The Cellar - View Single Post - Has our intelligence dropped to zero already?

lookout123 · 04-25-2005, 02:15 PM

i'll be thirty-one in a few days so i grew up in public schools in the '80s. my grade school still had a wooden paddle that was used pretty damn frequently.

a pattern that i recognized as a child and i focus on now is that the kids who got in trouble at school, generally, were the ones who had no fear of retribution from home. they would act out, disrespect the teacher and eventually get sent to the office. Mr Sperry, cranky old drunk that he was, would take the wood to their butts and that was it for them.

those of us that didn't get sent to the office didn't behave out of some fear of that paddle. it was our parents. i knew (as did most of my friends) that if i got into big enough trouble that the principal used the paddle, then my parents would get the phone call - and that is when the real trouble kicked in.

I wasn't abused in any way, but i knew that my parents would be disappointed in me. (i had conscience enough to not like that), but also that my dad may take a physical discipline route, a lecture, grounding, etc. it was consistant, harsh, and effective.

today, the school can't do anything because if the kids get in trouble or aren't doing well in class, it must be the teachers' fault or some other kids. there is very little personal accountability for these kids anymore. there are no consequences to their actions. kids aren't any different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago - the parents are different. the parents do not teach the children any respect for authority. without respect for authority, forget about discipline. without discipline kiss any hopes for healthy, well-adjusted children right out the window.

that is why my kid is already in a private school. not because we are snobs (i hate the idea of private schools and ridiculed private school kids when i was a public school kid.) but because i get to choose a school that maintains discipline in a way i support. they choose their students based on interviews, not zip codes or economic situations(sizeable scholarships for volunteer work). the parents have real money invested in their child's education and work with the teachers for REAL accountability for the kids.

04-25-2005, 02:15 PM	#73
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	i'll be thirty-one in a few days so i grew up in public schools in the '80s. my grade school still had a wooden paddle that was used pretty damn frequently. a pattern that i recognized as a child and i focus on now is that the kids who got in trouble at school, generally, were the ones who had no fear of retribution from home. they would act out, disrespect the teacher and eventually get sent to the office. Mr Sperry, cranky old drunk that he was, would take the wood to their butts and that was it for them. those of us that didn't get sent to the office didn't behave out of some fear of that paddle. it was our parents. i knew (as did most of my friends) that if i got into big enough trouble that the principal used the paddle, then my parents would get the phone call - and that is when the real trouble kicked in. I wasn't abused in any way, but i knew that my parents would be disappointed in me. (i had conscience enough to not like that), but also that my dad may take a physical discipline route, a lecture, grounding, etc. it was consistant, harsh, and effective. today, the school can't do anything because if the kids get in trouble or aren't doing well in class, it must be the teachers' fault or some other kids. there is very little personal accountability for these kids anymore. there are no consequences to their actions. kids aren't any different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago - the parents are different. the parents do not teach the children any respect for authority. without respect for authority, forget about discipline. without discipline kiss any hopes for healthy, well-adjusted children right out the window. that is why my kid is already in a private school. not because we are snobs (i hate the idea of private schools and ridiculed private school kids when i was a public school kid.) but because i get to choose a school that maintains discipline in a way i support. they choose their students based on interviews, not zip codes or economic situations(sizeable scholarships for volunteer work). the parents have real money invested in their child's education and work with the teachers for REAL accountability for the kids. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin Last edited by lookout123; 04-25-2005 at 03:05 PM.