//SMALL
you.” “See you in class tomorrow?” “Yeah.” Tis hypothetical conversation isn’t what
Befriending authority T
... and drawing the line
SWANI VINTON
swanivinton@csdecatur.net
hanks for listening. I feel like I can tell you anything.” “Of course, I’ll always be there for
you would expect between a student and a teacher.
Can students and teachers actually be
friends? “I would never say that I am a friend to a student. Tey don’t need me to be their friend,” social studies teacher Doug Altizer said. In his eyes, students can come talk to a teacher if they need help or support, but if the teacher becomes friends with a student, it compromises the role of a teacher. Schools hire teachers to teach a subject,
but they’re also there as mentors outside of that subject. “Teachers are there for a dif- ferent purpose [than friends are] ... to hold you accountable but to also support you in difficult times in a way that a friend couldn’t,” Altizer said. “Teachers and professors usually get into this line of work because they enjoy the pro- cess of helping students – academically and personally,” Davidson College psychology professor Cole Barton said. Teachers benefit from helping students. Tere is only a certain amount of personal
information teachers and students are al- lowed to share with each other. “I don’t think teachers should be talking about [things like] ‘Oh, I’m having trouble with my marriage,’”
NATIONAL STATS 44%
57.1% 30.1
of teachers were under 40 years old in the 2007/2008 school year, which makes the majority of teachers nearly twice a student’s age.
of teachers are currently taking college courses, which makes them students, too.
is the average age of teachers. Tis makes most teachers about 14 years older than the average high-school student.
http://nces.ed.gov
Altizer said. “If they are get- ting a divorce, and it’s going to be public knowledge anyway, then it’s okay to share that.” It all depends on if sharing personal stories is appropriate in the context of the situation. Altizer gives a simple ex- planation on why students and teachers can’t be friends. “Kids want limits, and there aren’t too many limits in a friendship,” Altizer said. The old saying ‘different
strokes for different folks’ applies to friendships too. “Tere are hundreds of theo- ries and models about people and friendships,” Barton said. “Individuals vary dramatically in their desire for friends and what they expect from rela- tionships.”
Te ethics code for teachers in Georgia states that teach- ers should “always maintain a professional relationship with all students, both in and outside the classroom.” Many teachers at Decatur keep their personal life completely out of the school environment. Principal Lauri McKain adds that stu- dents should feel comfortable with their teachers as well. “Students should feel like they can talk to teachers to find more in- formation, whether it be that they liked the class and want more information or that they don’t understand the content.” If a student knows a teacher for a longer
Junior Michael Thibadeau and teacher Stephen Gathany enjoy an unexpected friendship. Thibadeau let Gathany borrow his snow- board when Gathany went on vacation to Colorado.
they confide in their teachers. “You have to view teachers as teachers in the school set- ting,” Tibadeau said. “In the classroom, he’s not Stephen, he’s
Mr.Gathany.” Te legality behind relationships between
period of time, then the standards change. Junior Michael Thibadeau believes that because his friendship with teacher Stephen Gathany started before he was even in high school, it differs from the standard teacher/ student friendship. “It all varies on how closely you know a
teacher,” Tibadeau said. His interactions with Gathany are different than with other teachers, holding actual conversations more related to his personal life rather than the cut-and-dry list of events that he shares with other teachers. The same goes for what students say. Students have to be careful with how much
teachers and students is completely different than between students. Teachers are obli- gated to report certain things that students say they struggle with, such as violence or addictions. Friends aren’t legally obligated to report anything that friends say. Most people believe that what makes City
Schools of Decatur different is that there is a greater sense of community that you won’t find in other places. “Tere is a grayer level of relationships in Decatur, especially if you live here,” Altizer said. “It’s a small town.” Occasionally, students will see their schoolteachers around the square or driving home in Winnona Park. McKain explains that it’s not necessar-
ily the size of the schools as opposed to the personality of a student. “Some people just have a more open personality and are able to be friends with adults more easily,” McKain said. n
OCTOBER 2011 • CARPE DIEM 15
Photo by Swani Vinton
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