We would hunt and kill you

I just remembered, in a discussion of the book Lord of the Flies last week the topic of how people gain authority, and how they hold onto it came up. As a way of relating the book to the class, I asked them to imagine what it would be like if we, as a class, were stranded on a desert island. Of course the students are a lot older than the characters in LotF (17ish), so they mostly thought it would involve lying on the beach getting a sun tan, and not studying for NCEA. I mentioned the idea that, as their teacher, I might manage to act like an authority figure for a short time, but as I'm not the most outdoorsmany it probably wouldn't last more than a day. "You so wouldn't be in charge that long," pipes up the kid in the back row whose hobby is steel sword fighting. Less than a day. I suspect the kid in question would have a coup in the first 10 minutes, and I'd be smoked jerky snacks by lunchtime. It's nice to know that students who are highly polite and cooperative (and call me Sir of their own volition) are so sure that they've got what it takes to depose me. I should totally aim for 'island guru' if we're ever in that situation. In fact, if I ever have to go on a boat or plane trip with students, I might abdicate authority for the length of the journey just to make sure I'm not killed in the inevitable uprising :)