Lord Watchdog writes…
Part of life is having some respect for authority. This has nothing to do with the law. As a student you are bound by the school’s rules, ranging from not chewing gum in class to not damaging property and things like handing in homework on time. Part of the school’s education programme is to prepare students for what life will present to them after they leave school. This includes conforming to norms, community expectations if you like. You may not like the idea but it is a fact of life. When you leave school and get a job you will find that blubbering to the boss about something so trivial will probably see you punted onto the dole queue.
I think you’re going a bit far.
I’m a strict teacher and I really do believe kids should do what they are told at school, and in my view, the school probably does have the right to ask the students to hand their keys in as a condition of being allowed to park in the school. It’s generally held that school students are obliged to follow reasonable directions from the school, and a rule like this one for which clear safety reasons can be argued for it, would seem to me to be eminently reasonable (although I also agree that the school is risking being held liable if the keys are stolen and the car is subsequently stolen, so I’m not sure it’s wise to take that risk).
But while I do think kids should have to follow reasonable instructions, by the time they are in upper secondary school, they should also be allowed to question those instructions, and raise concerns about those instructions, and say if they think they are unfair and why, and to have those questions and concerns and viewpoints treated with respect by the school. In the end, you may have to do what you are told – but you should be able to ask and question – and that’s preparing kids for leaving school as well.
Kids need to learn how to do what is required of them. But hopefully they’ve well and truly learned that by the time they reach Years 11 and 12 – by then, it’s time they’re also learning how to discuss and negotiate.
I wouldn’t advise the original poster to disobey his school’s instructions. I think he should obey them, in fact. But he should also feel free to ask that the reasons for them be explained, and if he disagrees with those reasons, he should also feel absolutely free to say so, always understanding that a right to disagree is not a right to disobey.
And if there is a perfectly legal and legitimate alternative option – such as parking elsewhere – he should also feel free to take that other option.
Schools have to be able to set rules. But we should also be expected to justify them. I think this is a rule that is quite easy to justify on safety grounds, so where is any possible harm in a student asking?