Cushman, Kathleen. Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students. The New Press: New York, 2003.
Fires in the Bathroom is essentially a summary of a series of interviews with high school students in the Bay Area giving feedback about their educational experiences. The author, Kathleen Cushman, works for a non-profit called What Kids Can Do, Inc that advocates for students. Her work aims to give a voice to students’ opinion and insight on the high school experience. This book is written as a narrative directed towards teachers that primarily communicates through quotes by students lumped by how they relate to common classroom challenges.
The following is the student-made teacher job description that gives a concise view of the book’s tone:
“Wanted: One teacher. Must be able to listen, even when mad.
"Must have a sense of humor’ must not make students feel bad about themselves; must be fair and treat some students better than others; must know how to make schoolwork interesting; must keep some students from picking on others; must let students take a break sometimes; must not jump to conclusions must let students know them; must get to know students; must encourage students when they have a hard time; must tell students if they do a good job or try really hard; must not scream; must not call home unless it’s really important; must smile; must help students with their problems if they ask for help; must not talk about students to other people; must be patient; must really know what they are teaching; if it’s a lady, it would be good if she is pretty.”
The students quoted in Fires in the Bathroom candidly express their opinions about what they think constitutes good pedagogy and their interpretation of teacher actions. The main message that I got from the students was that they needed teachers to be fair, understanding, and to communicate clearly. They expressed their frustration at being in an in-between phase and struggling to feel understood. One student put it bluntly, “we’re some moody-ass people right now.”
Cushman was able to take all of this raw feedback and create a couple of reflection forms that allow teachers to test themselves to see how they measured up to the students’ standards. These exercises are certainly one of the greatest assets of the book and the most constructive aspect.
My biggest complaint with this book is that it sets up an impossible standard for teachers and only haphazardly acknowledges student responsibility. Reading between the lines, I got the distinct impression that some of these students are regularly defiant, disrespectful and disruptive. These same students were happy to preach about how teachers should act, but lacked insight about how they could have controlled their own actions. This indicates to me that this book follows the current trend that gives all legal and social power to students and strips teachers of (what ought to be) their inherent authority.
Granted not every teacher tries hard enough to be fair or respectful of his students, but there is a reality between being cruel and being human. One student condemned their teacher for mistaking them for talking in class when it was their neighbor- an error that happened quite some time ago that he had yet to forive. If you are teacher doing the best that you can, sometimes you mistake which voice you hear and correct the wrong student, but that hardly negates your value as an instructor. The book seemed to be sending the message to students that it is right for them to disrespect teachers for that kind of simple mistake only furthers their conviction that they ought t have all of the power.
It also belittled teachers because the students seemingly assumed that teachers would never have enough sense to look past adolescent actions to a more serious cause. Additionally, I felt like I was waiting for entire book for one student to acknowledge the perpetual contradiction amongst students’ opinions and the paradox of “fairness” when that idea exists in the interpretation of every individual student. While that line never came, it did give me inspiration to include it in my discussions with my own students. I am sure that not all of them think that I am fair, but they might benefit from a reminder that all actions in the classroom are not centered on them. It is easy for teenagers to get hung up on things not being fair, but they ought to be approaching the age when they can understand why “fair” is not always “the same”.
The message I ached to send back to these teens was that they also need be understanding and communicate clearly. Being an adolescent is challenging but it does not stop you from striving for maturity and working to improve yourself. Pretending that your age gives you license for low standards for yourself will not lead to growth or success. Instead of boasting about how you avoid work or dwelling on feeling dumb: do your work and you may be surprised how smart you feel!
