Why follow the rules? (repost)

I am reposting this for a reason. Of all the Google searches that land on my blog, this is the most frequent. Usually from outside the USA as well. I don't know why that is, and I'd like to hear comments from those who search it out.

**************************************************************************

Why should we obey the rules? They don't!

As a teacher, one of the biggest hurdles is
class discipline. Getting students to behave
well enough that education can go on, that
can be a difficult task.

Working with high school seniors, the old
statement "Because I told you so!" just
does not cut it. That's a sure fire way to
encourage rebellion.

Why? Because the students don't trust
us, that's why. They don't trust us as adults
or instructors to be fair, honest, or even handed.
They don't trust us to have their best interests
at heart.

The simple fact is, they are not really stupid, just
unchallenged. At the core most of them are able
to think just fine. They can tell when they are being
lied to just as well as you or I can. Better, in fact,
as they are more experienced than we old farts,
at least with being lied to.

Teenagers live their lives with double standards.
One for them, and one for the adults. Adults live this
way too but usually choose not to notice. If noticed, most
adults let it pass.

Teenagers still think 'Life is supposed to be fair'. and
they get angry and confused when it's not. Most
mature adults realize that life is not fair, it just 'is'.

A case in point from an adult viewpoint: A senior judge
was just caught at the Detroit airport trying to smuggle
a loaded weapon in her luggage. Judge Sylvia James
was released and probably will never be charged with
the federal offense she committed. Had that
been I, or anyone I know, we would still be in jail.
Is that 'fair'? Is that 'right'? Not by any means.
Is it the reality? Do I realize there are
multiple standards and multiple levels of law
enforcement in this nation? Yes, I do.

My realization that I live not under double standards,
but multiple levels of standards, (many for sale), does not
prevent my functioning in society because I don't
expect life to be fair. I know for a fact that most of the
police cars that pass me well in excess of the speed limit
are not on emergency missions. They drive fast and
illegally because they can. That's not fair, it just 'is'
what it is. I know for a fact my state's governor
will never be charged with the two dozen times
he was clocked going over 100 mph on the PA
turnpike. He's earned his nick name of
'Fast Eddie' Rendell. Is it fair he'll never be charged
while 175,000 other folks in this state got cited
for driving over the speed limit last year?
No.... it's not. It is what it is.

Closer to home.... in our own school, an edict
went out that food was allowed only in the cafeteria,
never in the classrooms. This was supposed to
fight mold, of all things. In a school with over five
hundred students and dozens of instructors and
staff, enforcing this was difficult, especially as
the school sells food in the cafeteria never meant
to be eaten there.

In a letter to the administrator, I asked how I was
supposed to explain and enforce this rule when
my students only had to walk into the
administration offices to see food laid out
on the tables and snack bowls on every desk?

Some people would think it common sense, but
the reality is the admin staff simply never thought
the rules applied to them. They marched to a
different standard. Just like the judge, just like
the governor, just like the police, just like
Congress, just like.......

I'm sure the point is clear.

How do I explain to my students why rules
should be followed? With two simple
points.....

1) Sometimes rules are made for good reasons.
Look for the reason, and obey the rule because it's
a good rule with a purpose, not just because some
two faced bozo tells you to. Be smart enough to see
the reason for the rule.

Like speed limits in town.... 35mph makes sense
when people are walking around and cars are pulling
out without looking. I drive 35mph in town
because it's makes sense, not because it's "Da LAWwww".

2) One day, you might be making all the rules, and for
reasons that make a lot of sense to you. Do you want
your rules to be followed or ignored? Start a trend.

Many of my students will one day own or run business's.
They know they will be making rules, or are at least hoping
they will. This makes sense to them.

How would you explain to a teenager why rules and laws
should be followed, when all around us the privileged,
the important, the wealthy, and the deranged are
held to no, or different, standards?

To quote a student of mine:
"Why should I follow the rules? The principle doesn't!"