My School's Anti-Free Time Policies

[KFC Nyan Cat]

Today my school had a (false alarm of a) carbon monoxide leak and we had to sit in the high school auditorium for two and 1/2 hours. I learned that my school has a policy that states that students cannot do non-academic things during their spare time. And by non-academic, I mean anything that doesn't directly have anything to do with classes. This means that the teacher can call you to the office for: reading articles/magazines/non-AR books, playing games, drawing, basically anything that has nothing to do with schoolwork or Accelerated Reader. I'd already noticed that teachers were putting more restrictions on spare time earlier this year, but today I got confirmation.

During the false alarm, The principal told everyone "WE'RE IN SCHOOL NOW, SO PUT ALL OF YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICES AWAY." He then made us read for 15 minutes......which turned into 30 minutes, and then put on that extremely staged Dateline bullying video that I've watched 3 times now and all of the 8th graders at least two. The principal said it's because "this situation isn't ideal but it still needs to be educational." After doing a little research, I actually found out that this is a rule. That's just wrong in my view.

[SoulRiser]

Almost everything is educational... their definition of learning is just horribly broken.

[Missile]

Welcome to the gulag

[lisafromjackson]

(01-10-2015 11:22 PM)SoulRiser Wrote:  Almost everything is educational... their definition of learning is just horribly broken.

Education is a consequence of experience....once you look at it that way, you see how much negative learning goes on along with the "positive."

It's like a prescription medication. It was engineered to take away migraines but it also makes you puke. You don't advertise, "Take this pill and you will puke!" You call that a side-effect.

Same thing with learning. You're taught a lesson in something, and you find it difficult. So maybe you are learning a little bit about the content, but you've also learned that learning that thing is unpleasant and difficult.

[MrAnonymous]

Learning doesn't have to be unpleasant.

[KFC Nyan Cat]

(01-11-2015 04:14 AM)MrAnonymous Wrote:  Learning doesn't have to be unpleasant.

This is a simple statement. One that nobody gets. Learning doesn't have to be unpleasant. But nobody with authority understands this. All of the fun ways of learning will sadly not get you a job (lets' be real, as good of an idea unschooling is, nobody will take it seriously until the anti-school movement gains enough traction to be constantly reported on and isn't taken seriously right now) because they weren't administered by a guy in a suit who makes six figures at the expense of millions of kids.

[brainiac3397]

Gotta screw em at their own game. Bring something educational but not related to your grade level(like some higher level stuff). Wait for them say nor educational or someshit. Then point out how and why its educational and that the board of ed will be hearing about their comment you recorded on a device.

If board of ed ignores. Write all members a letter. Then write to city council and mayor. Then state legislature. Then governor. Then representative of district. Then senate. Then to dept of ed. Then to white house.

And write.write.WRITE! till they finally freaking undersrand.

Worked in Shawshank redemption....

[xcriteria]

That's horrible, KFC. There are obviously so many ways for learning to happen. And free time has benefits that go beyond traditional learning, too, like learning how to make choices about your own use of time.

(01-11-2015 11:32 AM)KFC Nyan Cat Wrote:  

(01-11-2015 04:14 AM)MrAnonymous Wrote:  Learning doesn't have to be unpleasant.

This is a simple statement. One that nobody gets. Learning doesn't have to be unpleasant. But nobody with authority understands this. All of the fun ways of learning will sadly not get you a job (lets' be real, as good of an idea unschooling is, nobody will take it seriously until the anti-school movement gains enough traction to be constantly reported on and isn't taken seriously right now) because they weren't administered by a guy in a suit who makes six figures at the expense of millions of kids.

It's worth noting that some people, including people in authority, do understand this. Maybe not in your school, but there are schools that are run in very different ways.

Also, many people do take the idea of unschooling and interest-based learning seriously. More people are learning about better ways to promote learning, and we can be part of that trend.

But it's true that in many cases, people need a nudge, and there needs to be a lot more reporting about all this. We can be part of that, though. Show people you know some of the articles and videos and websites that show how learning can work.

How that applies to the most oppressive schools, is a harder question, but even then, I encourage people to ask why authorities set the policies they do, discuss other ways to do things, and report back here about what you learn. That could be a step toward developing better materials and reporting, that might reach more people in authority.

Thoughts?

[lisafromjackson]

My daughter had her computer confiscated because she was doing research on a video for John Greene's Campaign for Awesome. She was researching charities and causes that she could make a video for. The principal was doing one of those remote monitoring things, found that she wasn't doing "school work" and confiscated her computer for 2 days.

Now, to be brutally honest, it's my fault, or partly so, because as a school board member I voted for a policy that says school computers are only to be used for school work.

However, I'm not sure that as a principal I would have enforced the policy in this particular instance.

I do think that the policy needs to change, though.

[brainiac3397]

By confiscate 2 days, do you mean to say that the school took and withheld property that did not belong to them?

In most societies...that would be called theft.

[lisafromjackson]

It was a school computer. Interesting though....if we had an open device policy we'd probably have rules governing that as well.

[brainiac3397]

My HS once did something pretty controversial. They used Bluetooth on their phones to determine who had a device on them.

Course students later stopped leaving their Bluetooth on...

[TheCancer]

Wow

That's pretty sinister


I hate those situations where there's some kind of perceived danger. Bomb threat, intruder, gas leak, or whatever. I usually have to keep my students in a confined space, limit or completely forbid mobility, and insist on calm and silence. And on top of that I feel a real sense of responsibility for my students' well-being, especially on the off chance that something serious really was happening.

It seems weird to forbid phones though because games and texting or whatever keeps the students occupied with something non-disruptive. But then some students get furious when they can't use their headphones but I have to keep them at the ready to receive instruction. Anyway, I find it very stressful.

[FUCKSchoolKCUF]

I don't see how that school district is not being boycotted. Prisoners get treated better than that.

Minimum security prisoners housing violent Massachusetts criminals

[Superkamiguru]

(01-11-2015 09:35 PM)xcriteria Wrote:  Also, many people do take the idea of unschooling and interest-based learning seriously.

But,those really ought to be taken infinitely more seriously than everything else,by just about everyone,then and only then can we say we've had our first major victory.

[Geicosuave]

I fucken hate policies like this, I feel like there are levels to this:

Do whatever you want
Do something related to school
Do something related to this class

in most cases, kids just do whatever they want unless its really enforced

[ColossalBlocks]

My old school district enforced this policy. When someone called in a bomb threat, we had to be evacuated to the church across the street. While we were sitting in there, the principal made us read copies of the bible, i was an atheist by then, and i found this has utter bullshit. Got my phone taken away, as did tons of other kids for not reading the bible. The guy was trying to get passwords out of phones for accounts, but mine was dead and locked. Same person also did "cleavage checks", which led to his demise.

[Superkamiguru]

(01-19-2017 12:40 PM)ColossalBlocks Wrote:  My old school district enforced this policy. When someone called in a bomb threat, we had to be evacuated to the church across the street. While we were sitting in there, the principal made us read copies of the bible, i was an atheist by then, and i found this has utter bullshit. Got my phone taken away, as did tons of other kids for not reading the bible. The guy was trying to get passwords out of phones for accounts, but mine was dead and locked. Same person also did "cleavage checks", which led to his demise.

That's disturbing...