Populist leftist freak that I am

Here in Seattle, we have hired ourselves a new superintendent of public schools. The rest of the country may be unaware that the Seattle public schools have been in a state of conflict, financial distress, and general turmoil for some time. I have a friend who has become a prominent citizen activist on this subject, and started a blog that now draws lively discourse and thousands of visitors.

A recent post on the site (not from my friend) talked about behavior expectations in middle school and high school. Attire, gum-chewing, headphones and sunglasses in class, cursing, and back-talk were all discussed, with a general sense of shock at what was tolerated, and wondering whether the adults were fuddy-duddies in their expectations, or the schools were too lax, or the parents too complicit (since after all, somebody bought the hot pink thong and low-rider jeans for the 14-year-old girl).

Once again it makes me ponder my unlikely and fortunate high school experience. Students didn't have to go to class - well, some departments made you go, and some didn't. English required attendance, as did PE because nobody would've shown up for that. But other departments didn't take attendance. You had to do your work and pass your classes, so in that sense it was like college - skip at your own risk.

We had a student-only lounge, where we hung out on grungy furniture, much of it salvaged from street corners on the university campus or purchased second-hand. Kids went there during free time (or skipped classes) to sleep, socialize, study, dance, and snuggle. There was a beautiful, long wooden table - easily 20 feet long, like something from a medieval castle - where students did homework or played cards. The lounge was governed by a committee, with one member elected from each class, which set and enforced rules of behavior and was also responsible for the upkeep of the lounge. That meant raising money to replace furniture or buy amenities - which was done partly through a jukebox but also through other entrepreneurial activities - and then prioritizing needs, making decisions, and arranging the necessary purchases or repairs.

In short, within the confines of that room, we were our own little democratic republic. Short of something really extreme, no adult was going to come in and settle disputes or discipline anyone. It was up to us, either directly or through our elected representatives. We lobbied and campaigned for what we thought should happen, and occasionally even experimented with non-violent protest. (For example, the time a student played "Live and Let Die" on the jukebox a dozen times every single day until we all begged to have the song permanently removed. As Enrico can testify, to this day I can't listen to more than two bars of that song without lunging for the OFF button.)

Now, there are many, MANY ways that my high school was not normal, I will certainly grant that. Not least that it was very small, just 300 students in five grades. But I have often wondered how that experiement in self-governance impacted us, our understanding of rights and responsibilities, and the compromises necessary for the common good. I wonder how it changed our behavior in class, when there was an adult around to instill order. I wonder how much adult intervention actually happened behind the scenes, even when we thought we controlled our own destiny.

A few years ago I went back to my home town and visited the school. The lounge is still there, but there's no jukebox; the beautiful medieval table is gone (how did they even get it out the door?). The crazy furniture was replaced by sterile plastic picnic benches. Maybe there's still a Lounge Committee, I don't know, but I wonder if the great experiement in self-government, for decades part of the educational experience at that school, came to an end.

If so, I think it's a shame. Maybe part of teaching kids about societal expectations is making space for them to create their own society. A middle ground between demanding that they follow rules set down by - and inconsistently enforced by - weary adults, and leaving kids to their own devices entirely. How else do you learn empathy for somebody who has a completely different view on how things should be run? How else do you learn empathy for the person who has to negotiate a compromise, or enforce a rule when it's unpleasant to do so? These are the experiences that modulate our behavior, that allow us to say, "Well, I don't agree with that person, but I was in the minority last week and I remember how it felt" - and thus to talk to our peers with respect and compassion, even in conflict. Of course kids are learniing that all the time, from a young age, from their families and schools and the world. But by middle school and high school, we should be able to up the ante and get serious about the lesson. Surely it's no less important than the three Rs.