Teaching Students to Interact with Authority

 Rant Context

My school has a huge problem with students wandering the halls and hanging out where they shouldn't be. The admin keeps asking teachers to help. As a good solider, I try to do what I can.

Today I was walking to the restroom about 5-10 minutes before the lunch bell. A group of male students were hanging out in an area (C200 restroom area without a duty teacher present). This area is notorious and was identified in our last staff meeting as a major problem area. Back to the group of males, I don't know any of these students. I recognize a couple as hall wanders, so I asked the students in a normal voice something like, "Where are you supposed to be?"

We all know they shouldn't be there.

I don't recall exactly what happened, but one of the young men said something like, "Bro why are you talking to us, it's almost lunch."

I responded with something like "Bro, I'm just asking where you're supposed to be."

The student cut me off with, "I'm not your bro."

We went back and fourth a bit. The student turned his back to me and continued to speak over me as I tried to talk and reason with him.

I ended up raising my voice and saying something like, "I know your not my bro. I'm not your bro either, and I know you wouldn't speak to me this way if I wasn't a teacher."

His friends talked him down. And one of students said he'd get them moving on. I wrote down the time and went to the bathroom.

I was going to email the admin to get the students name for me, but I didn't for a few reasons.

What Should I Have Done Differently?

I didn't know the student. He didn't know me. Maybe he was having a bad day? I don't know. Maybe he's just an asshole. Who knows. I don't or didn't.

I know with my schools' student population, they want us to approach the group and say something positive first. For instance greeting them with a, "What's up guys?" or complimenting them with a, "I like your shirt?" From these openings/greetings we can build a rapport, and then ask the students where should they be. In theory, this should give a better outcome. From my experiences, it does.

I admit that I could have handled the situation better.

Here is my problem and concern.

Rant Time

My experience today makes me less likely to bother talking to students in the halls. I see staff (teachers and admin) ignore these students all day. It's a pain and extra work for teachers to report students, especially if they don't know there name or grade (like me today), so we don't. In fact, most teachers just walk by and don't say anything. Which is why students feel they can do whatever without being stopped or questioned by a teacher or adult.

It's to the point where students expect teachers to ignore them. When a teacher like myself says something to some of these hall wanderers, the teacher is in the wrong.

Furthermore, modern theories teach teachers to kiss the students' asses just to get them to listen and hopefully follow directions. Just because this works better, should this be the way it is? Maybe? This brings me to my next question:

Are schools teaching defiant students how to interact with authority in the real world?

Conclusion

This has satisfied my annoyance with both the student and the school. I am concerned that a small portion, maybe ~1-5%, of students are learning the wrong lessons about dealing with and speaking with authority. Some students are/feel so entitled that they don't think adults, teachers, or authority figures should question them. And if schools baby them too much, what will happen when a police officer doesn't baby them?

I talked with a couple of my classes and they all thought the student would act a lot different had I been a cop, so that is promising. But I'm still concerned.