Don’t Exacerbate; Defuse 13
- Hold the elevator open until the student produces the pass for inspec-
tion. Simply say that none of us will go anywhere until you see the pass.
(In 90 percent of the cases, this will end the matter. A student without a
pass will simply get off the elevator.) - If the student doesn’t leave, ask to see the student’s ID. (Students know
that refusing to show an ID when asked by a staff member is a more
serious offense.) - If none of the above works, say nothing, and let the doors close. When
the student exits, follow her to her class. Ask her teacher for the stu-
dent’s name and ID number. Report the same to the deans who will fol-
low up. If you have a class to get to and cannot do this, forget the matter
and go to your class. Even though the student “won” this time, she will
eventually “lose” and find herself in the dean’s office. - The dean will follow up, usually with a warning for the first offense,
not a suspension, as it was a matter of illegally being on an elevator, not
talking back to or confronting a teacher.
These instructions had to be repeated periodically, but the number of
elevator incidents declined. As the school became smaller and more stu-
dents were recognizable to more staff members, the situation improved
even more. In addition, teachers could apply what they learned from the
elevator situation to defuse issues that might arise in their classes.
You might be wondering why Ms. Valletta didn’t simply ask students
to wear their ID cards and elevator passes on a chain or string around their
necks, as is common in many businesses and schools. She felt it was un-
fair to ask students to do this unless staff also did so. For whatever reason,
the various union representatives she worked with would never agree to
requiring staff to wear their IDs.
This was a minor issue and not one that was worth pursuing, given
that the school had a good ambience. During Ms. Valletta’s final years
as principal, she always wore her ID and she noticed that a number of
staff members also began to do so. Perhaps if she had started being a role
model earlier, staff IDs would not have been an issue.
Almost every week, a school leader will have a meeting with an irate
parent. The problem will usually center on what the parent perceives
as unfairness on the part of a staff member: an unfair grade, an unfair