They used to call me “Mr. Detention” ……….…  

Way back in the  twentieth century when I was “cutting my teeth”  in the teaching profession in London’s “east end” (no Canary Wharf, no Dockland’s Light Railway and no one bedroom appartments costing in excess of half a million pounds in those days !) I managed to acquire the nickname “Mr. Detention.”

How did this come about you may ask?  Well to be brutally honest, it was mainly because my classroom control was “not of the highest order”……. and that’s a typical educational  euphemism for “a load of rubbish.”

Pupils (we didn’t call them students in those days !) would frequently turn up late, in dribs and drabs, especially if they had had PE in the previous lesson.  When they did eventually all turn up quite a few of them realised that they had forgotten to bring a pen, ruler, pencil, etc.  More wasted time, more disruption, more minor chaos, while I dispatched one of the reliable kids up to the second floor to Ms. Patel’s class to borrow pens, pencils, rulers etc so I could at last get on with the lesson.

Almost fifteen minutes had “gone down the pan” before the lesson could start. Multiply that by about 80 lessons and it’s not difficult to see how much time had been wasted over the course of a year.

Combine that with my poor classroom control and it’s easy to see why so many pupils behaved badly and weren’t really bothered about learning.  The result being that I used to dish out detentions like they were going out of fashion, hence the name Mr. Detention.

Fortunately for suceeding generations of pupils I took my leave of the profession after 22 years service. If only I had known then what I know now; that’s there’s a product called the “Student Essentials set,” which, while it wouldn’t have turned me into an award winning teacher, might at least have made life easier for pupils who had the misfortune to go to my lessons!

What is the “Student Essentials set” and how can it make teachers’ lives easier?

It comprises three good quality ballpens with black ink, two HB pencils, a 15 cm ruler, an eraser, and a pencil sharpener, all packed in an “exam friendly” clear PVC wallet with a zip slider, size 158 x 220 mm.  All a student needs for most lessons.

If the school office or school shop, or perhaps each department  could hold stock to sell or give away at the start of the day it  could make life easier for many students.  After all, for about a pound each, it’s a convenient way to help students and at the same time cut out wasted time at the start of lessons.

Prices:  85p  (400+)      88p  (200+)     90p   (1-199)  ex vat

The   “Student Essentials set”  can be obtained from Signpost Educational Ltd  who can be contacted at:  signpost@talk21.com   or 020 7515-1797. 

Signpost Educational Ltd.,  PO Box 999  London, E14 6SH 

  https://signposteducational.co.uk/student-packs/

 Your order will usually be delivered within 1-3 days from receipt of your order.