Lady Gaga Chained Naked to a Fence And Other Things I Learned About School Law at Harvard
Attending the launch of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation a few weeks ago, I was struck more by the prospect of Lady Gaga naked than clothed. When asked by Oprah Winfrey about what really works to prevent bullying, Lady Gaga said there was "no one answer" or “single law” that could be passed to stop bullying and hate, or mandate acceptance. "I wish there was because, you know, I would be chained naked to a fence somewhere to try to get [that law] passed."
As someone who teaches prospective principals school law, it was both thrilling and terrifying to hear the 25 year old mega star acknowledge but undermine my field so eloquently. Earlier in the day, Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow similarly told the symposium of experts that school law was limited in combating bullying for when a child came into court their “best interests were long gone.”
Born This Way Foundation president and Lady Gaga’s mother, Cynthia Germanotta, made it clear that she and her daughter wanted me and my fellow experts to really think about advancing the best interests of the children. While the program described our symposium as addressing Youth, Meanness, and Cruelty, our real job was to think about creating a braver kinder world.
But as Dean Minow and Lady Gaga know, our school law paradigm is limited. I don’t know if zero tolerance policies, hate crime prosecutions, money damages, confiscation of computers and smart phones, and other punitive measures get us closer to a braver kinder world. And what about the fact that these legal strategies presuppose and often require harm—sometimes, grievous harm? While there are laws mandating bullying prevention, they are often not enforced or only enforced in haphazard ways unless, of course, something terrible happens. As one student said at the symposium, “The only time educators listen to us is when something tragic happens.”
Lady Gaga made it clear she believes the strategies and solutions to combat and prevent bullying and create a braver kinder world must start with the kids; adults were useless. Lady Gaga disagreed with long time bullying expert and psychologist Dr. Susan Swearer, whose work is much admired by policy makers and researchers. Dr. Swearer was on stage talking about the need for educators to be trained so they could effectively combat bullying.
But Lady Gaga very publicly disagreed. And when she challenged Swearer, she confronted all of us “experts.” At that moment, I felt chained naked to a fence so that I could listen to the wise-beyond-her-years twenty-five year old undermine the efficacy of my field.
“I don’t think that works,” Lady Gaga explained. “I don’t know that teachers even give a shit, some of them ... what I want is for someone like Alyssa [the only youth on stage] to be the person that intervenes.” Lady Gaga went on to explain that this method of educators taking the lead has been in use for too long and isn’t working. As she explained, creating a braver, kinder world is “not going to be the experts or the umbrella above that’s going to change things.”
While the students should play the central role in creating a braver kinder world, Dr. Swears is correct as well. Isn’t she? We adult stakeholders—professors, administrators, teachers, and parents must also provide the safety, skills, and opportunities, the three pillars of the Born This Way Foundation, to support these insightful and yet vulnerable students.
But how? Next week, I start a new quarter teaching school law at the masters and doctoral levels for students who want to be principals and superintendents. Teaching about suspensions, expulsions, zero tolerance, computer policies, and gross negligence will be relatively straightforward-- already in the syllabi. But it’s the braver kinder world that has me stumped. It’s much more important than traditional reactive school law but entirely more difficult. So for the tenth time today, I procrastinate revising my syllabus, listening to my Lady Gaga playlist which is entirely more inspiring than my syllabus at the moment. I look to inspiration from my new favorite school law scholars, Martha Minow, Lady Gaga, and Cynthia Germanotta. We need to reimagine school law so that it empowers youth to be the transformative change agents who create a braver kinder world. If only being chained naked to the fence would work.
As someone who teaches prospective principals school law, it was both thrilling and terrifying to hear the 25 year old mega star acknowledge but undermine my field so eloquently. Earlier in the day, Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow similarly told the symposium of experts that school law was limited in combating bullying for when a child came into court their “best interests were long gone.”
Born This Way Foundation president and Lady Gaga’s mother, Cynthia Germanotta, made it clear that she and her daughter wanted me and my fellow experts to really think about advancing the best interests of the children. While the program described our symposium as addressing Youth, Meanness, and Cruelty, our real job was to think about creating a braver kinder world.
But as Dean Minow and Lady Gaga know, our school law paradigm is limited. I don’t know if zero tolerance policies, hate crime prosecutions, money damages, confiscation of computers and smart phones, and other punitive measures get us closer to a braver kinder world. And what about the fact that these legal strategies presuppose and often require harm—sometimes, grievous harm? While there are laws mandating bullying prevention, they are often not enforced or only enforced in haphazard ways unless, of course, something terrible happens. As one student said at the symposium, “The only time educators listen to us is when something tragic happens.”
Lady Gaga made it clear she believes the strategies and solutions to combat and prevent bullying and create a braver kinder world must start with the kids; adults were useless. Lady Gaga disagreed with long time bullying expert and psychologist Dr. Susan Swearer, whose work is much admired by policy makers and researchers. Dr. Swearer was on stage talking about the need for educators to be trained so they could effectively combat bullying.
But Lady Gaga very publicly disagreed. And when she challenged Swearer, she confronted all of us “experts.” At that moment, I felt chained naked to a fence so that I could listen to the wise-beyond-her-years twenty-five year old undermine the efficacy of my field.
“I don’t think that works,” Lady Gaga explained. “I don’t know that teachers even give a shit, some of them ... what I want is for someone like Alyssa [the only youth on stage] to be the person that intervenes.” Lady Gaga went on to explain that this method of educators taking the lead has been in use for too long and isn’t working. As she explained, creating a braver, kinder world is “not going to be the experts or the umbrella above that’s going to change things.”
While the students should play the central role in creating a braver kinder world, Dr. Swears is correct as well. Isn’t she? We adult stakeholders—professors, administrators, teachers, and parents must also provide the safety, skills, and opportunities, the three pillars of the Born This Way Foundation, to support these insightful and yet vulnerable students.
But how? Next week, I start a new quarter teaching school law at the masters and doctoral levels for students who want to be principals and superintendents. Teaching about suspensions, expulsions, zero tolerance, computer policies, and gross negligence will be relatively straightforward-- already in the syllabi. But it’s the braver kinder world that has me stumped. It’s much more important than traditional reactive school law but entirely more difficult. So for the tenth time today, I procrastinate revising my syllabus, listening to my Lady Gaga playlist which is entirely more inspiring than my syllabus at the moment. I look to inspiration from my new favorite school law scholars, Martha Minow, Lady Gaga, and Cynthia Germanotta. We need to reimagine school law so that it empowers youth to be the transformative change agents who create a braver kinder world. If only being chained naked to the fence would work.
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