How Does Your School Abuse Power?
Schools have many ways different ways that they have power over students. Some people think that schools use their power for good, but others think they use it for poor reasons.
Many people who work in schools abuse their power. If a school abuses its power, students can be emotionally harmed which can lead to the students getting stressed about the projects and tests. This makes them not want to learn in class, and thus leads them to a bad education. This subject is very unfair and harmful to children. One way some teachers abuse their power is by telling students what to do without explaining why they should do it. If teachers tell the children exactly what to do, they will not figure out how to work by themselves.
They will then have to ask for help with solving problems. Also, if that same teacher doesn’t help students, it will affect them in the long run. When a teacher refuses to help students with their work they will grow up believing that helping others isn’t mandatory. A Psychology article states, “Human beings, children, adults, learn what is modeled to them, so if an authority figures models isolation, degradation, and abuse, chances are that the people watching are going to do it to.” This quote proves that all human beings can be easily influenced by any authority figure in their lifetime, therefore the teacher decisions with the students can and will affect them throughout life. Furthermore, principals and school staff also abuse their power.
For example, the strict “no cell phone” policy at South Orange Middle School (SOMS) ignores the fact that a smartphone can be used for schoolwork. As another example, the dress code at SOMS is sexist because it unfairly targets females. In a recent SOMS Investigates survey, 81.3% of girls said they have been “dress-coded”, while only 12.5% of boys had been dress-coded.
CNN states, “Nineteen percent of the 7,800 students surveyed in middle and high schools across the country said they were prevented from wearing clothing deemed “inappropriate” based on their gender,” Students express themselves through their clothes, and they are restricted of that with the dress code rules. These are just two examples of how power is abused and how it unfairly affects students. Lastly, statewide education departments abuse their power by making students take standardized tests. Standardized tests put more pressure and stress on students than normal tests and quizzes. These tests put strain on individual school districts, which puts even more burden on the students. Standardized tests evaluate what teachers are teaching, and many teachers do not like these types of tests.
In fact, one South Orange Middle School teacher was heard saying, “These tests aren’t to evaluate you kids, they are here to see how well we are teaching. So don’t do badly.” This makes kids feel obligated to perform better than their ability, so their teacher doesn’t get a bad evaluation.The Washington Post says that taking standardized test creates, “reduced content knowledge: Students are learning how to take high-stakes-tests, but cannot demonstrate subject mastery when tested in a different format.”The same article says that “children are pressured to not only demonstrate their knowledge but to represent the effectiveness of their teachers and their schools.
” Not all students excel on standardized test, but some of them do on non-standardized tests and quizzes. Standardized test should be abolished because it is not a good way to evaluate how much a student has learned. On the other hand, some believe that schools and teachers don’t abuse their power. They think that schools use their power for good. They may believe that children need to be put into place because they may not have the correct mind of how to act. An article that discusses the pros and cons of democratic schools states that “Children may need direction in what is important to learn for both their future and their development.
” Students need a push in the right direction, and a teacher is there to help them learn that. They also say that without teacher direction, “students may not utilize their time in a productive manner.” Teachers in schools help keep children on track so they do their work and finish assignments on time. All in all, schools abuse their power. Myriad teachers abuse their power by making students learn a certain curriculum as well as the fact that they will not allow them be free to do what they want. Many schools do not allow children to have a say in what they wear which affects both their education and social demeanors.
School districts make students take standardized tests that puts unnecessary stress on them. When this happens children will start staying up late studying and not getting enough sleep. Furthermore, schools should have more of a democracy to help keep their stress level down and less abuse of power so everyone can be treated equally.
