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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > April > 08 > Entry
Ever wonder what the kids think?
Sometimes on a job like this you get insights from the most unexpected places.
Even when you visit a lot of schools, as I do, you’re always seeing them as a visitor. So often you are seeing the school in the equivalent of it’s Sunday best. A keen observer will pick up on clues as to what things are really like in a school and no dog-and-pony show can completely disguise reality. You have to trust your instincts.
But what if, instead, you could get an independent, unbiased insider’s report on a particular school? What if someone you knew could tell you what it was really like on the inside, but didn’t have any axe to grind?
I sort of stumbled onto such a source a couple months ago.
That’s when I met a young man who is a graduate of Dayton Public Schools. He works at a local business I frequent and we’ve struck up a friendship. This young man is in his 20s and now working his way through college.
One day he told me the story of his DPS school experience. Growing up in the city, he attended church-run schools until high school. That’s when he made a big mistake and was asked to leave, prompting a transfer to a city high school.
It was his first public school, he told me. Overall, he said, it wasn’t as bad as some had told him it would be. He was able to finish high school and he did just fine. But there were a few things that jumped out at him, he said. The students were less close-knit and there were more conflicts. There was more bad language and some unruliness that would never have been tolerated at the private school he attended. There was racial tension.
But here was the big thing that shocked him about his new school — the difference in leadership. The principal of his new school has a reputation for being able to relate to the kids on their level. The first time he saw this, my friend said the principal was mixing it up with a couple students who had been goofing off in the hallway. The principal was not shouting at them, but chewing them out somewhat. The principal was not using bad language but was talking in a slang the kids use.
To my friend, the approach was improper. He’s the big thing I remember him saying — “The principal should not talk the way the students talk. The principal should set an example.”
Now, the ability to speak to the students in their language is a useful talent and it has its place. And discipline sometimes requires creative strategies. But I see my young friend’s point. Above all, a principal should set an example and model appropriate, adult behavior.
Have you seen teachers or principals who talk like the students? When does it work and not work?
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Teaching and Learning
Comments
By aguyindayton
April 12, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this
Wow is that true ..litigation .. It seems each year that the rule book/(code of conduct) becomes less and less implemented. I am beginning to think we have more accomodations then objectives. But, then in the 60’s we had a more cohessive family structure and support.By aguyindayton
April 12, 2008 5:53 PM | Link to this
I have never observed a member of “the Board”; our Board, the elected Board, in the building during school hours. And it amazes me that we “the tax payers” are only allowed to ask questions at the beginning of the meeting which makes the response a month old before given. HmmmmmBy School Supporter (Classic)
April 11, 2008 10:56 PM | Link to this
Scott asks, “Have you seen teachers or principals who talk like the students?” Generally, the question is how to balance cultural competency (advocated by C. J. Prentiss) with college prep (advocated by Jose Omar Gutierrez). And how to guage if expenditures serve the interests of students. Our local school boards are responsible for sorting this out; how are they doing?By Concerned Mom of 3
April 11, 2008 6:06 PM | Link to this
I agree with aguyindayton- being a sub in Dayton will give you a good feel for what is happening in the schools… and I would like to add that each building and staff is unique. Just because one building seems overly chaotic doesn’t mean that another school in the district has the same amount of chaos. Parents should visit several buildings before choosing one that feels right. The tone of every building is different- you can tell it the minute you walk in the schools main office.By aguyindayton
April 10, 2008 11:01 PM | Link to this
or join the academic volunteer program that many schools support .. that will give you an indepth look at the innerworkings of a schoolBy aguyindayton
April 10, 2008 10:57 PM | Link to this
If you really want to know what goes on inside a school, sign up as a sub … and hang on. You will get a true insight into the fiber, or lack of, within the school.By Laura
April 9, 2008 8:54 PM | Link to this
In addition to a student who came from a completely different environment, I’d like to hear what (reasonably successful) students who had always attended the city schools thought of the approach.By Mary
April 9, 2008 7:39 AM | Link to this
I think most schools, with so few adults and many students, have a “Lord of the Flies” atmosphere. Unfortunately, some of the few adults in key roles seem to adapt to, rather than mold, the student culture.