Anti-Social Behaviour
Senior 1 · English
Anti-Social Behaviour
Lesson 1 of 5
25 min
Let's begin
A broken tap, a wall covered in scribbles, a queue that one student pushes past: each act looks small. But behaviour like this harms other people, and when many people do it, a whole school or neighbourhood becomes a worse place to live. Behaviour that harms or upsets other people, or damages things they share, is called anti-social behaviour. Before planning a campaign, the Wellbeing Club at a day school in Huye asked students what they see every week. This is their report.
Before you read: Name one kind of behaviour at school or in your neighbourhood that annoys or upsets people. Why does it bother them?
SMALL ACTS, BIG DAMAGE
A report by the Wellbeing Club, written by Umuhoza Kabera (S2)Introduction. In the first two weeks of October, the Wellbeing Club gave a short questionnaire to 200 students from S1 to S3. We asked them which kinds of anti-social behaviour they had seen at school in the past month, and how that behaviour affected them. The aim was to choose one problem for our campaign next term.
Findings. The table shows the percentage of students who saw each behaviour at least once.
Behaviour Students who saw it Dropping litter in the compound 68% Making noise during study time 55% Pushing into the lunch queue 47% Writing on desks, walls or toilet doors 32% Bullying: insulting, threatening or hitting other students 18% Damaging or stealing school property 12% Littering was the most common problem, but it was not the one that hurt people most. Many students said that noise during study time made them lose marks, for they could not concentrate on their revision. The most serious behaviour was bullying. Only 18 percent of students had seen it, yet almost every one of them described it as frightening. One S1 student wrote: "Older boys take my break money, and I don't tell anyone, so they do it again."
Some anti-social behaviour costs the whole school money. Last term, broken taps and damaged desks cost the school more than 300,000 francs to repair, and that money could have bought books for the library. Other behaviour costs trust: when students write on toilet doors or steal, nobody feels that the school belongs to everyone.
Conclusion and recommendations. Anti-social behaviour affects victims, bystanders and the people who do it. We recommend two actions. First, every class should agree on rules for study time, and the class prefect should remind students of them. Second, the school should set up a safe way to report bullying, such as a locked box outside the counsellor's office, so that victims can speak without fear. We will start our campaign next term, and we ask every student to join us.
| Section | What it does | In the club's report |
|---|---|---|
| Title | tells the reader the topic | Small Acts, Big Damage |
| Introduction | says who, when, how and why | 200 students, October, a questionnaire, to choose a campaign |
| Findings | gives the results, often in a table, then explains them | the table of six behaviours; noise, bullying, cost |
| Conclusion and recommendations | sums up and says what should be done | two actions and a call to join the campaign |
A report is written in a formal, neutral style: it gives facts and numbers, uses headings, and avoids "I think".
| Word | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| anti-social behaviour | behaviour that harms or upsets other people or damages what they share | Littering is a common anti-social behaviour. |
| litter | (noun) rubbish left in a public place; (verb) to drop rubbish | Don't litter: use the bin. |
| vandalism | damaging public or other people's property on purpose | Writing on toilet doors is vandalism. |
| graffiti | words or drawings written on walls without permission | The club painted over the graffiti. |
| bully | (verb) to hurt or frighten a weaker person again and again; (noun) a person who does this | Nobody has the right to bully you. |
| victim | a person who is harmed by someone's actions | Victims of bullying often feel alone. |
| bystander | a person who sees something happen but is not part of it | A bystander can help by reporting it. |
| queue | a line of people waiting their turn | Don't push into the queue. |
| property | things that belong to someone | Desks are school property. |
| concentrate | give all your attention to something | I can't concentrate when it's noisy. |
| recommendation | advice about what should be done | The report makes two recommendations. |
| respect | treating people and things as valuable | Respect for others makes school safe. |
Definition
Conjunction: a word that joins words, phrases or clauses.
Coordinating conjunction: a conjunction that joins two parts of equal importance, such as two main clauses. There are seven: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Example: Littering was the most common problem, but it was not the one that hurt people most.
| Word | Meaning | Example from the report |
|---|---|---|
| and | adds information | Broken taps and damaged desks cost the school money. |
| but | shows a contrast | Littering was the most common problem, but it was not the most harmful. |
| or | gives a choice | Bullying means insulting, threatening or hitting other students. |
| so | gives a result | I don't tell anyone, so they do it again. |
| yet | shows a surprising contrast (like but, stronger) | Only 18 percent had seen it, yet almost all found it frightening. |
| for | gives a reason (formal, like because) | They lost marks, for they could not concentrate. |
| nor | adds a second negative idea | He did not apologise, nor did he pay for the desk. |
| What is joined | Comma? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| two words or phrases | no | taps and desks |
| two full clauses (each with a subject and a verb) | usually yes, before the conjunction | The bell rang, but the noise continued. |
| a list of three or more | between items | insulting, threatening or hitting |
Worked example
Join two sentences in three different ways: Some students drop litter. The compound looks dirty.
Warning
Tip
FANBOYS is a quick way to remember all seven coordinating conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.
Conjunctions, an English grammar lesson from Ellii (formerly ESL Library) (5 minutes). Note which conjunctions join equal clauses and where the comma goes, then check the tables above.
In groups of four, you are the Wellbeing Club. Look at the table of findings and agree on ONE problem for next term's campaign. Each member gives one reason, using a different coordinating conjunction. Then report your choice to the class.
We chose bullying, for it is the most serious problem in the report. Only 18 percent of students saw it, yet it frightened almost all of them. Littering is more common, but a dirty compound doesn't hurt anyone's feelings. Victims are afraid to speak, so we need a safe way to report it, and we want every student to know about the box.
Imagine you surveyed your class about anti-social behaviour in your neighbourhood (on the road to school, at the market, in the bus park). Invent realistic results for four behaviours and write a report of 120 to 150 words with the four sections: title, introduction, findings (with a small table), and conclusion and recommendations. Use at least five coordinating conjunctions.
WHAT WE SEE ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL
Introduction. In November, 40 students in S1 A answered a questionnaire about anti-social behaviour on their way to school.
Findings.
| Behaviour | Students who saw it |
|---|---|
| Throwing rubbish from vehicles | 30 |
| Moto drivers riding on the pavement | 22 |
| Loud music on buses | 18 |
| Adults smoking near children | 9 |
Throwing rubbish was the most common behaviour, and it makes the gutters overflow when it rains. Motos on the pavement were less common, yet they are the most dangerous, for pedestrians have nowhere to go.
Conclusion and recommendations. Our route is mostly safe, but some behaviour puts people at risk. We recommend that the school invite the traffic police to talk to us, so everyone knows the rules.
Practice
Sources and credits
