Questioning the Principal

In one of my classes, our principal was invited to answer anonymous questions.

We were divided into groups to write questions down, and our principal would come to class and give us predictably biased answers. I had a few questions. I started writing. After sharing a few of my questions, my group let me handle the task all by myself.

I don’t remember all the questions that I asked. I remember questioning letter grades just to be told that my school was showing a willingness to experiment. Of course, that idea of experimentation was little more than going from six classes per day to three longer classes per day with schedules alternating so that students could still have six classes. The schedule really was a superficial difference from how things had always been done. There was no change in methodology, a maintained intolerance towards individuality, and busywork that was valued more than anything practical.

One question that I really wanted answered was, “Why do teachers have so much power?” I know that I keep talking about emotional abuse, but I’m going to have to bring it up again. Teachers use the importance of grades to threaten the future of every student. I saw no evidence that a teacher couldn’t give a bad grade to a student, and therefore destroy that student’s future, purely for the sake of harming the child. Our principal wanted clarification because teachers should have the power. I didn’t want to explain the lack of any checks and balances. After all, my teacher was there. If I was right, I could have gotten on her bad side. She could have retaliated by giving me a bad grade. I don’t want my future destroyed just to have a reasonable question answered. Needless to say, I kept my mouth shut.