A recent conversation among four students, average years in School 20-ish, revealed that none of them were aware of the School's confidentiality policy.
I haven't seen it written down, but direct enquiries have revealed that all communications with one's tutor are regarded as non-confidential. The tutor can (indeed must) reveal anything pertinent to the branch leader, as a protection against abuses of various kinds.
This is, it seems to me, fair enough. It is not the only policy that could be applied - for example, it could be that the tutor-student relationship was regarded as "confessional" as in the Catholic Church; or it could be that tutors would be obliged to divulge details to someone unconnected with the student, without giving a name - but it is the policy ... click "read more" to read on
The problem is, none of we four students had been informed of this policy in all our time in the School. Two of those present are tutors with some years behind them, and were also unaware of this expectation. All of us agreed that there were things we had said to our tutor that we probably would not have said if we had been aware of the policy.
Further problems then arise, because if a policy is not disseminated to the students, or even to the tutors, then it is open to endless abuse and misapplication, wittingly or not. It is part of the paternalism that (usually benevolently) treats the student as a child without equal rights, and requires too little discipline from tutors.
Views, anyone?
9 comments:
I'd like to click on 'read more' but can't.....
Sorry - a consequence of the change from Old to New. I will re-instate.
I well understand that there has to be a policy about non-confidentiality on a need-to-know basis.
The sort of problem that can arise is if a student falls in love with a tutor (or vice versa), or confides to a tutor about some misdoing, and the tutor then keeps it to him or herself. That places a considerable burden on the tutor who is responsible for the student's welfare. At its worst it could lead to the setting up on mini kingdoms, the abrogation of powers and a potential for blackmail.
It's not possible to achieve the perfect balance between transparency and confidentiality, but we are protected by an instruction not to gossip.
I think I've always understood that anything I told my tutor could be open to examination. I never had any problem with that, although it certainly tempered what I was prepared to tell.
At a certain stage in School life many people become positively incontinent in their desire to spill the beans, not only about themselves but also about others. Not good manners.
There should be clarification for tutors, of course.
But, if the argument gets extended - what have we got that's 'private' anyway?
Laura
I agree with what you say, except the remark about incontinence (which could be taken as offensive by some).
On "what have we got that's private?", I agree in principle, but in practice I believe privacy has an important place.
There are numerous occasions when I have spoken to tutors about things, and if I had known the principle I would not have done it in the same way.
So the real point here, I think, is not what the principle should be - the School ought to determine that - but that it should be out in the open, from the start.
Couldn't agree more about clarity. Something should not be presented as one thing (however inadvertently) when it is another.
If a policy of non-confidentiality were proclaimed, however, might it discourage a student, who really needed to speak to his or her tutor, from doing so? Might said student then ask the tutor not to report onwards?
A tricky situation.
As to 'incontinence', well, you had to be there!
Well I just think that we have to treat people as intelligent, reasonable individuals. To do that, you have to give them the information and let them decide. I think it's presumptious to try to second-guess how anyone might respond to this or that.
The wise can break the rules; the rest of us need rules to follow, for now.
True enough, I was just trying to see round corners and leave a certain amount of discretion to tutors.
But, on balance, clarity is the prerequisite.
"Read more" is now back in action.
Your response, Kevin, has unlocked the cap on a human dilemma - what is private and what is public? In a truely integrated person, or organisation for that matter, there would be no need for a public/private divide.
Until that time there will be private, often meaning that which we don't wish to reveal, or are ashamed of, or don't wish to be examined (or pryed into, depending on the emotional ground).
The public face is, simply that, the clothes in which we wish to be seen.
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