Writing In Schools

[kirstybeebee]

I am doing some research around writing being used for discipline in UK senior schools. This is now mostly a practice of the past though from my research so far, it seems that it is still used in in a few schools today.

In my days at secondary school - 1970’s – 1980’s, writing was used regularly by most teachers as a method of maintaining discipline. Yet today it is a practice that is frowned upon by many. I don’t want to get into that debate just yet, I am really just trying to gather some information around writing tasks in schools from both pupils who were given them and from teachers who gave them.

From pupils: I would be interested to hear:

1. Approximately which years did you attend senior school? e.g. 1971-1976.

2. Were most writing tasks given to you by male teachers, female teachers, about the same?

3. What type of writing punishments were you given? E.g. sentence writing (lines), copying, essay.

4. What was the approximate length of the writing tasks that were usually given? e.g. number of lines, pages to be copied, words or pages for an essay.

5. Were you usually given writing tasks to do in detention sessions or were writing tasks usually given to you for handing in the next day or later?

6. Do you feel that writing tasks were a useful method of correcting what you had done wrong?

From teachers: I would be interested to hear:

1. Approximately which years did you teach in senior school? E.g. 1971-1995

2. Did you have the need to discipline more boys than girls, more girls than boys or about the same.

3. What type of writing tasks did you set for pupils to write? e.g. sentence writing (lines), copying, essay.

4. What was the approximate length of the writing tasks that you would usually set? e.g. number of lines, pages to be copied, words or pages for an essay.

5. Did you usually give out writing tasks in detention sessions or did you set writing tasks for pupils to hand in the next day or later?

6. Do you feel that writing tasks were a useful method of maintaining discipline in a class room

Thank you for any information you can give as it will be very useful for my research.

[woofgang]

64 to 71 and written punishment was never given. If we had detention, we were required to do homework during that time but detention was very rare.

[kirstybeebee]

Thank you Woofgang, all information is appreciated.

[kirstybeebee]

Thanks for posting, that's useful to know.