• Community
• All

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

HUNTLEY ADDIE: Same old issues keep creeping up at school

posted by Kevin Mio at 13h14

The meeting was starting to drag and I noticed that Nancy Hain, then
principal of John Rennie High School, was beginning to lose patience.
I knew the staff council meeting was going to go long from the get-go.
Tabled on the agenda were four items succinctly listed by bullets E, F,
G and H: hats; spaghetti straps; foul language and mp3 players.
“Listen,” Hain said as the discussion lulled, “the way I stand on this is simple people: pick your battles!”
I remember her words clearly, not just because of my appreciation of
them, but also with regards to the way she uttered them. She, albeit
respectfully, was bored with the issues on the table and I think the
reason was because these issues never get cleared off the table.
Regardless of the school, from Bona Vista to Vancouver Island; or
California to the Gulf Stream Waters, items like these just keep
propping up on tabled agendas all over this land of ours.
Staff council is a provincially mandated group of staff members that
meet in order to co-operatively (alongside administration) iron out the
day-to-day operation of the school as a whole. The members of staff
council volunteer to be a part this committee much as they would
volunteer to be on a social committee or to coach a basketball team.
Right now, as new school year gets started, teachers are deciding which
committees, teams and functions they will join in order to make their
school run.
The main thing I’ve learned in staff council is that it is absolutely
exhausting to try and rage against the changes in society that
adolescents strive to stir up.
Take items E and F on the agenda, for example: hats and spaghetti straps.
Now, in the John Rennie High School Student Code of Conduct, item 13
states (as it might similarly in most schools without a dress code):
Students are free to dress as they choose, provided that clothing does
not create a distraction, is not offensive, or does not depict rude and
offensive language. Spaghetti straps and tops that do not meet the
waistline of pants are considered inappropriate school attire. Hats,
bandannas and hoods are not to be worn in the building. Bulky outdoor
jackets are not to be worn in class.
One might assume that with a rule so clearly stated, this would never
become an issue. And yet, at the time of this particular meeting, it
had been a very warm fall, and hats and spaghetti straps were
everywhere.
Coming out of the summer vacation, it took me a few days to remember to leave my Bears’ cap on the back seat of my car.
As for item G – foul language – the code of conduct tackles that as
well: Behaviour in a courteous and co-operative manner with staff and
fellow students is expected. Students are expected to acknowledge and
follow instructions of staff members. The use of obscene or offensive
language and any type of harassment is strictly forbidden.
Problem solved, no?
Item H – mp3 players – here again, the code: The use of personal
stereos, hand-held video games and other electronic communication
devices is not permitted in the building during class hours except for
pedagogical purposes.
Bang, slam dunk on these issues. It’s all spelled out.
And yet, I promise you, there are countless agendas being read at
meetings where these items are being tossed back on the table in one
form or another to discuss again; particularly with regards to rule
implementation.
The items on the table differ slightly from year to year and region to
region. For example, the latest item tabled for us is cellphone and
video phone use in the school.
Gone by way of the Do-Do bird is the tabled item about ridiculously baggy trousers that were dropped to obscene levels.
However, have no fear! Soon enough, because of some MTV promoted
fashion flurry, the next style might well be skin tight pants pulled up
above the nipples.
Item J – students must wear shirts in school or K – zipping during lectures. You heard it hear first.
The bottom line is that I feel Hain was bang on with her advice to us all as we quibbled during the meeting.
We need, as individuals, to pick our battles from day one and then fight them with fairness, consistency and without hypocrisy.
After all, as a wise pedagogue once told me: “Most of these problems are over 18 years old anyways!”
Huntley Addie has started full time back at John Rennie high school teaching
English and Journalism.
kathunt@videotron.ca