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the school environment
One of the things I appreciated about Christenbury's discussion of teaching was the description of school as a "non-neutral environment." Nothing emphasizes this to me more than intense security measures. Not only is school a non-neutral environment, it is unrealistic: students may not have any item that could possibly be construed as a weapon, and over-the-counter drugs are prohibited. I remember a couple of teachers in high school who would make the statement "I can't give you Advil or anything like that, but I can't be held responsible if you steal it from my desk, right about here, where it will be kept." I don't like to think what might have happened if anyone in administration had known about these actions, but I do know that there were times when I (and other students) were really grateful for people who broke the rules--whether it was that teacher who permitted us to "steal" or students who snuck pills in Altoids tins. Yes, it was against school rules, but it was criminalizing something that in the real world is trivial and accessible.
It's a difficult balance between maintaining school rules and teaching real world values, because school makes innocent actions and possessions seem criminal. That's something I always hated about school. Unfortunately (perhaps?), I won't have the guts to be like those rule-breaking teachers. Maybe that's a good thing, because it will keep me from having issues with authority and "pushing drugs." But I know that it would be far too difficult for me to send a student to the office for having Midol or a plastic knife. There's a need to reinstill sanity in schools, and I think that movement is starting to gain a foothold. I know this entry seems kind of out of the blue, but it's what was on my mind, and I worry about the kind of atmosphere I'm going to be coming into.
How do you deal with rules you don't agree with? Of course you have to follow and enforce them, but if it conflicts with your beliefs, is it wrong to circumvent those rules to an extent? If I let a student take a Tylenol, am I irresponsible? We teach students to stand up for what they believe in, so is it worse to demonstrate that or follow the rules and compromise our beliefs?
It's a difficult balance between maintaining school rules and teaching real world values, because school makes innocent actions and possessions seem criminal. That's something I always hated about school. Unfortunately (perhaps?), I won't have the guts to be like those rule-breaking teachers. Maybe that's a good thing, because it will keep me from having issues with authority and "pushing drugs." But I know that it would be far too difficult for me to send a student to the office for having Midol or a plastic knife. There's a need to reinstill sanity in schools, and I think that movement is starting to gain a foothold. I know this entry seems kind of out of the blue, but it's what was on my mind, and I worry about the kind of atmosphere I'm going to be coming into.
How do you deal with rules you don't agree with? Of course you have to follow and enforce them, but if it conflicts with your beliefs, is it wrong to circumvent those rules to an extent? If I let a student take a Tylenol, am I irresponsible? We teach students to stand up for what they believe in, so is it worse to demonstrate that or follow the rules and compromise our beliefs?