The Students are Watching

What’s "The Students Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract" by Nancy Faust Sizer and Theodore R. Sizer about?

• Focus on Moral Education: The book explores how schools, through their routines, structures, and adult behaviors, teach students about morality—often more through example than explicit instruction.
• Verbs Over Nouns: Sizer and Sizer argue that moral education is best understood as a set of actions (verbs like modeling, grappling, bluffing, sorting, shoving, fearing) rather than static virtues (nouns).
• Institutional and Individual Influence: The authors emphasize that both individual teachers and the design of school institutions play crucial roles in shaping students’ moral development.
• Real-Life Stories: The book uses fictionalized but realistic stories drawn from decades of educational experience to illustrate how students learn from what adults do, not just what they say.

Why should I read "The Students Are Watching" by Nancy Faust Sizer and Theodore R. Sizer?

• Insight into School Culture: The book provides a nuanced look at how the hidden curriculum of schools shapes students’ values and character.
• Practical Guidance: Educators, parents, and policymakers can find actionable advice on fostering environments that support moral growth.
• Challenges Assumptions: It questions common practices in education, such as overemphasis on rules, grades, and standardization, and suggests more thoughtful alternatives.
• Relevance Beyond Schools: The lessons about modeling, honesty, and community apply to any setting where adults influence young people.

What are the key takeaways from "The Students Are Watching"?

• Students Learn by Watching: Young people are constantly observing adults and institutions, learning more from actions than words.
• Moral Education is Active: Moral development is a process involving action, reflection, and engagement, not just memorizing virtues.
• School Design Matters: The structure and routines of schools teach as much as the formal curriculum; impersonal or inconsistent environments undermine moral growth.
• Importance of Relationships: Knowing students well and building trust are essential for effective moral and academic education.

How do Sizer and Sizer define the "moral contract" in schools?

• Mutual Responsibility: The moral contract is an implicit agreement that schools and teachers will help students become thoughtful, principled citizens.
• Beyond Academics: It encompasses not just academic learning but also the development of character, judgment, and agency.
• Institutional Obligation: Schools must create environments that respect and believe in students, supporting both their intellectual and moral growth.
• Modeling and Consistency: Adults are expected to model the behaviors and values they wish to see, avoiding hypocrisy and sustained inconsistency.

What are the six key concepts (verbs) explored in "The Students Are Watching" and what do they mean?

• Modeling: Adults and institutions demonstrate values through their actions, setting examples for students to follow.
• Grappling: Encouraging students to engage deeply with complex, often ambiguous moral and intellectual questions.
• Bluffing: The prevalence and consequences of pretending or cutting corners, both by students and teachers, and its impact on honesty.
• Sorting: The ways schools categorize and rank students, and the moral implications of tracking, awards, and social groupings.
• Shoving: Examining boundaries, respect, and the line between assertiveness and aggression in school interactions.
• Fearing: The role of anxiety, threat, and expectation in motivating students, and the fine balance between productive and paralyzing fear.

How does "The Students Are Watching" by Nancy Faust Sizer and Theodore R. Sizer suggest schools should approach moral education?

• Integrate Morality into Daily Life: Moral education should be woven into the routines, relationships, and curriculum, not treated as a separate subject.
• Encourage Reflection and Dialogue: Schools should foster environments where students and adults regularly discuss and reflect on moral issues.
• Focus on Process, Not Just Outcomes: Emphasize the journey of moral development—questioning, struggling, and learning from mistakes.
• Avoid Hypocrisy: Adults must strive for consistency between what they preach and what they practice, as students are quick to notice discrepancies.

What is the significance of "modeling" in "The Students Are Watching"?

• Central to Moral Learning: Modeling is presented as the most powerful way students learn values—by observing adults’ responses to dilemmas and daily challenges.
• Institutional Modeling: Not just individuals, but the school as a whole models values through its policies, priorities, and culture.
• Positive and Negative Examples: Both good and bad behaviors by adults are instructive; hypocrisy is especially damaging.
• Requires Self-Awareness: Teachers and administrators must be conscious of the messages their actions send, intentionally or not.

How does "The Students Are Watching" address the issue of "bluffing" in schools?

• Widespread Practice: Bluffing—pretending to know or do more than one has—is common among both students and teachers, often due to overload or unclear expectations.
• Systemic Problem: The book argues that bluffing is not just an individual failing but a result of institutional pressures, such as excessive workloads and lack of time for reflection.
• Moral Consequences: Regular bluffing undermines honesty and the integrity of the educational process, teaching students that superficiality is acceptable.
• Solutions: Schools should set realistic expectations, ensure students and teachers are known well, and design assessments that value genuine understanding over appearance.

What does "The Students Are Watching" say about "sorting" and its impact on students?

• Inevitable but Problematic: Sorting—through tracking, awards, and social groupings—is a natural part of school life but can reinforce inequality and limit opportunities.
• Need for Thoughtful Sorting: The authors advocate for flexible, individualized approaches that challenge each student appropriately, rather than rigid tracks.
• Transparency and Fairness: Schools should be open about their sorting criteria and ensure they are just and supportive of all students.
• Social and Academic Implications: Sorting affects students’ sense of belonging, self-worth, and future prospects, making it a deeply moral issue.

How does "The Students Are Watching" by Nancy Faust Sizer and Theodore R. Sizer recommend handling "shoving" and boundaries in schools?

• Recognize Complexity: "Shoving" includes both physical and social boundary-crossing, from horseplay to rudeness to intellectual challenge.
• Context Matters: The meaning and acceptability of shoving depend on intent, cultural norms, and the relationships involved.
• Encourage Constructive Challenge: Schools should teach students to question and push boundaries thoughtfully and respectfully, as part of intellectual and moral growth.
• Address Harmful Behavior: Clear discussions and agreed-upon norms are needed to distinguish between healthy assertiveness and harmful aggression or disrespect.

What role does "fearing" play in the moral development of students, according to "The Students Are Watching"?

• Double-Edged Tool: Fear can motivate students to work and grow, but excessive or misapplied fear leads to anxiety and disengagement.
• Unanxious Expectation: The ideal is to set high expectations without creating paralyzing anxiety, balancing challenge with support.
• Individual Differences: Teachers must know students well to apply the right amount of pressure or encouragement for each individual.
• Institutional Support: Schools should be structured to allow for flexibility and personal relationships, enabling teachers to respond to students’ needs effectively.

What are the best quotes from "The Students Are Watching" and what do they mean?

• "Our whole life is startlingly moral. There is never an instant’s truce between virtue and vice." — Henry David Thoreau. This quote underscores the book’s central theme: moral choices are constant and ever-present in daily life.
• "They watch us all the time. The students, that is. They listen to us, sometimes." This highlights the importance of adult modeling and the subtle ways students learn from adult behavior.
• "The routines and rituals of a school teach, and teach especially about matters of character." The book argues that the hidden curriculum—how things are done—is as important as what is formally taught.
• "Judge the school not on what it says but on how it keeps." This calls for evaluating schools by their lived values and daily practices, not just their stated missions or rules.
• "The students watch us, all the time. We must honestly ponder what they see, and what we want them to learn from it." The closing message: adults must reflect on the example they set, as students’ moral education depends on it.