Saturday, June 11, 2011

RISD: a deep breath before diving

This post, which will lay some groundwork.
Next post, which will be the most challenging and difficult for me

Then later this week two posts about subbing: one about how to be a
good sub and one for teachers about how to get results from a sub.

After that, not sure.


-= some scenarios to ponder =-
"Discuss amongst yourselves"
You have a box of puppies. There are ten puppies and you love them all.
One puppy continually injures, bullies, and annoys the others to the
degree that their sleep and feeding is not normal. The puppy destroys
any bedding you provide and anything else within reach. What do you do?

You are at a nice restaurant with your spouse. Customers at another
table are arguing loudly, discussing topics inappropriate for public
display, verbally abusing the staff and other customers, throwing things
on the floor and damaging the restaurant. What do you do? If you were
the manager what would you do? What is the likely outcome?

You are at a movie (drama, let's say) and the people behind you are
laughing raucously and talking so loudly that you cannot hear the
dialog. What do you do? If you were the manager what would you do?

You are at meeting at work and a co-worker continually disrupts the
presenter, wanders around the conference table and makes inappropriate
comments. What is likely to happen?

Your neighbor signals you to come over. You do, and he asks you to
borrow a tool. He really needs that tool; it is some kind of necessity
but he has lost or broken his. Within minutes you notice he has started
disassembling the borrowed tool or has already broken it. Only 25% of
the time do you get the tools back. What do you do?

You are playing Monopoly with a group of friends. One player
continually plays out of turn, takes money from the bank without cause,
and refuses to pay rent when he lands on a developed property. What do
you do? What is the likely outcome? Is it even a game as long as
disrupters are participating?

You live in a city. There are people roaming the city at night,
vandalizing and taking property. They are prone to casual violence,
both among themselves and to passers-by. What do you do as a citizen?
What would you expect the city to do?


-= what these scenarios have in common =-
These scenarios are intended to bring to the light our assumptions about
how individuals behave within a larger society, how we conform to
expectations or defy them, and how we choose to to deal with those that
disrupt shared systems.

I think the core idea here is that groups (cities, civilizations,
organizations or classrooms) are fragile structures and only function
when everyone plays by the same rules.

In first-world countries we call this "rule of law," and I suggest it is
a crucial difference between successful cultures and war-torn,
structurally/perpetually impoverished and murderous cultures.

I don't mean everyone has to be a clone or a Stepford wife or have no
personality; I do mean that any large group requires baseline
cooperation and it requires relatively few miscreants to bring it down
or greatly reduce its effectiveness.

-= what are you talking about? =-

I tell you that to tell you this: the majority of kids in RISD are
doing fine, and their behavior is fine, and they will be just fine.
There is a subset of the enrollment who are serially and seriously
disruptive and unresponsive to guidance. They disrupt your kid's
education the same way one jerk in a restaurant or a movie can run that
experience. They will greatly harm the academic effectiveness and
reputation of RISD if this matter is not addressed. First we talk about
it and someone has to bring up the topic. I'll do it in the next post.

But first a few biographical notes that may help you distinguish my
professional and civic concerns from personal preference or bias.


-= standard English =-
I do not always speak standard English. At home, with friends, with my
wife, or when typing out into the ether like this at 2am I am liable to
get sloppy (let's call it "creative") and use salty language. I am told
that after a few beers a Texas drawl sneaks out. Still, my language in
front of students, teachers, administration is standard English. This
is how society operates: you talk one way with your friends watching
football on TV and another way in the church pew. This isn't hypocrisy;
it's decorum.


-= modest means =-
I have eaten my share of frogs, squirrels, and rabbits when other food
was not available. I have lived in more than one trailer. A more recent
datapoint: my total income last year was less than $11k. I share this
not-so-flattering information because I want you to understand I am not completely without experience or compassion.

-= one more tidbit =-
My first girlfriend's name was Bonita Jackson.


posted by offline email

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