Anne McCandless wrote:
I am not a parent or a teacher, so would someone
please tell me at what age
a child knows the difference between learning and
obeying the rules which
make living with other people in a society possible,
and what is an
"authoritarian" and "facist" attitude. Should our
schools not be concerned
about the way some students dress when it becomes a
distraction to the rest
of the students, either because of gang garb or, in
some cases, lack or very
minimal little garb worn by the students?
What about the confusion caused in his life by being
taught at home to be
'somewhat skeptical' of authority. It is unfortunate
that some parents
expect so much from our teachers but give them so
little cooperation when
they try to do their jobs.
TN:
This is only one example, but there are other posts
that speak to this. The overridding factor in all is
the attitude that we need to be more controlling of
our kids. I'd like to ask most of the parents of
teenagers on the list, does it help? Do you find that
by 'cracking down' on their behavior that they still
confide in you, or is there now a wall between you and
your children. Do they really not get in to trouble
or do they just not tell you about it? I'd like to
ask all of the teachers on this list, do these strict
rules make it easier for you to teach in the
classroom? Or have the kids now learned that they can
push buttons so far that now we will have new ruled
forced on us. Is it really healthy for fear to guide
how we deal with public education?
One of the goals of education is to teach our children
to think critically, and to ask questions. We should
not teach our children to blindly assume that everyone
who is in control is right. If we weren't skeptical
of authority, there may never have been an American
revolution or a civil rights movement. If we weren't
a little skeptical of authority many of us wouldn't be
posting to this list to complain (justifiably in most
cases) about city policies.
For many people who see my nervousness about dress
codes or uniforms as a promotion of
hyper-individualism, I might suggest that a military
school would be an alternative, there you don't have
to worry about it. As I (and my son) are somewhat
skeptical of authority, (a very positive thing) I
won't be sending him to a military school.
The other point I was trying to make that I think got
lost in the shuffle is that my son got a great
education in which he learned and thrived in one of
these "troubled" inner city public schools that
everyone seems to be complaining about and seem want
to fix.
That make me wonder if the whole "urban flight from
public schools" stuff is just a load of paranoia that
the Bush people concocted with there very mislabled
"No Child Left Behind" garbage. I still fail to
understand why so few people see it for what it is...a
way to drain money from education, nothing more.
Ironically, my son's school is starting a uniform
policy in December. (It was too late for me to get my
two cents worth in when they decided to start it.)
By the way Anne, despite his disability, My son is
certainly not confused by my parenting, even if my
ideology is different from yours. In fact he is
capable a a level of reasoning which escapes most
adults and he doesn't always agree with me. Yes Anne,
I am both a parent and a teacher, granted I'm a music
teacher so most of my students want to be there.
Beleive me, I know what parent teacher coopreration is
and in my son's and my students case it's what makes
the whole thing work, but cooperation, not dictation
is the key.
Incidently, an authoritarian attitude is one which
focuses on strict rules, supresses opinion and demeans
the individual forcing them to loose thier indentity
in favor of submitting to the 'greater' authority.
I really wish that one of the elected officials on the
school board was a kid. This who thing is supposed to
be about them and for their benefit, and everyone who
has anything to say about it doesn't seem to be
capable of thinking like a kid. (that includes me)
I'm far more concerned about those people with the
vacant looks in thier eyes that just accept everything
they are told.
Tamir Nolley
Holland
Ward 3
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