Among the numerous challenges facing high school teachers, especially inexperienced ones, is resisting the urge to “stoop” — to get down on the same mental level as their students socially, especially with regard to humor and gossip. Beneath that urge is often a hidden agenda wherein the teacher may use his or her popularity to advance personal opinions and passions. This is a slippery slope, one that might result in a variety of calamities.

For most teachers the pursuit of being “buddies” with students fails. They find themselves dealing with concerned parents or unhappy principals who demand explanations. “I thought they all knew I was kidding” is one excuse. Another might be something like “I always tell them that I am merely expressing an opinion, and that they have a right to their own …”

For me it was career-long struggle, largely because I really wanted to have fun at my job and to share my passions. I learned the hard way, several times, that a classroom atmosphere may accommodate some humor and exchange of world views, but never at the expense of the greater purpose, which is to impart knowledge in an effective manner (pedagogy), to respect all students equally and compassionately on a personal level (Christianity, in essence), and to always pursue new, inspiring ways to replenish and heighten interest in the subject matter for both teacher and student (creativity).

There are several ill effects of stooping. First, while it may seem to make the teacher more popular among students, appealing to their base impulses will have a short-lived effect. Teenagers are especially prone to snap judgments. Their sense of loyalty is highly tenuous and capricious, and they are inclined to back-bite swiftly and savagely. Fads come and go rapidly, and the teacher who tries to ride one too long is bound to be left in the dust as the pop culture landscape changes more rapidly than a teenager’s screen saver.

Of course there are problems with classroom behavior management and student focus. A casual or jovial atmosphere invites a kind of spontaneity that is often disruptive. The teacher who models flippant or crass behavior can expect to witness the same in return. When a teacher uses the word ass or damn or s…t in class, what should he or she expect to hear from the students?

In a school-wide sense, teachers who appear to have aligned themselves with a particular group or “clique” serve as a divisive force, alienating other groups, causing cynicism and petty infighting, and degenerating the school’s sense of uniqueness, or purpose and pride.

More serious are the repercussions outside the classroom. Emotionally, teenagers are highly volatile. Their moods are extreme as they lurch through puberty and stumble into the world of mass sexual confusion. We know that suicide is a contagion among them, and the teacher plays a critical role in monitoring their mood- swings. Teachers must be vigilant and cautious at all times. To the emotionally troubled and lonely student, the “popular” teacher becomes the “Other” — the officious embodiment of that which is has controlled and rejected her. That teacher may even become the catalyst for the student’s self-destructive behavior.

Of course teachers are not the only ones who influence the behaviors of teenagers. Obviously, parents have the most influence, and as we often like to say, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Pop culture idols such as actors, athletes, and musicians not only speak to them through their talent, but also through their public exposures-media generated self-promotional antics.

Teenagers represent the largest targeted commercial demographic market. They are under siege by corporate advertisers, who see their disposable money as easy game. Teens are being psychologically influenced in so many ways that they cannot even begin to comprehend it all. (This is a sad reality, one that can only be addressed through training in critical thinking. However, the public schools, hell-bent on standardized testing, have failed in this regard.)

In many ways, adults are like teenagers, and we are constantly trying to control our own base instincts. It’s as if the ID of the kid never leaves, but is kept in check by an ego that needs to preserve social acceptance, along with a bit of the higher moral sense that tells us to be kind. However, the defense often breaks down, and we find ourselves acting inappropriately or worse.

Witness some drunken professional football fans, or parents at their kid’s game when the ref’s call goes against them, or anyone who chooses to participate in a violent or mindless mob scene. Recall the Jonestown massacre of 1978 when 918 people died of suicide and murder as a result of one charismatic maniac. Go back to the 1930s when a whole nation was inspired by one man who appealed to their desperate instincts, a man who, through lies and extreme media propaganda, convinced them that their race was being threatened by another race — one that was evil and bestial. The result was the incarceration and murder of millions of innocent people.

Just as teachers have the ability to influence teenagers, so have our government leaders the potential to influence adults. I just hope that, given the politically charged atmosphere of this election season, those elected will understand that their responsibility is to all people, not just the members of one party. I hope that they are keenly aware of the volatile nature of humans, especially those who feel threatened and disfranchised. I especially pray that our leadership understands that the worst abuse of power is to incite people through violent rhetoric to commit violent acts.

Pete Howard is a Dunkirk resident, writer, musician and teacher. FOCAL Point strives to make insightful social commentary through the integration of Facts, Observations, Compassion, Awareness, and Logic.