The classroom is a jungle

School crime is hitting the news again with 30,000 allegations arriving on the policeman’s desk in 2014. The 2 weathermen's tea break was a chance to explore it.

Weatherman 1: I see crime is up in schools. Theft is one of the biggest.

Weatherman 2 : There must be a lot of temptation lying around, open bags and carelessness.

WM1 : Children aren’t safe anywhere – it’s like the jungle in the classroom.

WM2 :  That’s an analysis lots of teachers would agree on.  Money and gadgets are popular targets.

WM1 : Well if you will bring a mobile into the classroom, what do you expect? We all want the latest thing but grownups tend to respect when they do not own it.

WM2 :  When I sell my VW and buy my new car, I shall polish it, and look at it admiringly with a “it’s mine, not yours” attitude to neighbours. It’s great when your neighbour says “that’s a wonderful car”. You feel good about the purchase. Children are just doing that on a smaller scale; they follow the examples of their parents, although of course it was the parent who bought it for them.

WM1 : Yes, schools are a microcosm of society – it’s inevitable.  And there isn’t a man in uniform on the classroom door exit, or those peep peep machines which security tags set off, so we can expect some kids to succumb to temptation. But I did read the government are trying to put teachers back in control of classrooms.

WM2 :  That government claim is untrue. It’s not just theft– discipline is breaking down too. It’s in the kids’ nature to test boundaries and low level disruption is rife. It’s not a full scale riot, but there are things like passing messages around....

WM1 : I did that. I has a crush on Teresa and I passed one to her asking if she wanted to hang out at playtime. But Clive had sent her one earlier - and he was bigger than me. Teresa said “no.”

WM2 :  Then there’s deliberately sitting in the wrong seat.

WM1 : I sat in Teresa’s chair when she stood up, I thought it was a way of feeling her bottom.

WM2 :  That’s weird. Children throw pieces of paper around too.

WM1 : I threw one to Teresa the next day because the kids in between us wouldn’t pass it across, they were scared of Clive.

WM2 :  ... tapping pens on the desk, quietly humming...

WM1 : I thought Teresa might like my humming voice.

WM2 :  Calling out...

WM1 : I didn’t do that. Clive did. He said Teresa was his girl and to stay away.

WM2 :  Using mobile phones...

WM1 : They were bricks in my day – I could barely lift one, let along smuggle it into school.

WM2 :  The whole thing is cyclical. Children are naughty, grow up and learn the difference between right and wrong, but then have children themselves ... How do you break the cycle? I guess parents must teach by example. I don’t think my children nick things.

WM1 : But you’re the one buying the new car. If you get enticed by advertising and want to raise your status by owning something desirable, then that’s a value you will pass on to your children.

WM2 :  Umm. Not an easy one. Don’t flaunt it, you say.

WM1 : Our value as people is not measured by what we own, it’s who we are. Self worth has more value than any new car. Take a mirror and look at your internal wealth. You are the sum total of your morals, your education and your personality.

WM2 : How do we teach that to children? And even if my kids get it, others won’t.

WM1 : They could pass moralising notes to each other in the classroom, or call out “do unto others” and hum a mantra. Take mirrors and not mobiles to school.

WM2 : That’s the worst teacher nightmare isn’t it? A child being good and bad at the same time ; it would be impossible to handle.

WM1 : Yes, who’d be a teacher? They were children once – they must have known what to expect.