Authorities Are People Too

Authorities Are People Too

Hints: Remember, our attitudes toward our authorities will tell students more about respect than this lesson. If we as teachers constantly complain about the principal, the board, and our national leaders, our actions will no doubt speak louder than our words. If this is your case, remember, students respect candor over perceived hypocrisy. So, why not just admit:

"You know that I may not be the best one at respecting authorities. I get frustrated with them just like you. So this lesson is as much to me as it is to you. Let's dig in and see what we can learn together."

Purpose: To help students empathize with their authorities by realizing that they have feelings just like the rest of us. We need them. We can make their lives much easier by learning specific ways to show respect.

Preparation: 1. Have students practice the two skits (see below) and prepare the poster boards. 2. Bring a yo-yo. 3. If appropriate for your class, have two prizes for the teams which come up with the most items for the final brainstorm. Or, just reward both teams if they put forth equal effort.

Introduction

Rodney Dangerfield has been one of the most successful comedians of our time. Does anyone know what line he's famous for? ("I Can't Get No Respect!") Dangerfield isn't alone in his feeling. Most authorities feel that they get little respect. During this session we'll explore why this is often the case, and what we can do about it.

Part 1 - "I Can't Get No Respect!" Respecting Authorities

Skit #1: The Guy Skit: "Bad, Bad Biker Boys"

Opening Scene: Billy and Bob sit on bicycles, talking really big and tough.

Billy: Well, we sure beat the traffic by riding our bikes home from school.

Bob: Yeah, that was a great idea to hide them out behind the school trash cans. Those dumb teachers will never know...

Billy: Don't authorities make you sick, always telling you what to do?

Bob: Yeah! Like old principal Smith, always telling us "Respect Your School!" "Stop Writing on the Walls!" Blah, blah, blah.

Billy: Party Poopers. That's all they are. Parents and school officials...always stopping fun where ever they find it. What use are they anyway?

Scene: Four intimidating bullies walk up to them.

Bully #1: So what have we here?

Bully #2: A couple of runts riding their stashed bikes from school.

Bully #3: Since the school officials and their parents don't know they're here...

Bully #4: ...I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we borrowed their bikes for a couple of years!

Billy and Bob (Yelling at the same time): Principle Smith! Any teachers! Mom!!!!

(Lead in clapping for the actors, as they take a bow.)

Debriefing: Why do you think Billy and Bob didn't like their authorities? How did the incident with the bullies show the need for authorities?

Discussion: Benefits of Anarchy Versus Perils of Anarchy

Billy and Bob were talking like this world would be better off without authorities. Who knows what it's called when no authorities and no government exists? (Anarchy). Let's write on one side of the board the Benefits of Anarchy (Write it on the top of one side) and the Perils, or Disadvantages of Anarchy.

(Start with the advantages, as students dream of all the fun they could have with no authorities to stop their fun -- take all the candy you want from stores, stay up all night, etc. Write down each of the advantages they mention. Then, go to the other side of the board to see how anarchy would actually hinder our freedom -- gangs would steal our candy at gunpoint when we got outside of the store. We'd sleep all day and miss our education. We could drive cars at age 10, but there would be no laws on the road, so that it would be too dangerous to drive.)

(Alternative Illustration: You might provoke more thought by suggesting, "What if we had a basketball tournament with no referees to enforce the rules, resulting in an "anything goes" game? Someone claims 3-points for a close shot, then runs out of bounds with the ball and comes back later that night claiming the ball's still in play. Would basketball really be any fun without the rules? Isn't it the same with life?)

(Alternative Activity for Older Students): divide up the class into two teams and debate the issue of anarchy versus government.)

Object lesson: Bring a Yo-Yo to class. Let a couple of students show off their tricks with it. Say, "Now, let us imagine that the yo-yo says, 'I'm tired of this string. It keeps me from going as far as I want. I want to be free to go as far as I can!'"

(Take the string off of the Yo-Yo.) Okay! You're free buddy! Do what you want! (Drop it on your desk and watch it just sit there as you continue to request it to do different tricks.) Now someone come up and do a trick with it.

Debriefing: What's our point? (A yo-yo is only free to be all it was created to be if it has a string. In the same say, we can only be all we were created to be in a world with the guidelines of authorities and laws.

To change the analogy, have you ever had the string break when you were flying a kite? What happens when it breaks free? (It wobbles and falls to the ground.) Kites and yo-yo's can't do what they were created to do unless they stay tied to a string. Authorities are our strings that keep us in line so that we can live successful lives.

Summary: We need authorities. We need government. As much as authorities sometimes frustrate us, without them, life would be miserable.

Transition: So how can we get along better with our authorities?

Part II: Authorities are People Too - Helping Authorities

Skit #2: The Girl Skit: "Mean on the Outside; Hurting on the Inside"

Preparation: Have poster boards that say "Talk to One Another," "Throw Paper and Planes," "Booo! Hisss!" "Scene 2: the Counselors' Office."

Have students make some quick paper airplanes before the skit.

Introduction: Tell the class that they will all be involved with this skit. "Pam will be the teacher in this skit. But rather than do what she says, do what the poster behind her says to do."

Teacher Pam (sitting at the teacher's desk, talking rather arrogantly): OK class, it's time to settle down (student behind Pam holds up poster saying "Talk to One Another").

Teacher Pam (standing and walking to the board): This is the assignment we want you to be working on (writes "Math book, pages 23-25..."). (As she writes, student holds up poster that says, "throw planes and paper at board.)

Teacher Pam (Getting visibly irritated and talking rather mean): Okay class, settle down right now! I want you to do this home work right now! (Poster says, "Booooo!" "Hisssss")

Teacher Pam walks out of the room in a fit of rage.

Poster announces "Scene 2: The Counselors' Office."

Counselor Sue is sits beside the teacher's desk.

Teacher Pam: Knocks at the door. (She has put some water in her eyes from the outside water fountain.)

Counselor Sue: Come in!

Teacher Pam: Enters, bursting into tears. "Counselor Sue, I need you!"

Counselor Sue: Standing up to meet and hug her. "What's the matter?"

Teacher Pam: "Everything! My husband's leaving for Iraq tomorrow. My baby is sick in the hospital. I'm worried sick about everything, and now my class is out of control and I'll probably get fired for not being a good enough teacher!"

Counselor Sue: (Walking with Pam back to the door.) Let's go for a walk and talk about it.

Clap for actresses.

Debriefing: What did you think about the teacher at the beginning of the skit? (She seemed rude and uncaring.) Did your opinion change toward her as the skit went on? How? Why? (Felt sorry for her when we understood what was going on inside.) How can this skit help us to put up with our authorities when they bug us? (Realize that they are people too, with their own problems to deal with.) Next time we get upset with an authority, let's remember that they've got their own problems that they deal with every day.

Story Time! (Perhaps let children pull their chairs around in a circle, or sit in a reading section. Use either good student readers, who've had time to practice the stories, or you can read to them.)

(Teacher: Consider sharing a story from your own life, when came to realize that one of your authorities was a person with feelings - perhaps a police officer, a parent, or a teacher. This is a story from my own life.)

Story #1: A Teacher With a Zipper Problem

I believe I was in the 11th grade. My teacher had on a pair of those pants with a really long stride, and each of us soon realized that he'd left his zipper open - a long zipper. As he droned on with his lecture, it got funnier and funnier to us, till finally he could tell we could no longer conceal our laughter as we kept glancing at his pants.

We knew we might be in trouble when, with no warning, he silently walked out of the room.

When he walked back in the class, we were sure that we were in trouble. Instead, he faced us with a very disappointed look and said one sentence that I'll never forget:

"I just wish that someone had had the decency to tell me."

In that moment, we went from laughter to shame. I believe that until then I'd never fully realized that my teachers had feelings, just like me. They get embarrassed. They have hopes and dreams. They want to feel important. They want others to look up to them and respect them. I never laughed at a teacher again.

Debriefing: What are some ways that we show disrespect for authorities? (Breaking their rules, laughing at them, talking about them behind their backs.) How do you think that makes your authorities feel? (Just like we would feel if people treated us that way.)

Story #2: A Military Man Rethinks Authorities

Benny Mardones was a successful songwriter and singer who exploded onto the music scene in the 1980's. He sent radio personality "Delilah" a story of how an event in his life forever changed his attitude towards authorities.

At eighteen years of age, Benny's dreams of rock and roll stardom had to wait until he got out of the military. Stationed in Europe aboard the USS Springfield, he had a terrible attitude toward authority. In his own words,

''…I was anti-authority. I grew up hanging on street corners and thought of myself as a tough guy. Nobody told me what to do. Well, as you can imagine, I was always in trouble or on report for insubordination. Even when I obeyed an order, it was with an attitude.''

One morning Chief Sullivan and the ship's chaplain told him the bad news that his grandfather had died the night before. They were giving him emergency leave to be with the family and perhaps make the funeral. He couldn't believe it! His granddad had been like a father to him, a tough man who gave stability to his world, the patriarch of his family. He simply couldn't die.

Desperately wanting to see his grandfather's body before they buried him, he flew to Italy to catch a flight to the USA. His attitude continued to sour. He was thinking,

''The navy sucks! I ain't never taking another order, ever. If it wasn't for the navy, I'd have been home and Grandpa somehow would still be alive.''

Then a petty officer told him, ''Seaman Mardones, you've been bumped off your MATS flight – officers from NATO headquarters flying out to Washington. Sorry, we'll try to get you out tomorrow.''

At that point, he emotionally snapped. He yelled, ''My grandpa's dead. I gotta see him. Please!'' But the petty officer replied that there was nothing he could do. Hopeless, Mardones sat down by his duffel bag and started crying.

But an officer, a person who had authority over him, heard of his plight and offered to give up his seat for him. Mardones first stammered, then unashamedly hugged the officer. Although the other officers looked rather stunned, the sacrificing officer hugged him back and said, ''Good luck, son.''

Because of this kind officer, Mardones made the funeral, which helped bring closure to his significant relationship with his grandfather. This totally changed Mardones' attitude towards authorities. In his own words, ''I never looked at officers or people in positions of authority the same ever again.'' (Source: Rewritten by Steve Miller, from Love Someone Today : Encouragement and Inspiration for the Times of Our Lives by Delilah, Fireside; (May 2001), pp. 159-161)

Debriefing: It took a remarkable circumstance for Benny Mardones to learn a profound truth: authorities are people. Teachers and parents have good days and bad days. They try to do well but sometimes fail. They need encouragement and are dependant upon us to know that they're appreciated and that others care for them. Have you ever stopped to realize that your authorities are people? What could you do to show them your appreciation and to encourage them?

Brainstorm: Ways to Encourage our Authorities

It's easy for us to complain about the ways our authorities have let us down. But let's look back at ourselves from their perspective. Remember, they're human too. They need us just like we need them. What have we done for our authorities? Are they better off because we're in their lives? Are there ways we can make their lives easier? Let's answer that question in one final activity.

(Teacher: Put up these headings across your blackboard:

Parents, Teachers, Police, School Officials, [Employers - for older students only])

Divide the class in half. Ask each to appoint a secretary with a pencil and paper.

1 - You have 3 minutes to list examples of how people show disrespect to these authorities. (After the three minutes, reward the team with the most examples. Then, let each side share their lists, as you write the examples on the board.

2 - In 3 minutes, list examples of how we can show respect for these authorities. (After the three minutes, reward the team with the most examples. Then, let each side share their lists, as you write the examples on the board.)

Action Points

Let's put what we've learned into action! Look over the list of ways to show respect for our authorities and decide on a couple we can put into practice today. (For example: write a note to the custodian or principal or school counselor or front office personnel or lunch room or first aid helpers, encouraging them about the good job they do.)

Conclusion

For some of you, so many authority figures have let you down so badly that your gut reaction is to despise all authority. I challenge you to resist that temptation. We're not all bad. We've got a lot in common with you. We get hurt. We have dreams that get crushed. We like people to like us. We need you. So let's make a special attempt this week to get along.