Don't do this, don't do that

Consider the lyrics of the famous rock band, Pink Floyd:

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

"Wrong, Do it again!""If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding.
How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"
"You! Yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!"

I find it a bit amusing that as a veteran educator currently working on a doctorate in educational leadership, I still have this song downloaded on my computer from iTunes. After all, it does seem contrary to my value system. I'm sure my students would find it really amusing and probably be unable to hide their disbelief that a school principal could listen to such sacrilege.

But, perhaps there is something to be learned from the famous British rock band. I can't help but find the teachable moment here. The truth is that many individuals have gone through school and had BAD experiences with education. Experiences that have made them feel controlled, looked down upon, and unsuccessful. How else would the song resonate with so many if there was not an audience who shared this experience?

As a principal, my goal is to help students not feel the way the persona feels in the PF song. All of us have the inherent need to feel free, valued, and successful. When educators or parents are constantly saying don't, stop, you can't, and other negative phrases, it wears on a kid's sense of autonomy and freedom. Granted, all kids need limits. Don't think I'm not for saying no or being firm. However, I think instead of saying things in a negative way, we can usually teach and guide without the negativity. I'll discuss some of my ideas on how to do this in my next post.

For now, I'm going to listen to some more Pink Floyd and then maybe some Def Leppard. My students probably think I listen to classical music all the time????