Wise words with...

One Voice

This term we are focussing on the importance of one voice in the classroom. Schools are busy places and when students all talk at the same it can be really loud. Whilst not in the classroom myself, I have first-hand experience as I try to write, due to the girls outside my office singing ‘Let it go’. They are brilliant, but really loud.

In the classroom it is super important for everybody to respect one another and ensure that only one person is speaking in the classroom. As a school, we are introducing the concept of One Voice this term. That is, only one person is to speak at once. Many students display this already and some of us need good reminders that only one person should be speaking during teaching times, discussions, assemblies, news and visiting speakers. There are other times when it is okay for students to engage in quiet discussion in the classroom but during key times, we appreciate just one person speaking.

This practice springs from our values as a school. When we do not speak over other people we display humility, valuing others higher than ourselves. We display respect, valuing the contribution that others bring to the discussion. And we display kindness, enabling others to be able to hear clearly because we do not have a competing voice.

This is not a new practice in our school, we have always valued the practice of just one person speaking at a time. But it is a focus for us this term. Primary have taught this practice explicitly this term and the teacher’s have reported magnificent improvements in the amount of teaching that occurs, and the happiness of the students has increased. We will be rolling this out in Secondary from Monday 25 August.

I write this to share with you an example of how our values work out in practice and also to encourage you to reinforce this at home when appropriate. I know with five children, it was important as a family that we waited patiently for the speaker to finish what they were saying whilst we shared around the dinner table. We weren’t always the best at it, but this is what we work towards, continuing to improve our practice and how we relate to each other.