Commentary

Students, don't look to Congress for models of behavior

by Philip Bratnober

By Philip R. Bratnober

U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann, John Kline and Erik Paulsen of Minnesota refused last week to join their colleagues in chastising South Carolina's Rep. Joe Wilson for his outburst during a recent joint session of Congress.

With their tacit endorsement of public rudeness, the three legislators also undermined every classroom, graduation ceremony and school board meeting in Minnesota.

By stating, in effect, that it is acceptable to shout down a public speaker, Bachmann, Kline and Paulsen displayed their disdain for institutional dignity and, consequently, for decorum in schools.

House Resolution 744 was a simple measure -- up or down -- and, by his own admission, Rep. Wilson did heckle the president. It will be interesting now to see how Minnesota students interpret Kline's, Bachmann's and Paulsen's vote in view of the facts.

Will school debate teams argue whether Wilson's behavior sprang from a principled motivation that elevated it to the level of Henry Thoreau's civil disobedience? Will a student simply disrupt the next school assembly, citing Congress as an authority for discourteous behavior?

I am a high school teacher, and I am proud to report that no one in my classes shouted last week, and that to the best of my knowledge no event at my school was disrupted by a brash act of defiance. In my experience, high school students show more dignity and restraint than members of the 111th Congress have shown this year.

There is always the potential in schools -- even as there is clearly a potential in Congress -- for someone to surrender publicly to his passions. After every incident comes the inevitable litany "it wasn't my fault" or "he started it."

It would be of service to kids if, for once, they could look to adult role models who had had the guts to put down their end of the rope in a tug-of-war of self-justification.

Toward that end, Bachmann, Kline and Paulsen would do well to follow Wilson's example and take responsibility for their behavior. By apologizing to the students, teachers, administrators, school board members and parents whose safety and peace of mind they flouted with their "no" votes last week, they could still set positive examples of leadership.

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Philip R. Bratnober, St. Paul, works as a high school English and performing arts instructor.