[artdutra04]

People need to learn to follow the rules not because they are forced to, but because it is the best decision not only for everyone, but mostly importantly themselves.

Taping doors would be like putting a speed governor on any car driven by someone under the age of 18. An artificial limiter to prevent the person from breaking the speeding law does not address the root of the problem, which is the decision-making process of that person.

I'm not a fan of taping doors for high school students. (Although it's generally a good idea for middle school students). Rather, I intend to teach the students that they have a responsibility to don't do dumb things, and that I place a level of trust on them to follow these rules. If they screw up, then they better be prepared for absolute zero-tolerance discipline.

This has always been the philosophy of my high school team. Over the past six years, there has not been a single issue. In fact, in general the students have been so respectful of the rules, that there was an occasion a few years ago where they found a six-pack of beer in the hotel room in one of the drawers when they first checked in, and immediately notified the mentors and gave it to them. Why? Because they knew if they tried to hide it and the mentors found out, there wouldn't be any more robotics team for them.

As a mentor, I want to teach the students that even though they may have many chances throughout life to make bad decisions - whether now it's breaking curfew on field trips or later on it may be smoking/doing drugs or driving under the influence - they need to make a conscientious decision to always choose the right thing to do. Because in a few years, if they find themselves at a nightclub and they come across ecstasy, there won't be a strip of tape there to stop them.