Introduction
The November 2007 issue of the “Braves Bulletin,” the newsletter for the Justin-Siena high School Community in Napa, California, carries a wise and down-to-earth refection by principal Noel Hesser on the growth of adolescents into adults and on the school as a place where “two cultures” meet—and sometimes clash. The following is from his column entitled Principal Words:

Principal Words
By Noel Laird Hesser
Principal, Justin-Siena High School, Napa, California

In my thirty-plus years in Christian education, I have found that two student cultures compete with each other on every school campus: the culture in the classroom and other areas of adult control and supervision contrasts with the sub-culture where that supervision and control are limited or do not exist. In the elementary school, this sub-culture is lived out on the playground; in my experience as an elementary-school principal, I found that most discipline issues resulted from this time on the playground when the natural, worldly bent of students clashed with the moral development teachers were promoting in the classroom. In middle and high schools, this sub-culture also includes break and lunch times but expands beyond the boundaries of the school day into the myriad of independent activities where teenagers enjoy the freedom of less supervision and input from adults.

I am not upset or overly concerned about the conflict of these two cultures—their existence is natural and inevitable. It is what it is; anytime an institution is set up to govern and curtail individual expression for even the best of reasons, human nature will most often collide. We are beings who want governing and limitations, but we don’t always realize we want these things. Even at my age, I still find it difficult always to do what I know is best for me. If I did not have the responsibilities of being a parent, a husband, a supervisor of employees, and so on, what would I become? I would probably be no different than the boys on the playground scuffling and swearing or the high school student sneaking a smoke behind the gym. The point is, I have decades of experience compared to the youth in my care—while I may want to be a little boy and be bad, I bow to my responsibilities and ultimately realize the good and avoid the destructive behaviors to which I am prone. But at my age, I had better do so.

Not so youth. They do not have the experience of decades. They only have the example of the adults in their lives telling them that this is how it should be—for their own good—and their limited experience does not always confirm this. Conflict is inevitable. They stray, we intervene, there are consequences, and hopefully the experience builds learning in the right direction. This is the business of school and of home—training up the children entrusted to us in the way that they should go. We need to increase independence gradually, always balancing independence with good training and appropriate responsibility. It is a difficult dance not without missteps. But it is often in the missteps where true growth happens. This is why absolute rigidity and zero tolerance are rarely effective. If I can never learn from a misstep the proper placement of my feet, I will never master the dance.

I have been a parent almost as long as I have been an educator. I wish I could begin again with the experience I have now and the energy and naïveté I had then; I suppose this is the wish of all parents. We have learned from the missteps and grown from the tragedies. I absolutely adore my children and have thrilled at their accomplishments thus far. But we had our stumbles, and the dance is not yet complete, certainly. I often hear parents say in speaking of the missteps, "Well, he’s really a good kid at heart who just made some bad choices.” Of course he is. Of course all of them are good kids, good at heart. This is the way God made them and us. We are first good—we learn evil gradually, depending on our circumstances. Hence the two cultures I have been talking about. At times, our children have a foot in each culture, or both feet in one or the other. I also quite often hear parents say, “I know my child, and he/she would not lie to me.” To this I would say, of course they lie! All kids lie to a certain extent, especially if you count the lies of omission or the half truths. They lie to protect us, because they love us. Or they lie to avoid consequences. I am not trying to be glib. It is part of living in both cultures. They attend to their responsibilities and also attend the unsupervised weekend party; they know they can handle it, that there is no harm, really. But they also know their parents would not understand and would worry, etc. Half truths, omissions, or lies may follow.

Here is where there exists a fatal flaw. Their inexperience shields them from reality. Greater dangers lurk that they do not even know about. Children today face influences we could not have conceived of twenty-five years ago. If I wanted to view inappropriate material when I was 16, I had to sneak a peek at a Playboy at the local drugstore and be hurried out by the clerk when I was caught. Today all manner of pornography is available at the click of the mouse and in the privacy of every home. If I were depressed as a teenager, I did not have ready access to suicide sites and instructions on the Internet. We did not know ecstasy or date-rape drugs, or if we did have occasional exposure to such things, we did not have websites telling us how harmless and wonderful they are. My deepest secrets were not revealed to all the world through MySpace or Facebook. The subculture that draws our youth today is a powerful one.

Does a subculture exist at Justin-Siena? Certainly, and on every campus everywhere—it consists of all the influences mentioned above and others unique to each student. Some test the waters only occasionally, some rarely, and some go for a full swim. Do we need to be frightened or worried about its existence? I don’t think so—but we must be aware of its existence, and we must read the signs and watch for the red flags. Honest communication between parents and children is key, and involving the school as a partner follows. On the positive side, we have a supportive and very positive culture at Justin-Siena with abundant opportunities to exercise independence in very constructive ways. And we certainly have a staff ready to offer guidance in support of the same values students are taught at home. And when good kids make bad choices? We will treat them as the good people they are and apply appropriate consequences in hopes of building learning form the experience. Justin-Siena students are students twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week. Because the culture is so immediate and pervasive, there no longer exists a dividing line between school and non-school. What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens outside of school becomes a school issue almost as soon as it happens. There are bound to be missteps and consequences, but in the end, the business of school and promotion of positive values will gradually supplant the power of the subculture.

Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California, is one of the schools sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers District of San Francisco. The school web site is www.justin-siena.org. On the site, the entire “Braves Bulletin” in PDF forma is posted; click the “PARENTS” button to find it. A profile of principal Noel Hesser is posted also, under “Personnel Directory.”