The real problem
with our schools
The fourth-grader had been in The assistant principal
trouble since the first day he rushed across the room,
transferred to our school. He stopped in front of the boy. and
was overweight, defensive and said. “This is NOT the kind of
prone to swearing. His sound you make in school. ’’
reputation spread quickly He ordered the boy to put the
throughout the 1.000 bowl down and follow him to
elementary students. Some of his office, much to the delight
the girls made fun of him: some of the rest of the class. 1 was
of the boys picked fights. horrified. From the looks on
The day he threw a book at the faces of my students. I
a teacher during class, the
children, as well as the as well
as the teachers, told and retold
the story.
I was the full-time art
teacher, having taken the job in
February. Being a first-year
teacher, I did not have time for
gossip in the teachers’ lounge. 1
wasn’t even sure of the book-
thrower’s name. So, when his
class made its six-week rotation
into art, I was blissfully
ignorant.
The project I had them do
was to create animals in papier-
mche. A lot of the kids made
dogs, dragons, and birds; but
one boy wanted to make a fish
tank with fish in it. We discused
how he could build a frame
with straws, and imitate the
glass with acetate. The papier-
mche fish would hang from a
transparent thread across the
top of the tank.
A few days later, when
everyone had made their
fames out of boxes, balloons
and other materials, we were
ready to apply the papier-
mche. Very few of the students
had ever experienced papier-
mche, as the preceding teacher
(under the instruction of the
principal) had utilized only
pencils and crayons for the
three years she was there.
I took several volunteers to
help mix the paste. One of
these was the fish tank boy.
As we began, the assistant
principal (who had been
watching through the
windowed wall) came into the
room, and stood by the door.
As the water was poured into
the bowls, and the powder
measured in, several small
hands began the task of
mixing. Since the paste has a
disgusting consistency, the fish
tank boy let out a rather loud,
“Oooooooooooh!”
knew that this was the book-
thrower.
The boy was taken to the
assistant principal’s office,
where he was put into “solitary
confinement” for one week.
He went in every morning, and
was given his books. At noon,
the door was opened, and a
tray of food was put into the
room.
Infuriated by the assistant
principle lying in wait, and then
snatching my student away
from me, I tried to think of
some way to complain I
questioned, to myself, the
legality of this “solitary
confinement. ”
Supposedly, they had the
permission of the parent. The
decision had been made by the
principal, the school
psychologist and the mother
(who had moved, along with
the boy, quite frequently from
one live-in boyfriend to
another).
After a week, the boy was
allowed to come back to art
class, where he promptly rolled
his fish tank into a large ball
and threw it away. After then it
was continuous fighting, until
one day he didn’t show up.
and I learned that he had been
moved to a “special school. ”
I will always regret not
calling the child welfare office
the week the boy was confined.
I felt totally helpless because of
the powerful authority held by
the principal. The teachers
there did not question her. I
had recently been severely
reprimanded for attempting
“messy” projects, such as paint
and clay.
I know that I could have
worked with the book-thrower.
The first weeks in my class he
had been a model studen 1 : I
didn’t know he was the book-
thrower, and he was interested
Page 2/At Ease/Thursday, March 3,1988
This week’s attention!! photograph
was taken by Lisa Dieterle, a
senior journalism major.
in the projects.
In the short time 1 was there.
I saw remarkable changes in
quite a few “problem
students.” They liked art! They
wanted to stay after school and
work on their projects. They
volunteered to clean up after
class. They were so proud of
their creations.
So many schools seem to
think that the best way to solve
behavior problems is to punish
and/or isolate. I believe the
only way to help the students is
to find out what interests them,
and at least give them a
chance. I am not condoning
book-throwing; but a
challenged, interested student
with any amount of self-esteem
will not have time to
misbehave. This is true for all
students, not just those with
severe disciplinary problems.
In my particular case, the
principal had one face for the
parents, and quite a different ■
one for the students and staff.
To the outside world, ours was
the perfect school. We were
given specific instructions on
how the children and teachers
were to act on days that the
parents would be in the
building. Why should it be any
different than any other day?
A large part of the problem
might be how the principals get
their jobs. Several years of
teaching and a master’s degree
in administration doesn’t
necessarily qualify a person to
be anywhere near a child, if
they don’t have a genuine love
for humanity. While there are
good administrators who
simply become burned-out, I
believe that many go into
teaching because they like the
feeling of power, and being
able to boss someone “lesser”
than themselves.
Another problem, if you get
someone who doesn’t have a
lot of feeling for the children
they might hire someone
people like themselves. I don’t
believe that personnel directors
should have as much power as
they do, no matter how much
input they have from other
sources.
Should there even be
principals? Perhaps there could
be an elected board of “head
teachers. ” These applicants
could come before the group
and speak; their records would
be public. Since most principals
seem to come from within the
system, parents and teachers
would be (or should be)
familiar with them.
Whatever the solution, all
people need to be challeged, to
have a sense of self-esteem and
self-worth, and it needs to be
cultivated as early as possible in
life.
I have heard many people
say things like, “I made a pot
once in fifth grade, and the
teacher put it in the display
case,” still with great pride in
their voices. That single event
may have given them the
confidence to try a little harder
in math, or to be nice to their
little brother at home. To
deprive a child of such an
experience is
counterproductive.
It was these types of
counter-productive acts that
made me leave my job. I have
never been so tom in my life.
The children needed someone
like me desperately; but the
principal had made it clear to
me that either I conform in the
coming year, or 1 was out. I did
not want to be fired. So I gave
my all to the kids, and
introduced them to as many
kinds of art as I could, much to
the dismay of the principal. At
the last Parent-Teacher
Organization meeting, many
parents commented on how
much their child enjoyed art. It
broke my heart to leave, but I
had no choice.
I may try another school, but
I don’t wish to spend my whole
life looking for that (mythical?)
school where I will fit in. I
discuss frequently with some of
my disillusioned peers the idea
of working with groups such as
Boys’ Clubs and Big Sisters.
There are other ways of
effectively working with kids.
Until there is a popular
feeling among administrators
that students should be
challenged rather than simply
kept in line, we will not see an
end to the rampant drugs,
suicides, teenage pregnancies
and discipline problems in the
near future.
This week’s attention
column was written by
. Carol A. Wells, a graduate
student and a graphic artist
for The Battalion.
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