Rule Number One

"The first rule of Fight Club," Tyler Durden reminds us, "Is nobody is supposed to talk about Fight Club." Somebody should have told the folks at South Oak Cliff High in Dallas about Rule Number One.
Allegations were made Thursday that staff members at the inner-city high school made students settle their differences by fighting bare-knuckle brawls inside a steel cage. In the report, a teacher was quoted as saying Principal Donald Moten told security personnel to put two fighting students "in the cage and let `em duke it out." The cage in question was an equipment locker in the boys' locker room.
Here's where it gets interesting to me: The charges came to light during a grade-fixing investigation that eventually cost the high school its 2005 and 2006 state basketball titles. School officials were suspected of altering students' grades so that they could remain eligible to play. The fights in question took place between 2003 and 2005. Would an investigation have occurred if there had been no grade-fixing?
As a regular apologist for public schools, I'm at a loss for an excuse. Am I pleased and happy that the discussions that take place over lunch in our staff room aren't recorded or monitored in some other way? You bet I am. Many times I have made suggestions alluding to "Lord of the Flies" or "Thunderdome" to break the tension of an otherwise stressful day. Gallows humor, but humor just the same. Because when kids are truly in danger, even from one another, it's my job to keep them safe. Because that's the first rule of Teacher Club.