Soft Touch Teachers

Had a chat with a teacher who informed me of declining standards of behaviour and respect in English schools. Apparently the children these days are going off the rails.

Yet there is hope.

She helpfully informed me that a handful of teachers naturally avoid falling victim to the teenage devil.

Their pupils pay attention, contribute and best of all, actively learn during lesson time.

One colleague of hers even likens young students to puppies. In a positive way. Eager to please and learn, but easily prey to a wayward and disruptive path.

She can always spot a teacher that succeeds. When filling in, she sees the winners. They’re the ones whose pupils come in, stay relatively quiet, put their books out on their desks and begin virtually unprompted.

The losers’ classrooms begin with chaos, doomed to descend ever downward.

The difference, I am told, is savvy teachers set boundaries and provide routines. Both of which are essential for keeping potentially errant kids in line.

It of course occurred to me they may well be a similarity between rowdy kids and restless prospects.

If you’ve got problem punters, then what boundaries have you put in place? How are you managing the scope of the bid? How have you tried to introduce routine to your campaign, or how meets run?

Without thinking of these, it seems you leave yourself open to being seen as a soft-touch. And even if you win the deal, it won’t be a genuine win-win partnership that you enter into.