Articles about education
The bell
In the olden days

In the olden days (but not all that far back), the rules of the game were quite clear. The teacher had her own room, and the students were required to be seated by the time the bell rang. If not, they were late (and in those days it was bad to be late), and they had to suffer a punishment or consequence.

Teachers understood that they were paid to teach for 45 minutes, from the Start bell to the Recess bell. Not all teachers did their job properly, but there was a clear distinction between the Right way to conduct the classroom and the Wrong way. Teachers who started class wrong realized that they were doing something wrong.

However, circumstances have changed. Today’s students know the significance of no bell other than the Recess bell. They are efficient about preparing for Recess. They pack their belongings before the bell rings, so that they will not be late leaving the classroom. After all, they do understand the importance of Recess. It is important for them to prepare in advance, so that they can leave on time.

The Start bell, however, is only intended for teachers. Students pretend that they do not hear that bell.

Teachers often wait elsewhere, such as the teacher’s room, until they hear the Start bell. At that time, they finish what they are doing, and then they trudge up to the classroom. The principals or other authorities in some schools do try to maximize the teaching time by encouraging the teachers to leave the teacher’s room shortly after the bell rings. However, even then, they often do not prod the teachers until after the bell rings.

Teachers en route to their classrooms are often accosted by students or parents. Sometimes they handle issues of importance, which could not be done while the teacher was hiding in the teachers' room. Students sometimes become skillful about taking up the forthcoming class time. A student who can present an intricate issue that delays the beginning of class for a substantial amount of time is likely to win the admiration of her classmates.

This situation is exacerbated when the teacher has legitimate, mandated obligations such as yard duty during the preceding time frame. After leaving her post, the teacher has to return to the teacher’s room to pick up her belongings, after which she goes to the next class. After all, we can’t expect her to carry her belongings for the next four periods while she patrols the yard.

Perhaps this is legitimate. However, what unspoken message does it give to the students?

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Keywords: Education, Game
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