Rules were made to be broken. But not by the people making the rules.

At Frederick High, teachers have a great deal of autonomy over how they run their classrooms and what their class rules are. Most teachers handle this responsibility well. However, many students are frustrated because they feel that they were treated unfairly by a staff member or have felt that a classroom policy is unfair.

When teachers don’t follow the policies that they themselves set, it creates confusion among students. For example, since there is no schoolwide phone policy, teachers are expected to communicate their expectations to students, and when they don’t (or if they go back on those policies), it creates issues.

Freshman Camryn Castro shared her experience, saying, “One of my teachers says phones are allowed in class, but still gets upset when we have them out, even if we aren’t really using them.”

Some schoolwide policies are also the target of student ire. Tiffany Parks, a freshman at Frederick High, finds the school policies around lunch are unfair to freshmen: “Freshmen should be able to leave campus for lunch. It’s not fair that only juniors and seniors can.”

However, it’s not just class rules that bother students. How teachers treat students can sometimes feel unfair and hurtful. An anonymous freshman at Frederick High School shared with us that a teacher is constantly making little comments that are deeply upsetting. “I think she thinks her jokes are funny,” this freshman said, “but some of it feels mean and personal.”

Other students at FHS have stories about feeling mistreated, showing that some staff members need to improve their interactions with students. When students see a teacher as biased, rude, or unfair, it not only affects their desire to come to class but can also hurt their grades and mental health. A better relationship between students and teachers is essential for a more comfortable and successful environment.

If students are asked to exceed the expectations that teachers set, then teachers should aim to be more consistent and clear when setting rules and communicating with students. So teachers, here’s what you need to do: just teach us. Specifically, here’s what we want:

• write down your class rules in black and white where we can read them
• stick to those rule for everybody all the time–don’t make exceptions for your favorites or say that something is okay and then act like it’s not
• if we think a rule is unfair, listen to us and consider making it more fair
• if you’re having an off day, just let us know–don’t take it out on us

Finally, you need to be an adult. Don’t try to be funny. Don’t try to be cool. Don’t try to be our best friend. Just treat us with respect and stick to the rules you put in place.

If you can do this, we can try our best to treat you with respect. We’ll trust you enough to bring our issues up to you and not go straight to counselors or the principal. We’ll try to meet your expectations and get through class without trouble. We’ll stop giving you so much grief because we know you’re just doing your job.

But for that to happen, do your job. Don’t intimidate. Don’t joke. Don’t insult. Don’t break your own rules. Just teach.