Ms Haller, many teachers today feel caught between two expectations: they are expected to be understanding, yet at the same time to provide clear guidance. How do you find you manage this balancing act in your day-to-day school life?
I am very familiar with this tension. For me, this apparent contradiction was resolved when I realised that it is not a question of choosing between closeness and leadership. The two go hand in hand. I myself worked for a long time in systems where house rules, lists of regulations and sanctions were the main focus.
I could never quite get my head round it: what exactly is forbidden, and what happens when? As a headteacher, I simplified things. For me, the key step was to move away from the question «Which rule has been broken and what punishment follows?» towards «What is our approach – and what does this child need in this situation?».
You run the Im Birch school in Zurich based on the New Authority approach. How does this method differ from authoritarian teaching methods?
When I took over here at the school, the first thing I did was introduce a school code of conduct. At its core, it consists of three sentences: «I look after myself, I look after others, I look after our belongings.» Many children are able to adhere to a code like this. For me, the difference from traditional authoritarian teaching methods lies in how we deal with breaches of the rules. For us, it is no longer a question of saying: «That is forbidden – what punishment follows now?», but rather: «These are our shared values – which one have you violated in this situation?»
Why do you think sets of rules with fixed consequences don't work?
No two situations are ever the same, and the reasons behind a child's behaviour can vary greatly. Fortunately, we are a school, not the judicial system. This means that we do not operate on the principle of «the same offence, the same punishment», but instead look at how children can learn and grow. We have a shared framework and clear values, but the specific response can – and must – vary from case to case.
The power of a relationship should not be underestimated. It is often about seeing and being seen.
Could you describe this using a specific example from everyday school life?
At my school, for example, there was a teacher who had a pupil in her class who repeatedly caused serious disruption. She mentioned to her colleagues that she wasn't getting anywhere using the usual methods. We then considered a different approach: she began to make a point of briefly addressing this pupil at the start of every lesson. This brief personal interaction meant that the situation calmed down considerably and the lesson could run more smoothly. At first glance, this might seem unfair – because other children received less attention. But the question is: what helps to ensure that the lesson works for everyone? And in this case, that was exactly what it was.
What should you do if a rule is still being broken despite a clear request to stop?
That reminds me of an incident in the canteen. A group of teenagers got up and left the table untidy. The social worker in charge said, «Please tidy up» – but they left anyway. After consulting with the canteen management, he left the table untidy and followed the group into the school building. There, he explained the situation to the maths teacher and made it clear to the pupils that this was against their code of conduct. After the lesson, the teenagers had to go back and tidy up the table. Not as a punishment, but because it was the logical consequence: the table had to be clean. The key point is: the teenagers realise that the adult is following through.
What role does the relationship between teaching staff and learners play?
No child wakes up in the morning and thinks: «Today I'm going to act up.» Especially with children who repeatedly attract attention, we should ask ourselves: what lies behind this? The power of the relationship should not be underestimated. It is often about seeing and being seen. Here's a very simple example: If a child repeatedly becomes restless and starts disrupting the lesson, one could take the traditional approach of holding parent-teacher meetings or reprimanding the child – the usual routine. Another approach would be: as a teacher, I look into what this child does in their free time. If they play football, for example, I might pop along to a match. This isn't a disciplinary measure in the traditional sense, but an offer to build a relationship.
This requires a high degree of attention and flexibility from teachers.
That's true. But doing the same thing over and over again, even though it doesn't work, is ultimately even more exhausting. I don't know if you experienced the same thing when you were at school: in our class, it was always the same lot sitting outside the door. Experience shows, then, that conventional disciplinary measures often don't work.
The key concepts are delay and self-control. I cannot control the child's behaviour, only my own.
Does this approach work even if only individual teachers put it into practice – or is a shared approach required across the whole school team?
I have to start with myself – as headteacher, and every teacher must do the same. At the same time, it is naturally more effective if a shared approach emerges within the team. For me, the key concepts here are «delaying» and «self-control». Delaying means not reacting immediately, not imposing sanctions impulsively, but taking a moment to step back and clarify the situation first. Self-control means staying in control of oneself, not acting out of anger or helplessness, but consciously deciding how I want to react. I cannot control the child's behaviour – any more than I can control the behaviour of anyone else – only my own.
How can you tell that the approach works well in everyday school life?
The school environment has changed. The atmosphere is more relaxed and calmer. Thanks to the New Authority approach, school staff – including the management – now have, on the one hand, a broader range of options for action and, on the other, a framework to guide us when intervening. This gives us confidence, and above all, interventions based on New Authority are effective – not in every case, but significantly more often than before the concept was introduced.
