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Teaching that works: using the human givens in the classroom

think the text would say, or vice versa; or students could be given the answers to the questions and asked to work out what they think the questions might have been; or they could discuss in groups the eight key points they consider vital to include in any account of photosynthesis. In this way, they come to 'own' their learning. The feeling of autonomy generated by the choices of activity is more likely to engage students and develop in them a sense of flow, which in turn reduces the likelihood of inappropriate behaviour.

Much of the conflict that occurs in classrooms results from so called 'power struggles' which in fact are simply attempts to gain a sense of autonomy
or status. Understanding that this too is a given enables teachers to distance themselves from the concept of trying to 'control' situations, which inevitably leads to conflict and failure, and instead to build in the element of choice by means of the language they use in managing behaviour.

Dealing with power struggles

There will be a big difference in the impact of — and therefore the reaction to — each of the following statements:

"Darren, I've told you twice to stop talking. If you do it again then I'll move you over here on your own."

"Darren, the instruction is to work silently. If you choose to keep talking, you'll be choosing to sit on your own over here. If you need my help, let me know. Thanks."

(Try saying them out loud yourself and notice differences in tone of voice and your own likely reaction to being spoken to in these ways.)

Building the language of choice into a teacher's approach provides a clear way of helping children take responsibility for their behaviour. Even 'binds' (questions which appear to be a choice but which effectively bind the person to a particular outcome), often used in therapeutic settings, have their place in the classroom: "Do you want to do the questions before the diagram or after?" "Would you prefer to stay in class and calm down or wait outside the room?"

Choice is vital to the management of a class and teachers can reap enormous benefits in terms of behaviour management if they keep highlighting the fact that children are making choices. If a child who previously had been arguing is now working quietly, the change can be pointed out: "Thanks for choosing to settle down, Azeem." It is a valuable technique for reinforcing good behaviour: "Jenny, how come you chose to search out all this information from the internet and make your project so great?" In human givens terms, such a comment invites children to go into their 'observing selves', the rational, analysing, part of the brain, and reflect on the fact that they themselves make the choices which enable them to achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve.

Emotions make us stupid

One of the most significant pieces of information underpinning the human givens approach is that high levels of emotional arousal make people 'functionally stupid' (to quote Joe Griffin's memorable phrase). High levels of emotional arousal lock the brain into one-dimensional thinking and consequently our ability to rationalise and entertain different perspectives is drastically inhibited.

When teachers find themselves engaged in power struggles, which by their very nature are emotionally arousing, not only the children but they themselves are less able to see and react responsibly.

For instance, a teacher may challenge a boy who is wandering around the classroom, interrupting others when he should be working, and receives
the reply, "I'm only getting a pencil," (said very defensively). If the teacher responds to the tonality and thinly veiled hostility in the voice by saying, "Don't be silly! It doesn't take that long to get a pencil!", rapport between teacher and child is instantly lost because the teacher has failed to see that the child's response was merely an attempt to save face and minimise embarrassment at being caught out and maybe told off in public. Now both teacher and child are emotionally aroused and defensive, each equally keen to save face.

Much more effective is a response which devolves the power, allowing the perpetrator to retain his sense of status by having his actions, or the reasons behind them, validated, yet achieves the desired ends: "Yes, you do need a pencil for this. Now that you have got one, back to work now, thanks. I'll
come and check it in a minute." (A teacher may wish to address the rudeness later, and in private, when the emotional heat has subsided.)
As the thinking part of the brain is inhibited when emotions are high, it follows that learning cannot be effective if high levels of conflict or stress exist (often a characteristic of reacting to rather than managing behaviour in class) and therefore all strategies for managing a classroom should have as their first criteria the reduction of emotional arousal.

I hear you

I know from my own contact with many hundreds of new teachers that this is not widely known, let alone explained in training. This means that simple skills such as reflective listening are not taught. Yet reflective listening — the ability to let someone know that their message has been understood — is a core skill in lowering emotional arousal. Without this skill, interactions between people who may not share the same viewpoint are likely to trigger high levels of emotional arousal. How often do children in class feel that the teacher hasn't understood their perspective? How commonly do comments such as "It's not fair!" or "Other people do it too!" punctuate attempts to redirect children to appropriate behaviour?

Reflecting both the child's emotions and the content of what they are saying helps build rapport and lower arousal: "Nadine, I can see you're a bit annoyed because you think I haven't given you a chance for your side of the story. When I've set the class working, then we can talk calmly over there."

Putting it another way

Emotional arousal can also be lowered using the technique of reframing ideas and beliefs — helping a person gain additional, more helpful perspectives on things, when they are stuck in negative thinking. One important element of reframing is to reflect back information with a slight 'twist' that gives a perceived difficulty a transient status: "Mr Smith, I can't do this!" "It's good you chose to ask for help, Jade. Now, which bit can't you do yet?"

In this brief exchange, the teacher begins to turn a potentially negative feeling into a positive response as he reframes Jade's comments, firstly as a positive choice ie to seek help, and then begins to reframe the difficulty by the words 'bit' (some of it is understood) and 'yet' (presupposing that Jade will be able to do the work soon).

The language of influence

An understanding of the subtleties of language and the way in which the brain processes it should be part of every teacher's repertoire. It is a simple truth that everything we say will have an influence over children in our classrooms. We must, therefore, ensure that our words have a positive influence and in as many ways as possible seek to engage human beings' innate resources for helping meet our needs.

The vast majority of teachers are hugely committed and want to do their very best for the children they teach. Yet, if one were to eavesdrop into many classroom conversations, a lack of knowledge about presuppositions in language would be evident. Presuppositions are the taking of something for granted in the way that a communication is phrased. Their impact cannot be ignored because they connect with the brain at an unconscious level. Consider, for instance, unhelpful presuppositions: "What have you done now?" (Oh, it's you again); "What else could you add to the picture?" (It isn't good enough); "See, you can behave well when you try!" (You're not useless after all, so why don't you try!)

Conversely, presuppositions can be used powerfully for positive good: "I wonder who'll answer the first question" (somebody will, and it could be you); "Next time you try this, it'll be easier" (there'll be a next time and it will definitely get easier from now on); "How pleased are you with this story?" (the story is pleasing).

Rapport building

Skilled teaching leads to group rapport — when all pupils are in a state of flow, their interest captured and their attitudes relaxed, because they are not fearful of being put on the spot or shouted at or humiliated. In such a state, they are capable of learning and teachers are capable of teaching. A knowledge and understanding of the human givens is not a magical way of achieving this in every case. Many children experience significant psychological difficulties or bring into class patterns established from their experiences outside school that make life extremely challenging for teachers and their peers alike. It is not possible to respond to the needs of absolutely every student at all times within a single classroom and there will always be the need for specialist support and intervention beyond the classroom especially with the present inclusion agenda. However, when teachers feel frustrated or powerless or drawn to confrontation and conflict with students, rapport and therefore influence islost and no one gets their emotional needs met.

I would argue strongly, from my own experience and the feedback from many hundreds of teachers in all phases of education, that having an increased range of strategies which are compatible with the scientifically validated information on which the human givens approach is based significantly reduces the likelihood of those situations occurring. It also assists us in recognising that it is what we do that has the most influence on the climate in our own classrooms.

Spare capacity

Teachers could also benefit enormously from understanding and acting upon the fact that they can only give to others if they also take care of themselves. Nothing will change the fact that teaching is stressful, but there are simple psychological techniques for making it less so. A simple breathing technique — breathing in to the count of 7 and out to the count of 11 — done just before class or at difficult moments — can help lower stress levels instantly.

Listening to music between classes, to calm down or liven up, can be helpful. So can engaging with the notion of pattern matching: photos of loved ones or fondly remembered occasions placed on the desk or in a personal organiser can create a lift every time they are looked at. Most importantly, teachers need to learn to take time for themselves — to make some space at break times when they aren't thinking about the job.

They can also usefully apply reframes to their own reflections about their work. Instead of thinking in despair, "I'm not handling 4R/7K/9B at all
well!", or "I've messed up my lessons today", simple reframes on the lines of "I haven't got to grips with this class as well as I want to yet" or "I can improve the way I'm teaching such and such tomorrow" could go far to reduce much teacher burnout.

To explore all the areas in which a knowledge and understanding of the human givens can benefit the effectiveness of teachers is beyond the scope of this article. For me, however, the 'organising idea' it represents has provided the evidence for an approach which I have long been teaching and have instinctively known to be right. Quite simply, if as teachers we work in line with the way people naturally function, we will always be more effective, and strategies that are congruent with the human givens will always be the most successful.

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© Human Givens Publishing Limited and Iain Caldwell (2004)

This article first appeared in Volume 9, No, 3 (2002) of the Human Givens journal.

ANDY VASS has taught for 27 years and combines work in schools with training and consultancy. He has held workshops for over 450 schools and local education authorities, which combine highly practical behaviour management skills with new insights into language and powerful communication. He is a therapist and member of the European Therapy Studies Institute. As well as writing articles for the Times Education Supplement, he is co-author of Confident Classroom Leadership, Creating Winning Classrooms, Teaching with Influence, Talking Possibilities and Strategies to Close the Learning Gap. He is a consultant to the Department for Education and Skills on a national programme for behaviour management at primary and secondary phases.

> More information, including all references, can be found in the following book, by Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell

Human Givens: A new approach to emotional health and clear thinking

> You can find out more about education and the new thinking on its effectiveness from reading the following information and articles:

How to educate Using the human givens in education

The HGI Education section HGI members sharing specialist skills

Return to top

> More information, including all references, can be found in the following book, by Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell

Human Givens: A new approach to emotional health and clear thinking

> You can find out more about education and the new thinking on its effectiveness from reading the following information and articles:

How to educate Using the human givens in education

The HGI Education section HGI members sharing specialist skills

Return to top