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Little White Lies
It's funny, but since I've become a teacher I find I've lied more than I have my entire life put together. In Buddhism, is lying ever appropriate?
For example, grades will be due in a few weeks but there is still a week of school left after that. Students will still be doing work that last week. I won't actually announce to the class that it will be graded, but if anyone asks I'll lie and say yes. Otherwise they won't do the work, they won't learn, and it's possible that they will disrupt the rest of the class. Is that acceptable? Are there any alternatives? Explaining to a 12 year old that they should do the work "so that they can learn and be prepared for next year" doesn't tend to work, especially in the last weeks of school!
For example, grades will be due in a few weeks but there is still a week of school left after that. Students will still be doing work that last week. I won't actually announce to the class that it will be graded, but if anyone asks I'll lie and say yes. Otherwise they won't do the work, they won't learn, and it's possible that they will disrupt the rest of the class. Is that acceptable? Are there any alternatives? Explaining to a 12 year old that they should do the work "so that they can learn and be prepared for next year" doesn't tend to work, especially in the last weeks of school!
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At work a guy is scrubbing things clean with BLEACH, undiluted pouring it all over his hands and soaking them in it...
So I told him (in another language) "bro don't do that, put some gloves on"
but he didn't believe me right away and told me "yeah whatever its okay"
so I told him "you know bro, I had an uncle that worked with bleach a lot in his life, he didn't wear gloves and now his hands are F***ed up."
(that was a blatant lie) But the guy ended up putting gloves on and rinsing his hands real good.. now this kid may never NOT use gloves again working with chemicals..
I think this lie was a huge success
(edit: I hope my science was actually right? u should wear gloves right!?)
With warmth,
Matt
I agree with this completely. Good post.
Hey, Found - I like your story, and you were able to get the guy to work more safely. Good job!
My concern [yes, I sound like a mother, but also like a workplace health and safety rep, which I was for many years] is that I want you to understand what the health and safety rules are in your workplace. It is your employer's responsibility to train you and all your co-workers about safe practices and hazardous materials. Ask to see the "WHMIS" safety sheets (means workplace hazardous materials information system" http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/occup-travail/whmis-simdut/index-eng.php for your work site. Or read the label on the bleach container - avoid contact with skin. If it has a symbol with a skeleton hand, that is also a clue (it is a symbol that means - "this will dissolve your skin if you don't wear gloves!!")
I see what you're saying, Matt. I suppose I should look at the nature of the deception and see whether it's skillful or unskillful. I guess it's mostly for the benefit of the kids (they learn)... except for the fact that I'm reinforcing that just because they do something means they deserve something (a grade). Really, the BEST solution would be for me to only do lessons that the kids would WANT to do whether or not it's being graded... and if I could find those lessons I would be the richest teacher in the world! I have a few lessons for the last days that I think the kids will love (paper airplane experiment, building the tallest tower with pretzel sticks and marshmallows), but before that we have to review for the big cumulative district test, and there's not much we can do besides go through definitions and stuff. Not much fun. So those assignments will have to be "graded."
don'tknow and lightwithin, thanks for your clear posts! It's kind of reassuring to re-remember that there is no Sin with a capital S in Buddhism! I was only Catholic for the first decade or so of my life, but even that leaves a mark! I'm a person who likes her grey area, and that seems to fit Buddhism
GuyC- that's an interesting perspective! Thank you!
Lessons in Guitar Hero maybe?
I should clarify though that I am not saying you should lie to them. What I meant was, its not really lying if you explain (if necessary, i.e. if pushed for an explanation) why its important for them to go on with their work as if it were being graded immediately. Looking at my last post I don't think I made this very clear.
But, of course, only explain if you have to. Hopefully it will be a non-issue for you as many of the things in life that we get so worried about turn out to be.
P.S. - I checked and edited my spelling and grammar, knowing you are a teacher, hoping you'll give me a good grade!
In my experience, I only begun to study steadily when I started identifying the process of learning with self-esteem, or maybe as a tool to help me become who I wanted to be. I was insecure at first ("I did well today, but I am not sure if I can do it tomorrow", "My mind just wandered off a bit and I missed what the teacher was saying. This is really bad.") but it started to become a habit. Before that, the whole "you have to study" was just an ordeal that made me anxious.
I actually wanted to be more studious but the whole school-parent pressure mixed with my insecurity and the way I viewed the act of studying (as something tiresome, easy for some, hard for others) just made me not do it.
I am not saying I am some type of genius (in case you people are checking my grammar >;-{), what I am trying to convey is just that you fight desire (to play video-games instead of doing homework, for example) with desire (to become [...]). Not with grade threats.
I am not advocating a "golden-star" policy, either. I think ideally students should be viewing study as a part of their life and feeling good about doing it, without the craving for a good grade as prize or the fear of a bad grade as punishment, and the best way to do that is to help them review their outlook on the whole process individually and not to treat them as cattle. (Do I sound crazy?
School is for their benefit and they should see that its a privelidge (which maybe if I had paid attention all those 2 weeks I could spell hehe) and not some bullshit that they are forced to do.
Jeffrey, I also agree with you in that what I'm doing IS sort of busywork... but in the end I think it's better than movies, which I tried the last two years. What happens with the movie thing is that ALL the teachers show movies, so that the kids have to be quiet all day and they get really, really antsy. Discipline doesn't work so well at the end of the year, either. It's better to have lessons that keep them moving and expending all that pre-summer energy they have! So yes, it is bullshit, but it serves a purpose.
The solution to this one is to make it so grades are due AFTER the students leave... then there would be no bullshit grades, would there? Colleges all have finals the very last week before break. Why the heck can't public secondary schools do that too!?? *shakes head*
Your governator is a robot killing machine, I don't think it is capable of understanding human emotions.
What is stop you grading the work anyway? That way the students get valuable feedback, they will also work harder and you're not lying!
Yours in the Dharma,
Todd
We always have a right to remain silent and refuse to answer. I would rather leave people in the dark than deliberately mislead them. Try it sometime. You might be surprised by the reaction.