Is it ethical to starve students of independence?

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Modernthinker
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Is it ethical to starve students of independence?

Post by Modernthinker »

In my experience, high school students are losing freedoms of responsibility and are being treated more like elementary school students than in the past. It is understandable that many adjustments are in reaction to concerns of student safety, such as keeping track of where students are at all times (via hall passes, restrictions on visiting a car in the parking lot during the day, ect.), but there appears to be a fine line between independence and lack of trust, thus resulting in lack of responsibility and accountability. Students are also being closely watched by parents and teachers, in part to advancements in technology and rising pressures on student performance.

Building off of the idea of monitoring students' activities, the question arises of whether it is ethical to restrict the freedom and privacy of high school students to the extent that it is becoming restricted. For instance, a local high school has now invoked a program that will email copies of students' work to their parents upon completion for a creative writing class. Such invasion of privacy by the forced openness between student and parent comes with more drawbacks than benefits. Students are now feeling more pressure to censor their creativity in fear of parental judgement. The ideal situation, which the school wrongly assumed holds true, is that parents and students will form better relationships through such openness. However, relationships that are already tense may worsen, thus forcing a student to provide less authentic work for the sake of the privacy of their thoughts. This particular class has also proven beneficial to students struggling with mental health issues as a way to vent to like-minded people and an understanding teacher through writing.

Is such invasion on the privacy of students ethical? It is all well-intended by administrators, but can it possibly be beneficial to students?
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AceOfBlades
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Re: Is it ethical to starve students of independence?

Post by AceOfBlades »

Have we been conditioned to live in a society heading in the direction of less independence?
Are we responsible enough to be aloud to live our lives everyday in such manners as to not only risk our own security, but also the security of others?
Is free will a gift or a curse?

Should students live in chains? Should we condition them to obey, sacrificing free will in the name of security? Should we all be cogs in a machine, so that we may succeed together? And if so, to what end? What is our goal? What is it we are trying to accomplish by trading our freedom for the safety of the familiar, functioning machine that is modern society?

I take oppression as a challenge, a dare to break the norms of society, a wall that exists to be broken down so that we may all embrace who we truly are. Next time you judge someone for daring to express who they are, keep in mind that they are freer than you or I will ever be, we the individuals bound by societal expectations. I lack the strength of will to live what i preach.
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Modernthinker
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Re: Is it ethical to starve students of independence?

Post by Modernthinker »

AceOfBlades wrote:Have we been conditioned to live in a society heading in the direction of less independence?
It seems that way. However, it is our free will that makes us human, which may serve as a feasible explanation for why people seem, statistically, to be more anxious and depressed than in previous generations. When you take away the very aspect that makes a human human, it can become incredibly difficult to function.
AceOfBlades wrote:Are we responsible enough to be aloud to live our lives everyday in such manners as to not only risk our own security, but also the security of others?
Is free will a gift or a curse?
It is not a matter of responsibility. Removing all dangers to individuals deprives us of our ability to learn and grow. Mistakes and pain are necessary for human development. Free will may be a gift and a curse, but it is indifferent to its classification. It reaps with its power in good and in bad.
AceOfBlades wrote:Should students live in chains? Should we condition them to obey, sacrificing free will in the name of security? Should we all be cogs in a machine, so that we may succeed together? And if so, to what end? What is our goal? What is it we are trying to accomplish by trading our freedom for the safety of the familiar, functioning machine that is modern society?
In my opinion, students should be more free than restrained. Conditioning them to obey simply makes it easier for teachers and authority, but produces less thoughtful, less intelligent adults. There is no success if we are all cogs in a machine. There is only success when individual freedom can be attained and used in manners in which it does not threaten others' freedoms. Our goal is subjective. Ultimately, it seems to be to gain a sense of fulfillment, success, and/or happiness.
AceOfBlades wrote:I take oppression as a challenge, a dare to break the norms of society, a wall that exists to be broken down so that we may all embrace who we truly are. Next time you judge someone for daring to express who they are, keep in mind that they are freer than you or I will ever be, we the individuals bound by societal expectations. I lack the strength of will to live what i preach.
That is an inspiring perspective. Without the bounds of societal expectations, we would not be able to rebel and create change where change is due. Without the critical judgement of others, we would have no obstacles to overcome, and whatever we wish to attain would not provide a satisfaction of the same magnitude.
Andrian
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Re: Is it ethical to starve students of independence?

Post by Andrian »

I tend to agree with Modern Thinker's original post here. High school ought to be a time where children are taking on more responsibility for their actions as preparation for entering the adult world. Part of that entails having the freedom to explore one's own beliefs and feelings, as well as the freedom to make one's own choices and deal with the consequences of those choices. The less they are allowed to do that, the less prepared they will be to make their own decisions once they are out on their own.

In my experience, high school English classes tend to be a bastion of free inquiry amidst a system that generally attempts to repress individuality and independent thinking. I fear that those who oppose those ideals could easily abuse policies such as the one described to prevent the cultivation of such values.
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LuckyR
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Re: Is it ethical to starve students of independence?

Post by LuckyR »

This issue has two sides. On one hand it is true that "back in the day" there was a lot less supervision and "hand holding" to use a pejorative. No doubt, from the oldtimer perspective, this sort of thing encouraged independent thinking, self reliance, thinking on one's feet and all sorts of great sounding self congratulatory effects. However, the other side of the coin is that it isn't 1975 anymore. A lot of other things have changed, partially enhanced dangers, increased litigation/overwatch, in addition to different expectations and acceptance of failure. Long story short it is too easy to look at bygone times with rose colored glasses. Not to say that there isn't some truth about the value of the sink or swim technique. It definitely speeds learning swimming, but it may have an unacceptably high risk of drowning.
"As usual... it depends."
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Burning ghost
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Re: Is it ethical to starve students of independence?

Post by Burning ghost »

I think this is a really difficult thing to judge. You say "in your experience" and I don't know what that experience is nor how to unbiasly compare it to the all past instances across all schools.

The way you word the title of the thread you've already decided that they are being "starved". I cannot really say that monitoring students is interferring with independence unless it is obvious. If it is, is it really a large concern or a mere drop in the ocean. Are we concerned at being overly concerned because we see their position only through the eyes of adulthood and experience at a somewhat disjointed distance that merely seems comparable. Who of us can really see back to what it was like to be a teenager? If we think we can are we fooling ourselves?

I would certainly want more freedom for students. This would entail an overhaul of the entire education system though starting at primary schooling and what I would have in mind would be costly and take decades to introduce in order to maintain some social stability.

If we could create an environment where students monitored each other and debated and chose what to do acting as a social body it would be great. Even in such an environment adults generally have more life experience and can share their wisdom and apply it to help students.
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