Figure 1.--The children at prep schools are normally very well behaved. But boys are boys and there is also a good bit of devilment and the normal give and take you would excpect from spirited children. |
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Prep schools tend to be very disciplined schools. In former years corporal punishment played a major role in the discpline system at these schools. By the 1980s when many of our school visits took place, corporal punishment was no longer widely used, but it had not completely disappeared. The schools had implemented more positive discipline systems. These varied from schools to school. Some of the older teachers saw the changes as part of a general decline of standards in British schools. Younger reachers were more likely to see them as changes for the better in the educational approach. Some may see discipline as a minor matter, but unless a class is disciplined, education can not take place. Teachers with an unrully class will wind up waisting valuable class time dealing with desclipline problems. As far as we could tell, most schools had adjusted well to the changing discipline systems. I think that older teachers tended to view the severity of the punisment as the key. I don't think it was ever the actual punishment or sanction which had the bite, but the child's loss of face and realisation that he had let minself and and others down.
As a beginning teacher, I had the idea that discipline was not an important matter and was much more interested in the subject matter. I was very quickly disabused of that misconception. The goal of a school is to inpart learning, but the simple truth is that without adequate discipline, learning can not occur. This is not to say that discipline is the central matter at school, it is to say that without basic discipline nothing of value can occur in the classroom. Often this is the principal difference between private and state schools in Britain, the private schools recognize the importance of discipline and insist on basic discipline statndards. There are of course many fine state schools and teachers which recognize this. Unfortunately teachers in the state school often are forced to devote inordinate efforts to the problem of discipline and a few unruly students, often without the adequate support of the school administration. This detracts from the effort on academics. These sort of problems and disractions are for the most part avoided at prep schools and the masters there can devote their efforts to the learning process. Some observers may consider this an anachronism of the prep schools Victorian origins.
It is not only classroom discipline that the schools aim at. Over and over the Prep schools stressed to us that they seek to instill a sence of self discipline in the children. As the headmaster at Mount House phrased it, "Young people need discipline to attain self-discipline. Of course, discipline that is too rigid is as bad as no discipline at all and lack of discipline leads to no standards." Streete Court indicated, "Good manners and self-discipline are stressed rather than strict control and contiuous observation by masters." Raising children is not easy as modxern parents will attest. Children do not arrive with a mannual, which of course the fathers would not read anyway. Some parents are better at it than others. Many parents choose prep schools, not only because they arecinterested in the academic program, but for help in raising well disciplined and couteous children. From our brief observations, most prep schools provide a great deal of help to parents in this important area.
Any one familiar with English literature can recall both fiction and non-fiction accounts of severe masters enforcing discipline standards rigidly with a strap or cane. The Headmaster at Winterfold House explains that discipline at his prep school only a generation ago was "oppresively tight" and "rooted in fear." He felt that this was in part neceessary by the lack of activities to occupy the children outside the classroom. Other headmasters and masters we spoke with echoed similar thoughts, aithoug their prep school experieces varies widely. English teachers used corporal punishment extensively in both state and independent schools until relatively redently. Many authors describe their boyhood experiences in some detail.
Even such future luminaries as Winston Churchill were severely beaten in a prep school and his mother had to remove him from a prep school because of the beatings he experienced there.
Discipline standards at English state schools have declined significantly in recent years. [Patrick: any data on declining academic standards.] Relatively few state schools now resort to corporal punishment. Unfortunately, too many state schools have not succeeded in successfully replacing corporal punishment with any effective alternative. The declining discipline standards have been a significant factor at many schools in declining academic achievement. [Patrick: any info on discipline standards at state schools] This is particularly true of inner-city~ schools. Disadvantaged children are especially difficult to teach, both because they have so many needs, but also because they, and often their parents, do not fully appreciate the importance of education. The difference in discipline standards at state an independent schools is obvious to the even casual observer. It is not immediately apparent why this difference exists. Itis not because the teachers at independent schools are more effective. In fact, there appears to be relatively little difference between state and independent school teachers. The difference is appears to be primarily 1) the system in which they teach and 2) parental support.
System: Independent schools set higher standards and insist they the children meet those standards. Disruptivestudents are simply asked to leave.
Parents: The parents sending their children to independent schools do so because they want a well disciplined environment for their child. Teachers at state sbhools, however, do not always receive the same level of support and not infrequently one reads in the newspapers of parents taking legal action against a teacher or headmaster.
Modern prep schools have to a large extent maintained needed discipline standards. Few prep schools do not view discipline as as a priority subject. Attitudes vary, but there is wide agreement among most of the schools. We have collected some of the comments in discipline from prep schools throughout Britain. While expressed differently and with a range of emphasis, there is a widely shared agreement as to the importance of discipline, not only for the school program, but as a character building matter.
Beaudesert Park in Gloucestershire reflects the thinking of many prep schools when they tells parents, "Surely our biggest task today is for the school and the home to support each other in instilling these moral standards from an early age an imposing the necessary discipline promptly."
Beech Hill in ???? explains "Discipline is exercised to make.the school run smoothly. At first, a small boy has to have this exerted on him, but toward the end of his career he should be able, and is expected to be able, to exert it on himself and, to a limited extent, on others."
Dumpton in Dorset says that "In the belief that all children achieve most when enjoying themselves, ~ we try to create an atmosphere in the school in which boys are happy and not inhibited. The discipline is very akin to that which one would impose in one's own home, firm but sympathetic. We hope that, as a boy grows up, he will begin to take more responsibility for his own self-discipline."
The Downs im Worcester believes that "a good education is a matter of ballance between freedom and order; the needs of the community and those of the individual; the development of the mind and the body."
Felstead in Essex explains that "The discipline in the school stems from a friendlliness and consideration for others, and corporal punishment is not used."
Great Houghton in Northamptonshire says that "It is the aim of all the staff to interest the children, to teach them to think for themselves and to promote self-discipline in all activities , by example and firmdlrection when necessary."
Hazeigrove House in Somerset believes that "a framework of self-discipline is valuable for a developing boy: good manners, tidiness and thoughtfulness are demanded."
Hazelwood in Surrey while not surrounding boys "with a multiplicity of rules and regulations, the school is deeply concerned about instilling in each boy respect for his fellows and for adults in the community, and about teaching basic moral standards and self-discipline, so that the boys are given a sound foundation upon which to build their future lives."
Holmwood in Merseyside explains that "Discipline is firm, but based more and more on mutual respect rather than on any hierirchial formula."
Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire tells parents, " ... the rules are simple, as few as possible, and based on common sense: courtesy, kindness, and consideration for others are regarded as important, and the boys themselves are given responsibilities and opportunities for leadership commensurate with their age and maturity."
Moffats in Worcestershire establishes few "petty restrictions" but places "a strong emphasis on individual responsibility and commonsense" and gives considerable emphasis on establishing "mutual trust between the children and adults." The school tells parents that "If there is one special aim, it is perhaps that discipline should be so cultivated that it shall grow from within and develop to a point. where it depends neither on fear of punishment nor on hope of reward, but becomes that self-discipline without which no real successor hapiness in life can be achieved."
Moor Park in Shropshire tells parents " ... we do believe in discipline, discipline with a reason behind it that can be understood, . in other words , with moderation, even though it may sometimes appear hard, and do doubt it, sometimes does.
Pinewood in Oxfordshire emphasizes "a well-ordered school life based on simple rules which are clearly understood by each boy, self descipline, good manners and consideration for others."
Sunnymede in Merseyside insists on "good manners and consideration for others, upon punctuality and tidiness. The boys are encouraged to set high standards for themselves, with the emphasis on self-discipline, not on blind obedience to rules."
Taverham Hall in Norfolk sets out to "establish fundamentals in the young--the three R's and a good bit more, an understanding of what constitutes right and wrong (and how one should deal with the latter), o a belief in the tenents of the Christian faith, a development of self-confidence and personality."
Tonstall in Tyne and Wear. explains that in "an age where it is generally believed that standards of behavior are declining, it is possible in a school such as Tonstall, with less than 200 pupils, to insist on higher standards of behavior than those existing in many larger schools. Great emphasis is placed upon encouraging in all the boys a responsible attitude, both to the school community and the society in which we live."
Wells House in Worcestershire reports that the "children mix freely with adults in the House, and there is an absence of vexations and restrictions. A high standard of behavior and manners is demanded, which is achieved with the co-operation of the pupils in making rules. as the community requires. Our conviction is that happiness and sensible discipline go together."
Wycliffe College Junior SchOol in Gloucestershire sets store "by a code of conduct which puts courtesy, consideration and civility in the forefront of a boy's attitude to life.. He is gutded to develop these qualities by example, by reminder and occasionally by correction. Those in charge of the boys put the positive aspect of good behaviour to the fore, and this is rewarded by gain in points for their house and by public commendation."
The boarding houses around which many schools are organized play an important role in discipline. Boys at Wellingborough Junior School, for example, have cards on which points are noted for constructive behavior or lost through unhelpful behavior. These points contribute to the success of his Club (House) and have the affect over time of helping the child to discipline himself. The cards are checked every weekend. On Monday morning the progress of each boy and the club are discussed by the Club President.
The prep schools do not have many of the most severe discipline problems faced in state schools, primarily because the children generally come from more stable, finally-secure homes. Prep school children usually have good pre-prep back grounds and are unlikely to be severe discipline problems. Many schools state quite frankly In their prospectuses, like Alleyn. Court in Cambridgeshire, that "The School Authorities reserve the right to ask a parent to take away from School, any boy who is obviously very below preparatory school standard."
One can't help but be impressed at these schools by the level of discipline.. There are the superficial matters. The children politely address adults with "Sir" and "Miss. " They stand when visitors enter the classroom. More importantly, the teacher does not have to take precious class time quieting unruly children before beginning a lesson or focus his energy on a small number of disruptive children.
Most schools prefer to keep formal rules to a minimum. Felstead in Essex tells parents that the boys are encouraged "towards a responsible attitude, both in their behavior to each other and the way they use the school and its facilities. This means that the most important rule is the one in which common sense and consideration prevail."
The draconian discipline system relying heavily on corporal punishment are gone at the modern prep school. Rather discipline systems relying on positive reinforcement are most common. Prep schools enforce their rules with a variety of positive measures. Most schools have a system of bad and good marks, characterized by a dizzying variety of minus marks, stars and bars or stripes, red and blue stars, black and white signs, etc. Hazelgrove House explains that they have a good citizenship system involving red and black marks designed to "encourage boys to be their own judges of their effort and behavior." Hazelwood awards merits for exceptional classroom work. Merits are called for every morning at assembly. Good red mark scores are óomménded on Saturday while too many black marks can result in the loss of free time. Hawfordlodge awards stars on the basis of conduct, industry, and manners. Twford awards plus and minus marks for academic work, behavior, games, as well as "general usefulness" and initiative. The children at some schools, such as Wellingborough Junior School, have cards on which good and bad marks are recommended by staff members. Many schools have hall boards the plus and minus marks are duly noted for all to see. One bright-eyed 11-year old named Martin at a school in Linconshire was explaining the system at his school to us and was rather pleased with healthy surplus of plus marks. He couldn't helping pointing, with some glee, to another boy in his form who had an unenviable row of uncovered minus marks. Most schools award a a cup each term to the house which has been awarded the most good marks. Many also award a cup to the child personally collecting the most good marks. Children receiving an unusual number of bad marks usually have to use some of their free time for detention or various work details.
In former years corporal punishment played a major role in the discpline system at these schools. Most prep schools ended corporal punishment during the 1980s.
By the 1980s when many of our school visits took place, corporal punishment was no longer widely used, but it had not completely disappeared. While corporal punishment was still used in a few Preparatory schools, at almost all such schools it is not used extensively or other than a last resort. Gone are the days when boys are beaten for minor infractions or academic failure. The schools had implemented more positive discipline systems. These varied from schools to school. Some of the older teachers saw the changes as part of a general decline of standards in British schools. Younger reachers were more likely to see them as changes for the better in the educational approach. I think that older teachers tended to view the severity of the punisment as the key.
I don't think it was ever the actual punishment or sanction which had the bite. Corporal punishment must have been painful, but the child's loss of face and realisation that he had let minself and and others down probably had an even greater deterent affect. Today, people including the children don't seem to have the same community conscience. This is one of the reasons that discipline standards in the state schools have declined so sharply. This has been less true for a variety of reasons. Perhaps most importantly, parents in choosing a prep school have decided that they want their children to be disciplined and are thus more inclined to support the schools. In addition, the schools promote the building of a community ethos as part of the education program.
Thus a violation of the rules becomes not putting something over on the authorities, but rather letting down the community. This is one reason the house system is so widely used by the schools.
Today, people inclusing the children don't seem to have the same community conscience that was once the case. Thus a key part of the schools' discipline approach is to try to instill a community spirit among the children. Here the fact that the schools tend to be much more humane places and the children tend to like the schools has helped to make the discipline systems work wekk without the threat of corporal punishment,.
An experienced Headmaster at a delightful school in Dorset was explaining his concern with the school's Board of Directors which had decided to end corporal punishment. He explainedthat corporal punishment could be used to quickly and effectively deal with problems. If a boy was misbehaving, he could call the boy to his study,give him agood dressing down, a couple quick whacks of the gym shoe, and the matter was settled. He was not sure at all how the new policy was going to affect discipline. Happily when we visited again, nothing much had changed. The school was still the same happy, busy little place that we had first visited. The headmaster and the masters perhaps had to work a bit harder than before. They had introduced a "Time Wasters Club." Boys who misbehaved had to get up early in the morning to do exercises and go on a run with the headmaster. Schools employ a variety of punishments for malcreants. They can inviude writing lines, early bed time, clean up or yard work, detention, laps or other execcises, loss. of privliges such as excheats, and calling their parents.
Many schools make a point of stressing to the children that privliges are not automatic and must be earned. As one headmaster explained, "We feel it is wrong that a boy should expect to have eveything automatically and 'licenses' are awarded to those that prove themselves responsible and sensible, for such things as
billards, pen knives, and the hobbies hut. .... Freedom without license is a good way of saying what we are aiming for."
Another important aspect of the organization of the school are prefects. Some schools have special names for these older children who are given responsibility to help enforce the school rules. Most schools use a prefect system, although some schools use different terms such as “captains” or “monitors.” One school, Beeston Hall, has both prefects and house captains. Farleigh has leaders and deputies. Malsis has heads of houses and school prefects, house prefects, monitors and junior monitors. Streete Court has monitors and dormitory captains. Selected senior students are chosen by the headmaster after consulting the senior staff. They are given this responsibility after proving themselves in the performance of other duties as they rise through the school.
The children of course have there own perspective. Interestingly they are often quite supportive of rules, especially if the preceive them to be fairly administered. Many authors have commented on the desire of children for stability and order in their lives, although often they will not say this. Here are some comments by the children themselves. The children have their own very definite opinion about the punishments fo,r malfactors. Interestingly, many when seriously asked were generally quite supportive of the schools rules and punishments. .Their comments are impressively articulate for the age group.
"The rules are madefor the saftey of the boys and they staff and they work to everyone's advantage -- most of the time . " Gavin , 11
"We are a school that believes in discipline. There is an entry system for punishments here and if you get three in a row or a starred entry you lose a house point. " Jonathan, 11
"We all have to stand up when we have visitors to our form rooms." Dereck, 10
"We're not allowed to have pen knives and other dangerous things." Philip, 10
"The seniors get lots of privilges, they have their own commons room with a stereo and they get to use the pool table and model railroad room. " Mark, 11
"They don't allow us to watch television here, except boring stuff. I miss 'Dr. Who!'" Morris, 8
"Do not do anything dangerous like skateboarding indoors or making slides on the ice if it's a pathway .... No swearing or throwing stones . . . " Richard 10
"No 'home tuck' is to be brought back to school, there are adequate supplies of tuck here." Jonathan, 11
"We wear uniforms so we can tell what school we go to . I don' t much mind, it saves a big bother in the morning. I don't have to worry about what to wear." Patrick, 9
"I think the uniforms makes us loOk geeky, I don't like dressing all alike. Our hats are especially hideous." Alice, 11
"There are strict rules here about talking at night--that is no talking after lights out. If we did not have this rule boys would not get a proper night's sleep." Cristoher 12
"No running is allowed inside, for saftey reasons." Ronald 8
"We're not allowed to leave the grounds alone. The Headmaster really
gets upset." Peter, 10
"After getting washed or having a shower, fold up your clothes, go to the lavatory and then read until your dormitory is closed down. .... Get up when the rising bell goes in the morning, have a wash, make your own bed. ...." Timothy, 11
"Detention is a good idea because it has taught the whole school not to get starred entries." Marion, 10
" I think detention is a good idea even though I am in it, because boys might try harder to obey the school rules . " Toby, 10'
The subject of discipline was raised by both teachers and students on several occasions and the boys tend to treat the concept with some humor:
We promised not to tell.
At one school, a group of three boys were telling us about the school and occasional beatings. "Still it's not as bad as the school we played yesterday," Martin, a cheeky 11-year ol.d told us, "If they lose a school match, they get the cane." (Presumably a bit of school boy exaggeration.) "So you let them win," I asked. "No way !" came back the chorus.
On another occasion we asked a boy where the Headmaster's office was located. He politely led us to the office, knocked on the door and opened it. The Headmaster was speaking with another boy and asked us to come back in a few minutes. We closed the door and waited on a bench in the hall. Our guide, with considerable relish, told us,"That's my brother, he's going to get the cane." Like many boys, he had a somewhat sadistic view of the whole situation.
We had just finished eating dinner (lunch) at one school. The headmaster began reading names that had been reported to him and assigning detentions.
"Chapman , one detention . Speaking after lights out."
"Norwood, one detention . Running in the hall."
"Collingwood, one detention . Talking in class."
"Chapman , one detention . Sassing Miss Brewster." A few children tittered. Chapman apparently was not a newcomer to the detention. list.
"Sampson, one detention. No sports gear."
"Chapman , two detentions. Throwing toast." More titters. Chapman was not at all happy with the turn of events. pparebntly throiwing toast was a particularly heinous infraction.
"Conklin, one detention. Rudeness."
"Chapman ... " This time the entire dining room broke out in laughter. Every one that is, except Chapman. "One detention, late to class. The headmaster stopped and looked over at the boy, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Chapman, I think you had best see me in my study after games."
"Yes, sir!" came a reply from a less than enthusiastic young man.
One got the impression that Chapman would have to stay in school and extra year, just to serve out his detentions.
