Cynical Machiavelli's fight of school
cliques.
(recommendation regarding the maintenance
of discipline on the
lesson).
This conflict of bureaucratic cliques goes in any organization ‐ in the
church, in the
army, in the school, in the police, in the industrial corporation. It is
necessary to consider features of this conflict on a school example. The small group
of companions, tightly united for achieving of improper goals, is called by
clique.
My method is synthesis of a soсiometry by Jacob Moreno
and my theory of personality types. Though some authors accused by Machiavelli of
cynicism, but the theory of Machiavelli is an example for imitation for me in
this matter. Machiavelli wrote about fight without rules in policy, and I write
about fight without rules in the conflict of school cliques.
The purpose of school cliques is conflict for power in organization. Teachers
and students create similar cliques in the school. Cliques, which consist of
the students use such means for
achievement of power as the goal‐directed disruption of lesson and fight
against the teacher. Successful disruption of a lesson means that the power of
the leader of school hooligans is more than power of the teacher. The cliques
of teachers conduct between themselves rivalry for the key positions and for
the quantity of lessons (for size of salary) in the school. Unification into
the cliques makes possible for people more successfully make to own career in
the bureaucratic organization within the framework of the process of vertical mobility.
Lone person is not capable to enjoy success in the administrative career.
According to my
theory, it exists four personality types of people: technician, psychologist,
speaker and theorist.
.....................SPEAKER
PSYCHOLOGIST ┼ TECHNICIAN
...................THEORIST
These types differ from each other that they
have different developed functions of a brain. Technician has most developed
ability to technician activity, psychologist has most developed intuition,
speaker has most developed verbal speech, theorist has most developed
abstract-logical thinking. Technician and psychologist are contrasts, and for
this reason they are contrasts and enemies each other. The speaker and the
theorist are contrasts and enemies each other too. Share of speakers consists
46 %, technicians – 32 %, psychologists – 20 %, theorists – 2 % in the Ural
population. Share of women among speakers and technicians consists of 50 %, share
of women among psychologists – 80 %, share of women among theorists – 20 % in
the Ural population.
If you want to define personality type of the
given person, that it is necessary to begin with the answer to a question, is
this person the speaker or not? The speaker is brightly allocated from common
mass of people always, therefore it is very easy to define by speaker.
The speaker possesses high development of
verbal speech (it is written on a forehead - "liar",
"chatterbox" and «laughing-man» as it is written on a forehead of
Russian singer Vladimir Vysotsky), Therefore speaker chats all the day as the
radio receiver. Speaker is the leader in collective or he aspires to
leadership. Style of speaker’s thinking is superficial. Speaker leans on numerous
friends in the conflict. Style of speaker’s clothes is fashionable. Speaker
possesses "the pasted" friendly or impudent smile. If the given
person isn't the speaker then he is most often that this person is technician
or psychologist since the share of theorists is little in any population. But
psychologist and technician are contrasts and they differ from each other
strongly.
Psychologist possesses the spiritualized
expression of face (it is written "poetess" and «whore» on a forehead
by psychologist). Psychologist’s face reminds a mirror where all emotions are
read easily. Psychologist possesses pathos style of speech, psychologist has
"southern" features more often (psychologists compose the majority of
population among the southern nations). Psychologist has extravagant style of
clothes (for example, psychologist has the shortest miniskirt, piercing etc.).
Psychologist has weakness of character and a position "from below" in
dialogue. Psychologist strives to have a support on the patron during the
conflict.
The technician possesses a cold passionless
expression of face (it is written "sexual-frigid woman" on a forehead
by technician) and "northern" features. Technician possesses
monotonous style of speech. Technician has speak with a tribune with help of «a
piece of paper». Technician’s style of thinking is sample and practical.
Technician is inborn executor as the robot.
Theorist possesses high degree of
development of intelligence (it is written "botanist" on a forehead
by theorist). Theorist is the strong single and theorist keeps single or in
weak group of outsiders. Expression of his face is disseminated and unsociable.
Theorist is afraid of a public statement in panic.
Speaker has the highest tendency toward the contact and toward the unification
into the cliques. The theorist, who is the inborn lone person, has the lowest
tendency toward the contact and toward the unification into the cliques.
Therefore speakers have maximum success in the administrative career, and
theorists have minimum success in the administrative career. It dismisses by
speakers for membership
in oppositional clique and for the too great tendency to power
sometimes. Psychologists prefer to betray their yesterday's friends and to pass
to the side of conqueror in the case of the defeat of own clique.
Technicians do not manifest large tendency toward the
power. Technicians does not assume active
participation in the fight of teaching cliques. Technicians try to carry out the orders of the existing
leader accurately and technicians don’t to voice doubts in relation to leading
abilities of the existing leader publicly. Theorists behave similarly. The ruling
teaching clique is formed around the director of school. The process of rivalry
between the cliques appears for the influence to the director of school
sometimes. The riots of teachers are possible on pedagogical meeting against
the new director sometimes. Collective complaints into the higher authorities are
possible sometimes, when the leaders of the teaching cliques have considered by
new director of school as weak leader
sometimes. It need time for new director of school that to
strengthen his power and to form the ruling clique around itself. It is possible
to pass to the dismissal of the leaders of oppositional cliques after the accomplishment
of this first priority objective. The rivalry of teaching cliques reaches such incandescence
sometimes, when the pedagogical association becomes similar to “the ball of snakes”.
This position is aggravated because of a insignificant quantity or the complete
absence of men in the composition of the pedagogical association, since women
are more skillful by their nature under spreading of rumors and playing of scenes of the humiliation of
enemy, women are less capable of the
implicit obedience within the framework to bureaucratic hierarchy. This special
feature of women can be explained by that fact that the portion of psychologists
among the women somewhat higher than among the men. It is not possible to attain
outstanding knowledge at schoolboys without good discipline. With other side,
the lack of initiative and the passiveness of schoolboys testifies about the absence of
interest to the studied subject. The
absence of interest leads to the bad knowledge also. Therefore teacher must aspire to “the golden mean” in this question ‐
to support the optimum level “of noise” at the lesson. Teacher has the
capability to obtain information about the level of interest to own lecture
through the feedback with the listeners. The absence of interest to the lecture
is manifested in the form the complete absence of remarks and counter questions
from the side of audience. In this case it should be suppressed all attempts by
speakers-pupils to take away the thread
of conversation to the side from the studied theme, to organize empty chatter
under cover of questions to the teacher. These actions
of speaker are one of the methods of the disruption of lesson. A good
method of supervision of the work of pupils is observation of the fact, do pupils write
summary or not? There are hostile
to each other cliques in school’s class very frequently. These cliques consist
from pupils. Teacher can play on the contradictions between the hostile cliques
in school’s class, that allows this teacher
to avoid the general revolt in a class. The attempt of the teacher to punish
of leader for clique meets with friendly
resistance and protest of the members of this clique and the approval of the
members for hostile clique, since the punished leader is their worst enemy too. The scope of resistance
depends from the dimensions of the punished clique and degree of its influence
in the school’s class. If punished leader continues to go to the aggravation of
conflict against the teacher, then teacher must call by punished leader to the individual conversation after the
lessons, where the punished leader is deprived of the support of its clique and
punished leader behaves much modest. The largest scope of conflicts expects by teacher during
the first year of work in this school; therefore teachers as far as possible try not
to change school too
frequently. Second useful advice ‐ to begin the teaching of subject in
the fifth class and to train by pupils to the subordination from the early age,
when leader’s qualities were not formed still completely at school class. Interesting lecture is the best method of
maintaining discipline on the lesson, then the purposes by teacher and
the interests of the leaders of cliques coincide completely. Teacher
have a certain power for guiding the order on the lesson, and teacher have the
right to punish violators of discipline, but
this right is limited strongly in practice in the Russian school today.
Sometimes several cliques are capable to unite in the class for organizing of general
riot
against the teacher. Inexperienced teacher attempts to give
unsatisfactory marks to all pupils of class for the test in this case. This
method is completely
ineffective. To give unsatisfactory mark to all pupils ‐ this means that
the teacher has punished no one. So that the punishment would be most
effective, pupils should be “sorted out” according to the degree of their
activity in the process of disrupting the lesson.
Just speakers are the instigators of the disruption of lesson always and
it is necessary to punish by speakers first of all and another personality types
can be left at rest. Speakers ‐ these are the key men in the class. If can
teacher to subordinate by speakers, then it is possible to consider
that teacher had
succeeded in subordinating entire class. It is necessary to punish only
organizers and executors of the disruption of lesson, and it is necessary to leave at rest by another pupils or even to
reward for the nonparticipation in the riot. One of main purposes of the
organizers of riot ‐ this is the provocation by teacher to the conflict with
entire class, in this case instigator of the disruption of lesson attempts to hide after the somebody
else’s backs in order to avoid
punishment. Teacher should try to agree with speaker- instigator about the
conditions of peace after the punishment of the instigator of disorders.
It is necessary to ask by instigator about
the fact that it does not arrange in the style of your teaching, it is
necessary to find a compromise in the relations with the leader-speaker. Teacher
should alternate whip and cake in the relations with the leaders, but it need begin
to build relations with the leader with
“the whip” so that the
subordinated speaker would value “cake” more greatly. Teacher must
respect the nonformal leaders of class for their influence. Some speakers in
the future can become “bosses of life”,
although other speakers can become by
criminals and alcoholics. It was
only the one who by nonformal leader in the school; it was capable to
become boss at the adult age. That
rejected at the teenage period never will be able to become boss or businessman
at the adult age, even if this rejected man can to obtain by 2 diplomas about higher
education. Teacher must avoid conflicts with leaders of class as far as
possible, but teacher should remember that the empty warnings frighten no one without
the exponential sanctions. When teacher threatens very much, but teacher is
afraid to use the punishments, then
pupils do the conclusion that paralysis of will set in this teacher. The best
method of guidance of orders is to find guilty speaker and to punish by him approximately, the method of exponential sanctions consists
in that.
It need recommend for speaker‐
leaders of class to the selection of the
profession of boss, politician or businessman in the process of
professional orientation just, but scientific career is not intended for
speaker‐ leaders of class . Leader of group has sanguine temperament usually.
Choleric person cannot to be leader because of excessive tendency to the conflicts even in relations with friends. The excessive rigidity of the phlegmatic
person prevents him to become by the leader of group. Excessive vulnerability
and manifestation of weakness in the
conflicts prevents by melancholic
person to become by leader of group.
Just melancholic persons occur in
the position of those rejected and humiliated persons frequently in the children's collective and in the total
organization (in the prison, army and so on). Teacher as far as possible must
support melancholic persons, but the
possibilities of teacher are
severely limited in this sense, since it is possible to conquer victory in
conflicts and high status in the
association only by own forces and by the force of own character. Teacher
expends most of all efforts on the conflicts with the choleric persons, since
choleric persons are the instigators of
senseless conflicts
because of high eccentricity by
choleric persons . Choleric person is impact force sometimes in the hands of nonformal
leader, who set as a goal to disrupt the lesson. Choleric person-pupil
checks the ability of new teacher to direct order. If new teacher could
not punish by choleric person, then
class do conclusion that the teacher does not know how to introduce order and
it is possible to disrupt lesson impunity. Situation from
the conflict with
one choleric person passes into the collective riot. That to avoid this,
it need suppress the riot in the embryo,
that is it is necessary to arrange exponential sanctions at the very beginning
conflict for the choleric person. By the way, choleric person endures the punishments
and impacts of fate easily, choleric person falls by spirit never, since choleric
person has strong nervous system. Choleric person occupies the isolated
position in the class sometimes and choleric person
attempts to earn authority on
the conflict with the teacher, teacher must punish this choleric person boldly, since no one pupil will support
punished choleric person.
Teachers are subdivided into four temperaments also. Sanguine person-teacher manages the task of
maintaining discipline on the lesson better than others. Sanguine person-teacher
knows how to settle conflicts, and to conquer in the conflicts. Phlegmatic
person-teacher tries to avoid conflicts as far as possible, he is very
steadfast in the conflicts, but
he is capable “to explode” sometimes, after which “victims” appear among
the instigators of the disruption of lesson, “victims” try not to lead this teacher to the
extreme in the future on the basis of bitter experience. Choleric
person-teacher provokes itself by pupils
to the useless conflicts frequently, the
choleric person-teacher can go to the extreme measures in the process of
conflict; therefore pupils relate to him with the certain fraction of fear. Melancholic person- teacher is very difficult to work in the school because
of the inability to conquer in the conflicts and because of the superfluous
vulnerability. Melancholic person- teacher is capable to spill many bitter tears and to
arrive into the state of complete desperation after the disruption of lesson. Melancholic
person- teacher begins to be apologized
before the
pupils even, it is inadmissible completely. Weak teachers do not
survive. in Russian school. Russian
school is the zone of constant conflicts, it is not necessary to fear by conflicts, but it
is necessary to know how to conquer in conflicts. In order to avoid nervous
disorder, in order to restore forces, it
is necessary to know how to rest, it is necessary to know how
to forget about these conflicts during the leisure. That teacher, who
does not know how this to make, is doomed to the professional diseases. Conflicts are inevitable, and it is
not necessary to suffer in that reason. But it is necessary to avoid
unnecessary and deliberately lost conflicts with own boss. It cannot be
forgotten that people obtain authority and status of leader as a
result victories in the conflicts. It is not
possible to lead of the work for class from the position “from below”,
it cannot be avoided or settled all conflicts, some conflictologists‐ utopians call
to that erroneously.
Different personality types fulfill
different roles, different personality types occupy different statuses
inside the small group. R. Bails and F. Slater explained not one, but two
leaders stand that in head of any group:
“ideological inspirer”
and “most respected”
or, in other words, father and mother.
The first leader leads group, he
select purpose and means for the group, he punishes rigidly and he excludes
from the group. The second leader supports pleasant microclimate inside
the group, he organizes the process of contact, he recruits into the group of
novices. According to my observations, the
speaker approaches to the role “ideological inspirer” best of all ,
and psychologist approaches to the role “most of that respected”. There
are exceptions from this rule. I saw group of four choleric persons in my observation For me it was
necessary to observe the,
This group was terrible force under the disruption of lesson. There is a
group of
quiet girls almost in each class,
which consists of some technicians, where
technicians fulfill the role of father and mother. I observed the groups of girls, which consist
of some psychologists, where psychologist fulfilled the role of father, but
such exceptions from rule are very rare. Technician in the group is series
executor usually. Theorist does not know how to associate in the group;
therefore he plays the role of
the
isolated “lonely wolf”, capable of giving the rebuff to speakers or theorist enters
into the small weak group of outsiders, which has excluded from other groups.