I recently finished watching Season 3 of Sex Education on Netflix, and it's made me think. Although Moordale High is certainly not like any real school in the UK, there were some eye-opening instances that might help educators think about the use of shame as a punishment and how to (in)effectively transform a school's culture. While the series was shot in Wales with primarily British actors, the absence of uniform and the locker lined hallways are evocative of American schools (1). It is a secondary school, although the show focuses on the sixth-form pupils (2). Warning: this blog includes spoilers if you haven't seen it yet.
Series 3 sees the introduction of Hope Haddon, the new headmaster, who is under pressure from the school board and investors to improve the school's reputation as "the sex school". She begins by razing the abandoned toilet block, where students Otis Milburn and Maeve Wiley gave sex advice to fellow students in the earlier seasons. New school rules and values are plastered around the campus, lines are painted along the centre of all corridors to facilitate single file movement throughout the school, and students are suddenly required to wear uncomfortable old-fashioned uniforms. Hope organises abstinence-only sex education and punishes students who disagree with its principles. The bright yellow, graffiti-laden lockers are painted over in a dismal grey (2).
Turner (3) suggested that school policies be developed after extensive collaboration with all staff, students, governors, and parents for them to be "effectively implemented, owned, and valued." Colin Hendricks (2), a liberal science teacher, struggles to implement the school's new uniform and behaviour standards while on a school trip to France since his heart is clearly not in it (4). Many additional studies (4, 5, 6) have indicated that school leadership is critical in implementing a school environment. The headteacher must 'sell' these ideals to the whole school community. In the case of Hope Haddon, she delegated the implementation of the changes to head girl Vivienne Odusanya (2). Finally, the students fought back and completely destroyed the open day, causing the school's investors to decide to close and sell the school. If we needed a lesson on how not to change an entire school policy, this is it.
Then came episode 6, in which Hope summoned three students to the stage and forced them to read aloud placards outlining their offences and then wear them around their necks. Their 'crimes' included wearing a baggy uniform, writing stories, and... well, one was a little more complicated and featured a flying poo in a sock. You could see not only the shame and humiliation on the students' faces, but you could also see the anger.
Turner (3) suggested that school policies be developed after extensive collaboration with all staff, students, governors, and parents for them to be "effectively implemented, owned, and valued." Colin Hendricks (2), a liberal science teacher, struggles to implement the school's new uniform and behaviour standards while on a school trip to France since his heart is clearly not in it (4). Many additional studies (4, 5, 6) have indicated that school leadership is critical in implementing a school environment. The headteacher must 'sell' these ideals to the whole school community. In the case of Hope Haddon, she delegated the implementation of the changes to head girl Vivienne Odusanya (2). Finally, the students fought back and completely destroyed the open day, causing the school's investors to decide to close and sell the school. If we needed a lesson on how not to change an entire school policy, this is it.
Then came episode 6, in which Hope summoned three students to the stage and forced them to read aloud placards outlining their offences and then wear them around their necks. Their 'crimes' included wearing a baggy uniform, writing stories, and... well, one was a little more complicated and featured a flying poo in a sock. You could see not only the shame and humiliation on the students' faces, but you could also see the anger.
'It's supposed to be school, not somewhere we should be afraid.' Rahim, Episode 6.
I happened to be watching this episode with my husband at the time, and this scene was particularly illuminating for him. He immediately realised that shaming them wouldn't help them stop doing the offending behaviour; it would just make them resentful towards Hope and the school about the shame and humiliation they were feeling. Due to the anxiety generated by the humiliating event, Lily Iglehart, a quirky, alien-fantasy-fiction-writing student, refused to attend school afterwards (7).
You're probably wondering, "We'd never do something like this at a real school, would we?" Shaming youngsters in front of their peers for just being themselves? What about 5-year-old Maxxon*, who understands a lot about the history topic being taught that day? Sometimes his answers just burst out of him, and he forgets to put his hand up. So, what happens next? Do we tell him how much we admire his knowledge but that he must wait and allow other people a chance? Do we give him the option of writing his thoughts on a whiteboard instead?
No. We move his name down to a lower rung on the ladder, traffic light, weather system, and publicly shame him in front of his peers (8).
How about Sarah*, a 9-year-old girl who had an awful morning because her chronically stressed mother became irritated due to traffic? Another girl in her class, Janet*, is constantly bothering her, and now she has hidden her lunchbox. It all becomes too much for Sarah, they fight, and Janet is injured. We might have time to sit down and talk about what happened leading up to the event, but ultimately, Sarah will be told that she is not allowed to deal with her stress in that way. At the end of the school day, her mum has to have a 'little chat' with the teacher on the playground, in front of everybody. Sarah can feel her classmates' eyes bore into her, and she notices Janet making a look that tells her this isn't over. Is it any surprise that Sarah no longer wants to go to school (8)? And don't get me started on Janet; if I told you about her imaginary background, it would break your heart.
So, while we are not publicly humiliating students or forcing them to wear placards, we employ public shaming as a deterrent for bad behaviour in schools daily. Behaviourism, which generally ignores human complexity, pushes us to concentrate exclusively on the behaviour in front of us while ignoring the underlying factors that drive it. Government advice emphasises consistency in using conditioning agents such as reward and punishment, and this technique is widely used in schools to teach pupils to conform (9).
To sum up, while it is a fictional institution, Moordale High might cause us to consider some important aspects of education. Firstly, new headteachers and schools appear all the time, seeking to implement new policies, and they must ensure that the whole school community is on board with this; otherwise, it simply will not work. We've also seen how public humiliation generates shame, anxiety, and anger in pupils, but not always a change in behaviour, which begs the question of why this method is so prevalent in education and society in general.
If you haven't already seen it, the new series of Sex Education can be found on Netflix.
You're probably wondering, "We'd never do something like this at a real school, would we?" Shaming youngsters in front of their peers for just being themselves? What about 5-year-old Maxxon*, who understands a lot about the history topic being taught that day? Sometimes his answers just burst out of him, and he forgets to put his hand up. So, what happens next? Do we tell him how much we admire his knowledge but that he must wait and allow other people a chance? Do we give him the option of writing his thoughts on a whiteboard instead?
No. We move his name down to a lower rung on the ladder, traffic light, weather system, and publicly shame him in front of his peers (8).
How about Sarah*, a 9-year-old girl who had an awful morning because her chronically stressed mother became irritated due to traffic? Another girl in her class, Janet*, is constantly bothering her, and now she has hidden her lunchbox. It all becomes too much for Sarah, they fight, and Janet is injured. We might have time to sit down and talk about what happened leading up to the event, but ultimately, Sarah will be told that she is not allowed to deal with her stress in that way. At the end of the school day, her mum has to have a 'little chat' with the teacher on the playground, in front of everybody. Sarah can feel her classmates' eyes bore into her, and she notices Janet making a look that tells her this isn't over. Is it any surprise that Sarah no longer wants to go to school (8)? And don't get me started on Janet; if I told you about her imaginary background, it would break your heart.
So, while we are not publicly humiliating students or forcing them to wear placards, we employ public shaming as a deterrent for bad behaviour in schools daily. Behaviourism, which generally ignores human complexity, pushes us to concentrate exclusively on the behaviour in front of us while ignoring the underlying factors that drive it. Government advice emphasises consistency in using conditioning agents such as reward and punishment, and this technique is widely used in schools to teach pupils to conform (9).
To sum up, while it is a fictional institution, Moordale High might cause us to consider some important aspects of education. Firstly, new headteachers and schools appear all the time, seeking to implement new policies, and they must ensure that the whole school community is on board with this; otherwise, it simply will not work. We've also seen how public humiliation generates shame, anxiety, and anger in pupils, but not always a change in behaviour, which begs the question of why this method is so prevalent in education and society in general.
If you haven't already seen it, the new series of Sex Education can be found on Netflix.
*totally made-up children and scenarios.
References
1. Patton R. This Is Why The School In 'Sex Education' Feels So Familiar [Internet]. Bustle. 2019 [cited 4 October 2021]. Available from: https://www.bustle.com/p/moordale-secondary-from-sex-education-isnt-a-real-school-but-it-definitely-feels-like-one-15731331
1. Patton R. This Is Why The School In 'Sex Education' Feels So Familiar [Internet]. Bustle. 2019 [cited 4 October 2021]. Available from: https://www.bustle.com/p/moordale-secondary-from-sex-education-isnt-a-real-school-but-it-definitely-feels-like-one-15731331
2. Moordale Secondary School [Internet]. Sex Education Wiki. 2021 [cited 4 October 2021]. Available from: https://sexeducation.fandom.com/wiki/Moordale_Secondary_School
3. Turner C. How effective and inclusive is the school's behaviour policy?. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 2003;8(1):7-18.
4. Suggitt H. Staying postive – the power of a strong school ethos [Internet]. Teach Secondary. 2014 [cited 25 September 2021]. Available from: https://www.teachsecondary.com/comment/view/staying-postive-the-power-of-a-strong-school-ethos
5. McLaughlin T. The Educative Importance of Ethos. British Journal of Educational Studies. 2005;53(3):306-325.
6. Smarter Scotland. Developing a positive whole-school ethos and culture – Relationships, Learning and Behaviour. Edinburgh: The Scottish Government; 2018.
7. Meredith M. Preventing anxiety-based school refusal: a guide to working with children and families [Internet]. Mary Meredith. 2020 [cited 4 October 2021]. Available from: https://marymered.com/2020/06/23/reducing-school-based-anxiety-a-guide-to-working-with-children-and-families/
8. Brooks R. The trauma and attachment-aware classroom. Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 2020.
9. James G. It’s time to scrap school exclusion [Internet]. The Solutions Focussed Coach. 2021 [cited 4 October 2021]. Available from: https://www.thesolutionsfocusedcoach.com/its-time-to-scrap-school-exclusion/