SGO: Power and Control

Power is somewhat of a force. Instead of belonging to people it moves through people. In some cases it is given and in other cases it is earned. In any case, power gives one the ability to influence and create.
Control is similar to power and can sometimes be a product of it. When one directs power and uses its influence to its full extent, one is in control.

First, I'd like to trace the system of power through a continuation schoo.
We have all stepped into a classroom at some point in our lives. We have all experienced the hierarchy that lies within a school system. Usually we do not realize the convoluted nature of this hierarchy, so dependent on attention, power, and ultimately respect, but if one were to step into a continuation school, more specifically a continuation high school, the hierarchy and its many paths would come quickly apparent.
Firstly it is important for us to understand that attending a continuation school is like having detention during recess. While everyone else goes on with their daily lives at normal high schools, those at a continuation school find themselves keeping up with the outside through snippets and shouts from afar. Continuation schools are not ignored, but they are not usually mentioned either. Seen as a place for kids on their last chance, many outside sources such as district administrators view continuation schools as unnecessary or a waste of time and money. A continuation school is a school that lives on the fringes, a place where 'bad kids' go when normal high schools can't deal with them anymore.
In this sort of environment there is a struggle to be seen and heard. The principal struggles for attention from the heads of the schools, the parents, the students and the heads of the districts. The secretary struggles for attention from the parents, and the students. The teachers struggle for attention from the students, and the parents. The students themselves, more often than not, struggle for attention from anyone who will give it to them. It seems as if the only people who do not struggle to be noticed are the janitors whose comings and goings are hardly noticed by the unemptied trashcans.
But the power struggles are not as straightforward as it seems. The balance of power changes on a day-to-day basis. The principal, within the confines of the school, holds the most power. She is the one who cuts deals with students and parents alike. She holds the power to change schedules, and administer punishments from detentions to expulsions. However, it is the part of being noticed that is the hardest for the principal. The principal's primary goal is to deal with the bureaucratic issues involved in running a school, so that these kids can have a decent education. Not only does this require at least some motivation on the part of the student who is many times on his or her last chance, it also involves the tracking down of busy administrators. In a district filled with everything from ambitious AP students to apathetic rebellious students, it is somewhat understandable the administrator's desire to concentrate his or her efforts on the already ambitious students. However this is precisely the sort of attitude that leads rebellious students to become more and more apathetic towards their own education. The principal also struggles to make sure that parents and students alike understand the significance of the school in their own lives. She meets with students and makes calls to parents trying to stress the importance of education, the importance of enforcing rules, and the importance of listening to what is being said. The principal finds herself fighting for all these ideas, all the while attempting to convince the outside world that a continuation school is not a place for easy credits. The principal's fight for attention, her fight for power outside of the school lies with her ability to convince people to take her and her school seriously. Within the school she is the guiding light for the students and parents that pass through there.
The teachers use power in a most unique way. Their power depends partially on the interest of a student, and this is the biggest struggle for a teacher. The teachers hold within them all the knowledge the students must, or want to know. The teachers choose what the pass on and what to withhold. The teachers are able to decide what view of the world, fair or not, that the students see. They can teach their students to be optimists or pessimists. They can teach students to be healthy of unhealthy. Unless one of the students takes their own initiative outside of a classroom, then he or she is going to accept the view of the world that the teacher presents to them. For example, if I were to teach that two negatives equaled another negative, my students would continue to use this faulty knowledge, unless one of them were to speak up and state the contrary. The teacher is put into the position of being able to mold young minds to agree with their own ideals while knowing that they should educate the kids and allow them to make their own decision. In a way, a teacher wields more power than the principal and district administrators combined. If a teacher plays their cards right then they can influence students for the rest of their lives. A teacher also has the power to decide what kind of teacher they want to be. Some teachers, especially at a continuation school, find themselves distancing themselves from the students and maintaining a more unfeeling and frigid attitude. Other teachers choose to integrate themselves into the student lives and become more emotionally involved. Both approaches have their ups and their downs and both allow the teacher different kinds of power over the students. The first method is used by some teachers due to the fact that these kids come and go all the time. It certainly does not help that most of these kids have lives that are a little bit difficult to hear about. The second method allows for more stress and emotional involvement on the part of the teacher, but also allows more personal level of interest with the students. The first allows for a stricter, more structured teaching environment, but the second allows for are more interactive, lighthearted atmosphere in the classroom, but also more difficult to control environment. It is up to the teacher to decide what works best for his or her own abilities and students.
However the student holds a certain amount of power over the teacher as well. They have the power to learn or not to learn. There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Teachers open the door, you enter by yourself.” This is definitely true for a continuation school. Whether students take advantage of the education and opportunity given to them is completely up to the individual. Some students study hard for their education while others would obviously rather be elsewhere. Some students dream of college while others dream of nothing more than the upcoming weekend. But all students, to a certain degree find themselves fighting for attention from the very same teachers they try to gain control over. Whether they want to learn or not they strive to be noticed among a sea of faces. Despite the fact that this is a continuation school with little over 30 students in all, there is still a fear of being ignored, forgotten, or invisible to the people that surround them.
In a continuation school attention equals power. To have attention is to be heard. Like a kid asked to stay in class during recess, any message that may want to be sent to the outside world must be shouted loud and clear. The members of a continuation school know this. They also know that the person closest to the door, the person with the most power, is the one who will succeed in getting their message across. Thus there is a pushing and shoving and scrambling in order to get to the best position possible. Like any society there emerges an alpha male and an alpha female, both of which, in a continuation school, are clearly marked. These are the ones that can shout the loudest, and garner the most respect from the most people. They may not be the best liked, but they are definitely the best qualified for their job. This goes for the students, the teachers, and most importantly the principal.
Respect is another key to power in a continuation school. Without respect, one finds that attention is hard to come by. Some students find that they can garner respect temporarily by acting tough or daring to break rules in a way that no one else will dare. They attempt to emulate the air of indifference surrounding those that actually do hold that respect. As with most situations, admitting that something is important to you is admitting that you have a sense of vulnerability and it means opening oneself up to the manipulations of others. Thus those that lack respect are the ones that are taken advantage of by the ones that have it.
Those that already hold respect are showered with all the attention they could want from people that admire, appreciate, or want to be like them. Many times this sort of power is abused by the students who find themselves at the top of the respect ladder. They manipulate and play games with those that have still not mastered the technique of acquiring respect. However theses sorts of diversions can backfire and lead to a loss of respect.
While respect is important for students, it is far more important for teachers. If a teacher at a continuation school does not acquire respect or show that they are worthy of respect in the first couple days then the students are sure to take advantage of that fact and begin to try and assert their own authority over the teacher’s authority. But how exactly does one go about achieving this respect? For a teacher to be respected at a continuation school there must be an unspoken understanding between teacher and student that this is a two way relationship. In exchange for taking in information that the teacher gives the student, the student must feel like they are able to express themselves and their ideas to the teacher. The students want to know that their teachers understand a bit of their world and that the teachers know where they are coming from. A teacher’s goal is obviously to educate the student and help the student take the next step in life. This give and take relationship usually allows for a more relaxed and easygoing learning environment. Though many teachers will have a more impassive attitude, there still must exist a personal level of communication between student teacher. This will not only garner respect, but trust.
Let’s look at the example of one of the students at the continuation school in which I work. His name, for the purpose of this essay, is George. George is an average student, doing just enough work to get by. He has trouble paying attention in class, and does his best to get his teachers off track whenever he is bored. He too reflects this hierarchy. First he attempts to get attention by disrupting the classroom, or making some sort of ruckus. This of course is much appreciated by the students who would rather be elsewhere and welcome his antics as an alternative to the teacher’s lecture. This leads him to gain a little bit of power. He is the center of attention, but he still isn’t there yet. George has seen other kids like, for example, Tim, who exudes an air of calm and confidence. He attempts to pass of this incident in a similar manner. He nonchalantly tries to brush the incident over, doing his best to sweet-talk and apologize to the teacher. This may or may not earn his respect from all of his peers, but for the students that look up to the power held by people like George and Tim, it is just another layer of icing on the cake.
A continuation school holds within it a strange, and many times confusing, hierarchy. One may note that there is very little mention of the school rules here. This is because at a continuation school, the school rules don’t hold as much power as the student’s ability to break them and the teacher’s ability to enforce them, despite opposition. Thus, the need for power turns into a need for respect, and the need for respect turns into a need for attention. No matter what the situation, these elements prevail and hold true. As in any situation those with power are not willing to sacrifice power for the well being of others, and those without power want it badly enough to play right into the hands of those with power. The dynamic that exists in a continuation school is both unique and to be expected.

Formal mechanisms of control: School rules, teachers, principal.

Informal mechanisms of control: Parents, peers, age.



[This turned out a bit longer than I intended....]