Also in both book and film his teaching styles are of an old teacher, he is very strict and old fashioned. Many of the children think he hates them and this gives the children the impression that he is the enemy, this could be why they disobey everything he says.
Although his attitude towards children is strict, I think that he does care for the children’s education; he just thinks that his teaching styles are helping them.
Mrs Kay treats the children with respect and kindness, but she acts as if they are going nowhere and they will become nothing.
This may be true but it’s a defeatist attitude and I am not sure what effect it has on the kids, but it isn’t very positive “you’ll never teach them because nobody knows what to do with them.”
Also she does things that are fun not educational which makes the children favour her more than any other teacher.
As for Mr Briggs he is very strict with the kids and believes that standard and authority is the key to teaching them e.g. “but I thought this was a organised trip so that the kids could visit Conway castle”.
Sometimes Mrs Kay seems to understand the kids more than the kids do, or at least better than other teachers e.g. Mr Briggs.
However, Mrs Kay gives me the impression that she would rather solve problems by taking days out to the seaside than to listen and act on her instincts.
In contrast, Mr Briggs believes that every one should sort out there own problems and he doesn’t look beyond the children’s faces and actions at school to see the real problem, he just tends to see a naughty child e.g. “don’t you ‘what’ me young lady”.
Mr. Briggs is portrayed an unfriendly teacher who likes bossing students around the school. Rather than explaining to the kids, he likes shouting and scolding them better. Mr. Briggs shouts at Andrews thinking that he was smoking on the bus. “There’ll be no smoking if I stay up here, will there?” he did not even try to know the truth, whether he was really smoking or whether is someone else’s. All the kids think that he is a typical teacher.
Mrs. Kay is at a loss to understand the unfairness of a society, moulds these children into the ladder. She wants children to have a good day out at least, even if they are not going to resolve the struggle of the unequal chance and social injustice. When Mrs. Kay explained to Ronney, the coach driver, how the kids had never seen a bar of chocolate and “lemonade never touches their lips”, it shows that she can also defend them and make the driver feel very for them to which he than gets them all the sweets and chocolate he can.
Mr. Briggs is totally different from Mrs. Kay. He does not agree that the children should be trusted. When Mr Briggs says to Mrs. Kay “if these people can be trusted on their own”, he does have trust for them, but then they break his trust by stealing animals from the zoo! This made him angry and he started to scream out loud “You act like animals, animals...! I’ve learned that trust is something you people don’t understand.” The way in which he screamed was not expected by anyone. He should have explained instead, rather than screaming and calling them “animals”.
Mrs. Kay thinks and believes the children should be allowed to have freedom and the right to do thinks on their own. When Mrs. Kay says to Mr. Briggs that “Ooh... leave them... They’ll want to stretch their legs and let off a bit steam”; this proves that Mrs. Kay can also and does fight for the children’s rights and freedom. She is always defending them when they are in trouble and facing difficulties. She trusts them very much and believes that they won’t betray and break her trust. She wants the children to have a day out, full of joy and entertainment.
Mr. Briggs thinks that the school trip for the children in the Progress Class is that they should only learn, even though they will get bored. “...If they’re going to have a good and stimulating day then it’s got to be planned and executed better then this”, this shows that he believes that trips should be educational only, having no extra opportunities such as going to the funfairs, beaches etc.
When Carol is on the top of the cliff, we can see that Mr. Briggs does not know what it is like to be Carol and children like her in that situation. He is taken back to the fact that Carol talks back at him, which he is not used to by the less able children. After the incident with Carol, he changes; he sees the world from her perspective. He insists on a visit to the fair and lets the children treat him like they do Mrs. Kay. When “Mr. Briggs is snapped eating candy-floss, then again at the highest point of the big-wheel”, he is more relaxed and easygoing. Still this change does not last, as the coach nears Liverpool, reality returns, and Mr. Briggs purposely exposes the film, which is a record of his changed relationship with the Progress Class.
In conclusion I think that the bets teaching styles for the progress class is Mrs Kay, she knows the children and understands them more than Mr Briggs does. His teaching styles may work on some kids perhaps the boys need to be told but he has no respect for the girls. Mrs Kay may treat them like a mother hen but she really cares for them.
