Dear LGB,
Before I begin, I would like to explain the terms ‘govern by the carrot’ and ‘govern by the stick’ for readers that are unfamiliar. Both terms have to do with ways of governing (teaching, imposing rules). The carrot is the kinder of the two for it rewards good work and is based around trust. The stick however is the harsh option: it revolves around stick discipline and punishment –as if being hit by a stick.
I am here to uncover our dirty lack of discipline and respect. We are in a school that governs us by the carrot. We are given freedom to make our own decisions because the school trusts us enough to be the masters of our own learning. However, when I walk around school, all I see and hear is students that act like they want to be governed by the stick – cutting class, leaving at lunch (Y9,10) or not showing up to the required activities (eg. sports-day). Nevertheless, high schoolers are not like primary schoolers, and therefore the common complaint that: “this class is unbearable because the teacher can’t teach/control the class” is totally unjustified. For example, my friend told me about this class he was once in where the majority of the students would play a game called shi-four-mi. The game is a rock-paper-scissors spin off where depending on the symbol you won with you got to punch, slap or Chinese twist the loser. The catch was that all punishments had to be done in class, disregarding the rows of tables and chairs between the students. One would crawl under the rows while the others would run above them. Not once in the whole year were they caught or punished. The worst part was that after they all failed the exam, they complained that “it was the teacher’s fault!”
Thankfully, there is a light of truth in the students’ complaints about “not being able to learn” But, this light does not emerge from the teachers but rather from the administration’s brag about their ‘zero-tolerance’ and ‘strict-repercussions’. In reality though, how often does a student actually get severely punished. LGB is covered by a thin veil of discipline. Another friend of mine told me a story where three ninth graders left school at lunch to go to a bar and then came back drunk, violating both school policy and federal laws. Miraculously, these students came off with only three days of in-school suspension (three days where instead of going to class, they stayed at school but had to do ‘disciplinary work’). The only reason they received this light-weight punishment was because their parents complained to the admin –ripping the thin veil into sheds. My point being that even if the admin wanted to govern by the stick, they never could –they just do not have the ‘courage’.
With kind dis-regards,
John Doe
