by Chia
In the halls of Eastern High School not a day goes by that an argument doesn’t start or a fight break out over something insignificant. It can be a nudge in a crowded hall, accidentally stepping on the heel of someone’s shoes, or even going too slow for someone’s taste on the staircase. The lunchrooms are as bad if not worse with indiscriminant acts of malevolence to anyone who sticks out of the crowd. In the class the teachers are constantly being faced with arguments and scuffles with and among students who disagree on the slightest thing. The problem is students seem more and more to take things personally. More and more people seem to have something to prove by ‘not taking crap from anyone.’
There recently was a confrontation after lunch that occurred because a student walked past another student who laughed, and presumed they were being laughed at. They then proceeded to attempt to fight the student and then ended up punching a teacher. Why on earth would a student want to get suspended for a week to prove a point that would be better made by walking away? More over, what would posses someone to punch a teacher who was trying to stop the fight? It doesn’t make any sense to this writer.
In the lunchroom and the Quaker Room not a day passes where random acts of thrown food don’t happen, and barely a week passes where a fight or loud argument doesn’t occur. People will throw chicken at other tables, steal things at random, and just in general start things out of nothing for the hell of it. You must ask yourself “What do I want to accomplish by doing this?” More often than not the desired result is to annoy or goad someone into a confrontation. If the person still acts upon the urge, the person on the receiving end must ask himself or herself this question: “What do I hope to accomplish by reacting to this?” Usually when a reaction occurs an argument breaks out or escalates to a fight, all because neither person is willing to say “I think I will let this one slide, its not worth it.”
The classroom is the worst place however. In some classes a teacher will have complete control over their students and will have no problems and in other classes teachers have some control and this is usually not a problem. In too many classes, however, teachers lack any control over their students. Every day people take advantage of teachers and show no respect to them because they can get away with it and it makes them look good to other students. But what does this accomplish? A false sense of bravado and temporary pride, but most of all it deprives other students of a chance to learn. This is where the problem lies; when a student or group of students in a classroom are out of control they keep the teacher from performing his or her job. When any other student says anything to them or comments about it they are instantly the target of ridicule and animosity. Why is this the worst of them all? This is the worst because a classroom is a place where you check your egos at the door and go to learn without pride, envy, prejudice, and with an open mind.
Perhaps this is an ideological rant that is impractical and impossible to change, or maybe this is the gadfly that will get you thinking about how you behave in school and how it affects others. So next time you have an impulse to overreact to something petty just let it go. You don’t need to spend 10 to life because someone smudged your Pumas.