Showing posts with label policy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label policy. Show all posts

Friday, April 22, 2011

"Right hand on the rail"

"Single file, right hand on the rail."


The Newark Museum is a lovely place, and it's just a stone's throw from Bloomfield. It has "the most extraordinary collection of Tibetan art in the Western Hemisphere," as well as wonderful collections of African and American art; it has a wonderful summertime jazz series; the planetarium is cozy with state of the art projection.


I get why we cannot bring water bottles or chew gum in the galleries. And now I get why kids often hate school.


Single file, right hand on the rail. Why? Because it's museum policy.




I didn't last long in parochial school--made it to March in 1st grade. I bet I'd last only half as long in a KIPP school.


Next time a child looks like he's going to lose it in class, I'll try to remember how I felt when ordered to hold the rail. If I had a morning full of "holding the rail," I might be cranky by 7th period, too.









Yes, I get it, less injuries, better crowd control, protecting the art--
but that's not what our students were told. They were told it's policy--as if "it's policy" serves as a cogent explanation for any rule.