# Questionable traditions in educational theatre.



## gafftapegreenia (Nov 17, 2017)

I saw this article yesterday about a high school drama teacher who was suspended by her district for ten days after she allowed an established student led tradition proceed. It was the sort of tradition that some would view as fraternal and playful, and others would view as straight up hazing.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/commu...-suspension-over-theater-tradition/868747001/

It would seem to me that many educational theatre groups, both high school and collegiate, have traditions that could and have faced increasing scrutiny. For those that work in the educational sector, how have you handles these traditions? Where do you draw the line in the sand between traditions and hazing, and what do you do when you have to be the bad guy and put and end to something that might have been perfectly fine in the 1980s but is no longer allowable in 2017?


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## seanandkate (Nov 17, 2017)

As a high school teacher of 25 years, but coming from a professional theatre background, I luckily never had to eliminate a tradition like that. The educational sector always has to keep an eye on the optics of what we do, and I'm not sure the "ass platter" would pass any public opinion litmus test. When I first came to my present school 23 years ago, my test for any practice in the space was "is this the way it is done professionally?" If not, let's talk about why it isn't. When I came here, there was a semi "tradition" about closing night pranks that I had to eliminate. But when the students started to work and practice as professionals, the quality of the work went up, as did their pride in what they did. Would the "ass platter" survive around here? Nope, nope, nope.
*“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”*


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## TheaterEd (Nov 17, 2017)

Being from the area, I have definitely heard that name. I'm pretty sure a friend of mine student taught with her actually.

That being said, yeah that tradition has to go.

When my co-worker and I took over this schools theater organization, our first year we did our best to accommodate student traditions. Some were harmless like "the old theater's ghost was named norm so I'm sure he just moved down to this theater" and some left us open to putting our jobs at risk, like the 'lock-in' where the theater kids would all spend the night in the school. Our school isn't very easy to segment off, so if a couple of kids really wanted to sneak off, it would be almost impossible to have enough supervision to prevent it. We supervised the lock in our first year, but the next year we introduced a 'retreat weekend' where we pull the kids from class on a Friday a couple weeks before tech and go to a near-by retreat center for an overnight-trip and two full days of rehearsal. Did we get some push-back from some seniors when they didn't get to do the lock in? YEP! The next year though, no push back whatsoever, and now the kids don't even know that it used to be a thing.

Additionally, cast parties used to be followed by a lot of rumors and whispering during the following weeks. We talked to the parents and now they organize and have plenty of other parents present for the cast parties to chaperone and make sure the kids aren't breaking any laws or athletic code rules.

So our strategy has always been to replace the poor practice with an alternative. Deal with the kick back, and then move on.


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## EdSavoie (Nov 17, 2017)

Ahhh, Lock-ins. I'm from a 750~ person high-school, which is a lot smaller than other mega-schools I hear are rather common. They have a yearly lock-in for charity, and simply unlock / allow access to areas based on how much supervision is available in a given year.

The only annoyance for us was last year, when there was insufficient supervision to cover the same area as previous years. This lead to the arguably poor decision of locking the auditorium instead of another room, seeing as it always acted as the main gathering place during a lock-in, as well as the only place properly equipped to have that year's NGO make their presentation.

To be fair, we the high-school technicians will not deny a good show, so we carted what we un-ironically and admittedly somewhat immaturely dubbed the "Hype Train."
The hype train was comprised of a main cart equipped with a chair, desk, comically overkill mixer and an EPQ-1200 stereo amplifier.

The second and third "cars" where wheeled Yorkville Elite Maxim 1000 cabinets. They are why we decided to name this audio caravan the "Hype Train" as the wheels made a thunderous noise rolling down the hallways.


Immature? Likely.
Fun? Most certainly.
Fuelled by sleep deprivation? Well, this was the week before show week. So yes, yes it was.

It's basically the one event where we don't have any actual expectations or tasks, and are just free to have fun.


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## bobgaggle (Nov 20, 2017)

seanandkate said:


> When I first came to my present school 23 years ago, my test for any practice in the space was "is this the way it is done professionally?" If not, let's talk about why it isn't.



I'm not sure, the "ass platter" seems tame compared to some of the stuff I've seen in professional theater. In one, production I worked the cast and design team all had a party after the first rehearsal. A kind of "get to know everyone" event. By the end of the night there were people almost competitively "baby birding" each other. (chewing up some food and spitting it into each other's mouths). Sooooooo, maybe the litmus test for what "professionals" do isn't the best metric by which we judge high schooler's activities. Not to mention, getting high after a show is a very common bonding event among "professionals"...


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## seanandkate (Nov 20, 2017)

#1 -- I'm talking best practices. #2 -- Please invite me to your parties.


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## icewolf08 (Nov 20, 2017)

Here is something to think about: Is the "tradition" the problem, or has there been a societal shift in mentality?

That kinda goes for everything in this thread. I mean, there really shouldn't be any harm in an event like a school sponsored "lock-in." It should be a good way to build community and school spirit. However society today tries to find all the faults and flaws. Sure, a lack of supervision is an issue, but over all, society seems to be growing more and more afraid of such activities. It seems to me that we are growing over-protective, offering less freedom, and relying too much on tech and screens to entertain kids these days.


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## RonHebbard (Nov 20, 2017)

icewolf08 said:


> Here is something to think about: Is the "tradition" the problem, or has there been a societal shift in mentality?
> 
> That kinda goes for everything in this thread. I mean, there really shouldn't be any harm in an event like a school sponsored "lock-in." It should be a good way to build community and school spirit. However society today tries to find all the faults and flaws. Sure, a lack of supervision is an issue, but over all, society seems to be growing more and more afraid of such activities. It seems to me that we are growing over-protective, offering less freedom, and relying too much on tech and screens to entertain kids these days.


 @icewolf08 It galls me to see two, three, or four young uns standing in a circle "speaking" to each other by thumb typing on their phones. Whatever happened to actually speaking, looking at and listening to each other, you know, like actually talking? You lads actually still talk to each other while you're having nerf wars or whatever *they're* called at Tait, right?
*EDIT:* Misspelled they're as their. Oops! Bad Ron! Bad!! [It's NEVER too late to correct a post]
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## icewolf08 (Nov 20, 2017)

RonHebbard said:


> @icewolf08You lads actually still talk to each other while you're having nerf wars or whatever their called at Tait, right?
> Toodleoo!
> Ron Hebbard.


While the carpet-walkers have their nerf fights, the rest of us a busy trying to put out the fires they started... We don’t have time to not talk to each Other!


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## TheaterEd (Nov 21, 2017)

icewolf08 said:


> I mean, there really shouldn't be any harm in an event like a school sponsored "lock-in." It should be a good way to build community and school spirit. However society today tries to find all the faults and flaws. Sure, a lack of supervision is an issue, but over all, society seems to be growing more and more afraid of such activities. It seems to me that we are growing over-protective, offering less freedom, and relying too much on tech and screens to entertain kids these days.



The biggest problem we have is liability. I know the majority of my kids are trustworthy, but if little Debbie and Johnnie sneak off, do the deed, and get pregnant. Now the school could get sued and I know who is the most expendable person that can be sacrificially fired to calm the masses. Not worth the risk for me. 

One nice thing that has happened recently is that the school has banned cell phones during instructional time. All phones must be placed in a caddy at the front of the room. Any student caught with a phone out of the caddy loses said device for the day on the first warning, and the week on the second. No phone in the caddy, then no bathroom break for you (obviously there are exceptions).


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## bobgaggle (Nov 21, 2017)

We coddle too much. Put some responsibility on the kids now or they won't learn it later. If Debbie and Johnnie sneak off and get pregnant, that's Debbie and Johnnies fault. If Joe punches Tim, that's Joe's fault. Unless Tim was asking for it. This whole idea of "kids can't be responsible for themselves" and the adults are liable is incredibly stupid. Adults should be expected to provide reasonable supervision, not restrict all opportunities for fear of repercussions for someone else's actions. Kids should man up and own their actions, adults too. /rant


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## RonHebbard (Nov 21, 2017)

bobgaggle said:


> We coddle too much. Put some responsibility on the kids now or they won't learn it later. If Debbie and Johnnie sneak off and get pregnant, that's Debbie and Johnnies fault. If Joe punches Tim, that's Joe's fault. Unless Tim was asking for it. This whole idea of "kids can't be responsible for themselves" and the adults are liable is incredibly stupid. Adults should be expected to provide reasonable supervision, not restrict all opportunities for fear of repercussions for someone else's actions. Kids should man up and own their actions, adults too. /rant


@bobgaggle Please feel free to turn the rant back on and provide condoms in conveniently located dispensers at affordable prices. Feel free to charge extra for flavored, novelties and extra large sizes. Profit's not a bad word. If you were in Canada, you'd want to consider stocking winter-weight condoms as well. We have a saying up here I've always loved: "Hurrah, hurrah, the first of May; Outdoor phuquing starts today!"
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## TheaterEd (Nov 21, 2017)

bobgaggle said:


> Put some responsibility on the kids now or they won't learn it later



Fully agree with you there. And as soon as the school and I are granted immunity from these kind of lawsuits, I'm all for bringing back the sleep overs.

The hardest part about teaching isn't the students, it's the parents (sometimes it's both).


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## icewolf08 (Nov 21, 2017)

TheaterEd said:


> The biggest problem we have is liability. I know the majority of my kids are trustworthy, but if little Debbie and Johnnie sneak off, do the deed, and get pregnant. Now the school could get sued and I know who is the most expendable person that can be sacrificially fired to calm the masses. Not worth the risk for me.
> 
> One nice thing that has happened recently is that the school has banned cell phones during instructional time. All phones must be placed in a caddy at the front of the room. Any student caught with a phone out of the caddy loses said device for the day on the first warning, and the week on the second. No phone in the caddy, then no bathroom break for you (obviously there are exceptions).



I like the banning phones and devices. Kids spend way too much time in front of screens (I probably do too, but that is another story). I used to work at a summer camp that banned screens for the entire summer. Makes a huge impact on kids lives and interpersonal skills.

Your first point illustrates the problem with our society. You just can't hold the school or the chaperones responsible for every little thing. If Debbie and Johnnie want to get it on, it wouldn't matter if there was a chaperone for every kid, they would manage to find a dark corner to do it. That is just life. The problem is that no one want to take responsibility for themself or their kids, especially if there are other easy targets. It is ridiculous.


bobgaggle said:


> We coddle too much. Put some responsibility on the kids now or they won't learn it later. If Debbie and Johnnie sneak off and get pregnant, that's Debbie and Johnnies fault. If Joe punches Tim, that's Joe's fault. Unless Tim was asking for it. This whole idea of "kids can't be responsible for themselves" and the adults are liable is incredibly stupid. Adults should be expected to provide reasonable supervision, not restrict all opportunities for fear of repercussions for someone else's actions. Kids should man up and own their actions, adults too. /rant



I totally agree with this too. I want my kids to learn responsibility as they grow up, and you can't do that if all opportunities are just removed. Kids have to be able to fail. They have to be able to run around in the street playing hockey or basketball and be allowed to get dirty and skin their knees. Unless you need stitches, rub some dirt in it and get up and keep playing! Society today is too content with pacifying children with screens, it is terrible.


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## RonHebbard (Nov 21, 2017)

icewolf08 said:


> I like the banning phones and devices. Kids spend way too much time in front of screens (I probably do too, but that is another story). I used to work at a summer camp that banned screens for the entire summer. Makes a huge impact on kids lives and interpersonal skills.
> 
> Your first point illustrates the problem with our society. You just can't hold the school or the chaperones responsible for every little thing. If Debbie and Johnnie want to get it on, it wouldn't matter if there was a chaperone for every kid, they would manage to find a dark corner to do it. That is just life. The problem is that no one want to take responsibility for themself or their kids, especially if there are other easy targets. It is ridiculous.
> 
> ...


 @icewolf08 Isn't Tait in the business of pacifying artistes and spectators for a price?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
*Edit:* I misspelled my own surname by omitting the 'd' from the end. I spotted it in a quoted post.


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## TimMc (Nov 22, 2017)

RonHebbard said:


> @icewolf08 Isn't Tait in the business of pacifying artistes and spectators for a price?
> Toodleoo!
> Ron Hebbar.



Indeed they are, with some of the most over-the-top gags/automation. Whether Tait is pacifying performers (how many are not "artists"?) or the insufferable prick "designers" or the ego-driven management is a matter for a different topic, probably.

<sigh>

It's getting more difficult to impress concert audiences as they can see lots of spectacle on TV or their portable devices (amazes me how we spend so much time making stuff "really BIG" only to find it viewed on a 5" screen) and it takes spectacle to put butts in seats these days. Did Carrie Underwood's flying pickup truck do anything to add to, or aid in the telling of the song's story? Nope, not a damn bit... but it impressed the phuque out of the audience; ditto for Bon Jovi's video robots (same overhead track system, BTW). Lots of multi-million dollar gags that last 45 seconds or so (the attention span of a 10 week old puppy) and you need more than 1 of them per show. Heck, look at Trans Siberian Orchestra - an entire concert that *requires* lasers, the newest moving lights, physical stage automation, pyro and oh, BTW, there's some music going on, too, so we'd better have a PA system. Don't get me wrong, I admire what TSO has done - get an audience to sit thru a musical performance most don't really connect to - and they've done it very, very well. It will be interesting to see what their show looks like this year after the passing of Paul O'Neill.


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## Jay Ashworth (Nov 22, 2017)

FWIW: it is not my experience that "most people don't really connect to" TSO music. The originals, perhaps, but there's much in their orchestrations. Lasers notwithstanding.


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## Jay Ashworth (Nov 22, 2017)

On a different topic, SeanAndKate's reply above, and the number of likes it got, underscores why this is the same problem as pot smokers convincing their kids not to blaze: the issue isn't *pot*, it's "mature judgement".

You simply can't *see* that until 10 years on, when you didn't have an unexpected kid for 10 years.


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## TimMc (Nov 22, 2017)

Jay Ashworth said:


> FWIW: it is not my experience that "most people don't really connect to" TSO music. The originals, perhaps, but there's much in their orchestrations. Lasers notwithstanding.



Yeah, I might have been underestimating their audience...

The rock opera format is a tough sell; the lush arrangements of traditional/classical tunes are very accessible.


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## Logos (Nov 22, 2017)

Lo these many years ago I took over as Production Manager with a small pro theatre co that had a strong tradition of "pranks" on matinees. I hated it. The audience deserve the best possible performance and if you are worrying about whats going to happen to you if you open that drawer they ain't gonna get it. I over about a year got it down to where on matinees there was a toy cat somewhere on set placed by the crew just before the beginners call. Some of our regular audiences found out about it and got into the game telling the FOH manager when they spotted it. It was a bit of gentle fun.


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## RonHebbard (Nov 22, 2017)

Logos said:


> Lo these many years ago I took over as Production Manager with a small pro theatre co that had a strong tradition of "pranks" on matinees. I hated it. The audience deserve the best possible performance and if you are worrying about whats going to happen to you if you open that drawer they ain't gonna get it. I over about a year got it down to where on matinees there was a toy cat somewhere on set placed by the crew just before the beginners call. Some of our regular audiences found out about it and got into the game telling the FOH manager when they spotted it. It was a bit of gentle fun.


*@Logos* I was involved with an amateur production where they brought in a stuffed cat and it was somewhere different on the set each performance. I countered by getting a really realistic looking stuffed mouse and parked him whichever way the cat appeared to be looking.
*Edit:* Now that you've got me thinking, our shop built a production of "How To Succeed In Business." Opening out of town in San Jose, California with Mathew Broderick as J. Pierpont Finch. We built a hardware box approximately 2 feet square with approximately 12 divisions per layer by 3 layers deep. After we had all of the hardware packed neatly into its individual sections, we had two unused compartments. We filled the void in the middle level with a realistic looking stuffed mouse and the empty compartment in the lowest level with a mouse trap baited with cheese. We heard the university students in San Jose loved it and added the mouse to the window washers' scaffold Mathew Broderick entered on at the top of the show. We were told Mathew liked the mouse as well and that the mouse went with Mathew and the scaffold all the way to Broadway. 
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## Logos (Nov 22, 2017)

RonHebbard said:


> *@Logos* I was involved with an amateur production where they brought in a stuffed cat and it was somewhere different on the set each performance. I countered by getting a really realistic looking stuffed mouse and parked him whichever way the cat appeared to be looking.
> *Edit:* Now that you've got me thinking, our shop built a production of "How To Succeed In Business." Opening out of town in San Jose, California with Mathew Broderick as J. Pierpont Finch. We built a hardware box approximately 2 feet square with approximately 12 divisions per layer by 3 layers deep. After we had all of the hardware packed neatly into its individual sections, we had two unused compartments. We filled the void in the middle level with a realistic looking stuffed mouse and the empty compartment in the lowest level with a mouse trap baited with cheese. We heard the university students in San Jose loved it and added the mouse to the window washers' scaffold Mathew Broderick entered on at the top of the show. We were told Mathew liked the mouse as well and that the mouse went with Mathew and the scaffold all the way to Broadway.
> Toodleoo!
> Ron Hebbard.


Very cool. On a totally different subject, one Pantomime I worked in the UK gave away bright pink plastic umbrellas during the audience iparticipation sequence. They seriously over ordered the umbrellas and despite almost every kid in the audience on the last night leaving with one we still had about a hundred left. We started giving them to the crew of touring shows, one to each show. The deal was that they dropped them off at another venue and asked the crew to send them on their way with another show. About 8 years later iback in good old Oz I toured a show to Darwin (very hot far north) and was on our last night given one of the umberellas with an almost accurate telling of the story. I must admit I kept it and its here in my study. I now wish I had asked for people to sign the damn things with the name of the venue so I could tell where it had been and how it went from UK to Australia apparently via the US.


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## RonHebbard (Nov 22, 2017)

Logos said:


> Very cool. On a totally different subject, one Pantomime I worked in the UK gave away bright pink plastic umbrellas during the audience participation sequence. They seriously over ordered the umbrellas and despite almost every kid in the audience on the last night leaving with one we still had about a hundred left. We started giving them to the crew of touring shows, one to each show. The deal was that they dropped them off at another venue and asked the crew to send them on their way with another show. About 8 years later iback in good old Oz I toured a show to Darwin (very hot far north) and was on our last night given one of the umberellas with an almost accurate telling of the story. I must admit I kept it and its here in my study. I now wish I had asked for people to sign the damn things with the name of the venue so I could tell where it had been and how it went from UK to Australia apparently via the US.


 * @Logos* I have a very similar tale of a portable, floor-standing, hinged door frame and door, complete with functioning latches and all hardware, which rolled into our larger (2,183 seat) road house with a touring show. The production had a couple of box sets for different acts and also played some scenes against flown drops with portable doors standing in appropriate cut-outs. They had one too many of their portable doors and left one behind in our interior truck dock when they departed. The door and frame were very well built and finished having been constructed in England. Anytime we could stuff the errant door in one of some touring show's multi-trailers, we did. Darned if it wouldn't travel across Canada and wind up back in our dock at the end of their cross-country, or cross North American, tour. It became a game. As you suggested, various carps and IA locals started signing the door and stuffing it in somebodies truck. I was assistant sound and LX from 1973 when the venue opened until I moved on to become the IA head of sound in Canada's Stratford Shakespearean Festival early in 1977. Every now and again I'd hear from one of my Hamilton IA buddies that the door had rolled through again. 
Swerving back to your "bright pink plastic umbrellas". During my installation days, I was tasked with a project where I had to sabre-saw and / or sawz-all a number of approximately 10" diameter holes in an auditorium's finished wooden acoustic ceiling panels. Cutting the holes wasn't going to be bad but cleaning up all the sawdust from the upholstered seats about fifty feet below was going to take a lot of time. 
*Here's what worked:* Reached out below the finished ceiling from an LX catwalk with a large plastic bucket and bored a neat hole with a 1" auger from above. All of the falling debris was neatly captured within the bucket. My employer brought in his young daughter's gaudily coloured plastic umbrella. We lowered a hand-line through our 1" hole and he inverted his daughter's plastic umbrella and secured it to our hand line. We then pulled the umbrella up 'til it was just short of touching the finished side of the ceiling and secured it there by tying the hand-line to our cat walk's hand rail. Then we proceed to cut our larger hole with All of the debris being captured and contained in the umbrella after which we lowered the loaded umbrella back down to floor level and emptied it into a large, plastic, refuse container. * Worked like a charm.* Played the same game hole after hole for several days and eventually returned the undamaged umbrella to its young owner. Clean up went from a major concern to a non-issue. A few years later we had a similar install in another building and the general contractor looked at us strangely when he saw us loading in our gear, including some very expensive Hilti tools AND the same little kids toy plastic umbrella. We eventually showed the general contractor how the umbrella fit in our operation. He laughed loudly but was impressed by its effectiveness. *Whatever works.* 
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## Jay Ashworth (Nov 23, 2017)

I've occasionally left a "Hi!" note in a drawer or such.


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## tjrobb (Nov 26, 2017)

In our community theatre there are a few basic rules. Audience can't see it, it can't impact the show, and the SM must allow it. Simple, effective.


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## RonHebbard (Nov 26, 2017)

tjrobb said:


> In our community theatre there are a few basic rules. Audience can't see it, it can't impact the show, and the SM must allow it. Simple, effective.


 @tjrobb In the same vain / vein, one of our amateur groups used to have a rather well endowed British lady who used to print rude comments in her cleavage for the entertainment of her male company members. She'd often flash her cohorts just prior to an important speech and see if she could catch them. It was always additional entertainment from the booth. Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## Fountain Of Euph (Nov 26, 2017)

All we did in HS was sign a air duct in the coves... My frat in collage used to pull the E-Stop on the elevator and then pry the doors open and sign the shaft. No A-- plates required


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## icewolf08 (Nov 28, 2017)

Well, since we are comparing pranks now...

In college, a couple of my classmates and I stole an orange traffic barrel off the street in town and hauled it up to the grid in the theatre. It took weeks for anyone to notice. Not sure what happened to it after I graduated... We had some other rituals/rites of passage that I have no idea if they still go on, some were department-wide, some were just tech and design.

In the professional world, I had the *pleasure* of working on the first regional production of Les Mis. Suffice it to say, when you are 80+ performances into a run, strange things happen. We ended up with over 100 green army men hidden all over the set, carefully placed to ensure they were out of sightlines. We had a window overlooking my console that became known as "the acting window." Every night as the cast entered for the Thenardier scene, we pulled a theme out of a hat and as each cast member came down the stairs by the window they had to act out that theme through the window to the crew. Of course they also had to keep it in character.


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## theview (Nov 30, 2017)

TheaterEd said:


> Being from the area, I have definitely heard that name. I'm pretty sure a friend of mine student taught with her actually.
> 
> That being said, yeah that tradition has to go.
> 
> ...




Can I ask where you are working? I am in the area too.


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## Blacksheep0317 (Dec 28, 2017)

Man...I miss high school. 

We had a great group. Most of us were in crew together, plus Boy Scouts, and the Fire Dept youth program. It was certainly a family. And quite frankly, stuff like this is what I look back on and remember. Certainly, I remember the really cool things we did on a tech level and all all the camping trips and training exercises. But in reality, the set pheasent (we had a stuffed pheasent. Good god the thing was ugly, but it made it on every set for 3 shows a year all the years I was around, and there is photo evidence of atleast the 10 years prior), Denny's trips after closing night, lock ins during tech week....I could go on forever with stories. While this is not quite the reason I do what I do now, it certainly is the reason I looked for a way in. 

I do not have kids. Not sure I want them. But I am an Eagle scout, and I would love to see a son get his as well at some point if i ever end up with one. But to be honest? I have since walked away from being a leader and am unsure if I would put a kid i the program now. For the same reasons that I argue the value of SAFE and CONSENTED things of this nature. While yes, there will always be some bad choices to cull out of the system, by and large, these are all harmless things that ENCOURAGE communcation and involvement, and more importantly, humility. As a culture we have spent so much time training the current generations that any and all conflict is always bad, and that everything can ruin your life. Then you grow up, figure out life is actually kinda hard and people are generally pretty far off from how that high school physics teacher treated you (that you hated so much) and have a hard time coping with it later. 

I always have and will hold the highest regard for my old Scoutmaster and TD. Neither of them lead them selves. That was the job of the crew president or the SPL in scouts. They would point, and you would bumble down the path they suggested, and keep you close if you started wandering too close to the highway. I can absolutly attest that that experience is what gave me my personality now, and there plenty of failures for every success. Plenty of hurt feelings for all parties involved, and certainly some rough patches in friendships, but I can honestly say that the people I got through those shows with are still some of my strongest friends. 

i guess what Im doing a terrible job of putting into words is that life isn't perfect. School shouldn't be either. And for that matter, neither should your Local/venue/space/tour/etc. Being mature is more than how you treat others, its how you respond to being treated. A good adult knows when to intervene and stop things (tears...blood...blatent bullying/calling out), but also knows when to give some rein. Info in the article is limited, but I personally feel the teacher was wronged, and the kids were shown a terrible way to handle a real life situation. Zero educational value what so ever.

For FWIW though, I would be on my phone all day as well now a days...never know who is going to decide your a terrible person for saying "Good Morning" anymore...


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