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I subbed in a classroom about 7 years ago (before we had "middle
schools") and a student stood up and began sharpening his pencil while
I was talking. I firmly told him to return to his seat and raise his hand
the next time he wished to leave his chair. He replied, "I'm a General,
I don't have to raise my hand to leave my seat."
Puzzled by his reply, I prompted the class to explain. They went on to tell
me that the front row was the "generals", the second row the "captains",
on down to the last row which was the "privates." The higher the
student's assigned rank, the more priveleges he/she had. As you might imagine,
the front row was almost entirely white while the back row was entirely
minority. When asked how they were assigned their rank, the students explained
that if they behaved, did their homework and classwork, and scored well
on the tests, they could move to a row closer to the front of the room.
I quickly realized that this teacher taught to the first two rows only.
I immediately told the class that while I was there, there would be no rank
(except that I would be the King!). Those in the front two rows got angry,
while those in the back rows perked up. Unbelievable!
-- A California middle school language arts teacher