Ringing out through the halls
The syncopated flurry of footfalls
Every
day the same
Every
hour measured
Bell rings everyone moves
Up from desk and out to hall
Regimented footfalls from one room to the next
Bell marked days
Nine months of the year
Year
in and year out
Thirteen
years in all
Students graduate
They leave the halls
To lead a life with no bells at all
No
day the same
No
hour measured
Will they succeed
or will they fall
When they live a
life with no bells at all?
I
had this revelation of sorts one day when the bells weren’t working properly at
my school. Students were confused and
seemed to become a bit frayed around the edges trying to navigate a day without
their expected reminder of when class was out and when they needed to be to the
next classroom. Even on activity
schedule days, I notice the students are out of sorts, and teachers and
administrators spend a lot of time preparing them for that change in the days
leading up to the event. So I started
thinking – how does this effect these students long term; especially the ones
with a lack of support at home. I
understand why we need the bells and structured hours, but I wonder if some of
these kids aren’t left at odd ends when they graduate and are suddenly living a
life without all the built in fail-safes, regimentation and support. Think
about how many times you greet students throughout the halls each day – each time
you acknowledge them you are offering them support. Each hour they know exactly where they need to be and often exactly which seat they are to sit in. We offer - in most cases - clear instructions for each task. So I wonder...Are we leaving these kids without a safety
net? Are we building in expectations
they can’t hope to find after they leave school? It is something that has been chewing in the back of my head for the past few weeks.
