviously has certain parameters beyond
which you cannot go - kind of taking advantage
of the relative Iaxness of the school .....

BSS2 He didn't say lax though, did he? I thought
one of the points he made was that they weren't
very lax at all. They have quite high expect-
ations of the children's behaviour.