My Hat is Back On

This practice of folding under pressure when attempting to do the right thing is all to common today. That principle, doing the right thing, just does not seem to have the importance to most that it once had. It is the more difficult and arduous path to travel and many aren’t willing to see it through to the end. As a teacher, I remember having a problem with a student in a high school class where the student was very belligerent, insubordinate, and disrespectful. I ended up having to write the student up on a dean’s referral. The consequence was given, however, the parent threatened court recourse and the dean wanted to change the consequence. I was dismayed, confused, and a little angry about the situation and set up a meeting with the dean. I thought the student, with his past behavioral issues in addition to what he had done, deserved the original consequence. The dean promptly explained to me that this parent is a known trouble maker and could cause problems for the district, including expenses if she pushed it into court. She was connected somehow. I told the dean that decreasing the consequence is against the principles I promote and support in my class (and believe in personally), it was not the "right" thing to do and that it set a poor example for the other students who witnessed what happened. She promptly asked if my principles were really worth all the trouble and expense this could cause. That question right there exemplifies a larger problem that is represented by the point made in both the original post and this post and is an all too common practice today.

Kirk Mango
Becoming a True Champion