Thread: Cynical Machiavelli's fight of school cliques.

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. 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.