The Nepotism Of University High School
Written By Ronan Butt-Merton
edited by pat bui
It’s a sunny day at Uni High, and the kids in the quad and around the school are spending their time outside to enjoy it. Even though the weather’s nice, the canteen is welcoming, warm and full of friendly chatter nonetheless. I walk past the advance guard of students sitting outside the makeshift library, some on their laptops and some not. Inside the old hall, great windows let light in on a floor covered in bookshelves and strung up with electrical cables. Under one of these windows is my quarry.
I’ve known Angus for a couple of years, and though we’ve never really been considered friends I’ve enjoyed working with him in a Renaissance class we’ve had together. He’s fun to talk to and no-one would consider him anything less than a pretty cool dude. He is, however, probably the most widely known child of a teacher in my year level. His dad is Mr. Paatsch, the Head of the Maths Department.
Most, if not all, would agree that all students should be treated equally. This is probably the case at Uni High. The students of teachers it may seem, however, are in a position to be treated more equally than others. What is it really like to have a parent at your school? Angus says that he really doesn’t feel any different. When I asked if he got any less detentions or lenient treatment from teachers (his dad or otherwise), “They do acknowledge it” he says “but it doesn’t affect anything.” Angus’ dad has been a Maths teacher for 19 years, since 2002. Not only does he teach Maths, he also heads the Math Department. Although he says that “Powers is a big word...” he believes that he has quite a few responsibilities. “This year I’ve got all three of my children [at Uni High]. For them it’s important that Uni High is their school, and it’s my workplace. I think it’s their school just like it’s yours. I hope they are [treated fairly at this school].” He says the extent of the benefits his children get is being able to impress other students that their parent is a teacher, and an easy way to talk to their parents at school. Mr. Paatsch believes that the school healthily “has precedent that goes back decades of having teachers whose children come here… ” and the school is, in his view, “...a wonderful place that the children of teachers and principal class members would be comfortable enough to come here.” Mr. Paatsch, in all, concurs with his son’s report, summarising that he has “really never heard anything negative [about the fair treatment of children of teachers].”
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I also interviewed Ms. Hafey, who teaches Health and PE at Uni High, as well as taking on extra responsibilities as a coordinator for the Coleman sub-school. I had organised to meet Ms. Hafey on another sunny day in the gym, and she was there as promised. I greeted her and we began the interview while she was still solving the problems of a couple of students. As we walked to the Coleman office, she answered my questions between responding to the questions of the kids of her sub-school. She was definite in her answers that she would not give any preference to her own kids over other students, nor to the children of other teachers. Upon arrival in the office, however, her daughter let herself in and made herself comfortable on the couch. Ms. Hafey said that other teachers were much like her, and that the only benefits her kids received was extra support at school when needed.
So, do the children of teachers get preference over other students? My extensive investigations of anecdotal, interview and quantifiable opinion based research have led me to this answer: no. Really, no. They might get a little advantage in having a parent on call, but beyond this Uni High just has a healthy culture of families integrated into the school, with a positive interest in the goings on and a position to facilitate change. There may be problems with our school, but this is not one of them.
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