What is the balance between the freedom allowed to older, presumably more mature secondary school students and the requirements of appropriateness in the public school classroom? This is a question I’m struggling with right now as a teacher of a (non-provincially-examinable) senior elective.

When I started teaching this class, the question of language came up. It’s a writing class, so students asked if it would be permissible for their writing to include swearing where appropriate for the character. My response was that – in the context of the classroom draft – I didn’t see a problem with it. When it comes to what we publish online, we would need to discuss it again, but in the draft stages, sometimes the swear word really suits the occasion and the characterization.

Language isn’t the only limitation within the secondary classroom, however, and it is in these alternate areas that I find myself having to develop a policy that balances the freedom to write authentically with the restrictions of teaching young adults in a school setting.

On the one hand, there is the argument that grade eleven and twelve students are nearly adults. Within the constraints of the curriculum, they should be permitted some choice. Many of them are experiencing more mature situations, and as such should be afforded the opportunity to process these experiences through writing.

On the other hand, this is still a place of learning, and there are institutional limitations with regards to content and language. If an administrator is given access to work that is done in the classroom, I need to be able to provide pedagogical support for what we are doing.

The arguments above work wonderfully for published, good-copy pieces that students put on their blog. There remains, however, the question about those expressions of thought that are never meant to be published, ones that generally are only read by the student and the teacher. Consider assignments that will never be shared with the class, for example; or journals that are meant for exploring ideas and styles of writing. Should the same restrictions apply to them as to other, formally shared forms of expression?

As I wrestle with this idea, I am struck by the possibility that I would have less difficulty navigating this balancing act if I were not an elective teacher. Whether my class runs next year or not depends at least in part on how well it goes this year. Students who enjoy their electives talk them up; those who dislike their experiences make that perfectly clear as well. Am I struggling with this not because it is truly to which I don’t know the answer but because I want to make sure that my students enjoy the course?

Ultimately, I think, for me – although I support the idea of freedom in writing and do not wish to censor what my students write – it comes down to this: I am responsible to the administration and to the parents of these students for the content of my classroom. That includes the public assignments we share as well as the private (but school-based) explorations written in class. Although I acknowledge the right of students to write what speaks to them, I have to uphold a more restrictive standard in the classroom.

I’m curious, though, to learn about the experiences of other classrooms. Whether a student or teacher, a parent or administrator, where do you believe that line should fall?