A dangerous profession. When I was a kid if the teach was critical of me my folks adjusted my attitude. Now school is a place to act out and act up and a teacher may be just a target to let out your frustrations on..God help us one and all. "A few decades ago, in the '50s, it was a sudden shock that kids were disobedient to teachers," says Paul Kingery, director of the Hamilton Fish Institute. "Then it became foul language and physical assaults, and now it's shooting teachers or even trying to poison them." "According to the U.S. Department of Education, from 1994 through 1998, teachers were the victims of approximately 668,000 violent crimes, which include rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault. About 80,000 of those were serious violent crimes." http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92713&page=1
Yep, this is depressing. We are losing a lot of teachers over here because of attitude and violence The main problem is, the parents will not back teachers and can be very hostile too Crazy world
I came up in a time when parents regularly adjusted attitudes. Back in those days citizenship was on the report card in Texas. For some reason my dad always handed the report cart to mom and asked, "What'd he do on Citizenship?" Usually in my presents. And if it was the least bit bad you got an adjustment. Dad couldn't read or write but was somehow always in the know. Those were the times we lived in but they have changed. Guess all seniors could say about the same thing.
Times have changed and so have the education system. When I was young and did something bad in school they gave you the strap in my school it was an old razor strap but if I told my parents they would take over where the teacher left off giving me an even stronger strap. Well I did not die and I think I came out OK well that is my opinion. Now the teachers are taught politico correctness saying feeling are more important than anything. The whole system has gone down the drain. Now we need safe spaces and no child left behind so the class moves ahead at the speed of the stupidest person. I am sad to say I think it is too late to help they education system because the ones teaching learn from the politico correctness teachers. You can only teach what you know.
Now discipline seems relegated to a position under the rubric of CHILD ABUSE. "Course the child can call the cops if there's any so called parental 'guidance' that ends up with the parent charged.
We traded having a group of children who knew right from wrong to a group who needs therapy every time someone says something they feel offended over.
When I was caned at school for smoking I was punished by my mother for smoking with a further punishment from my father for getting caught. Can't see that happening today.
Times change, not always for the better. Yes, in some places, teaching has become a dangerous profession, although so far not in my neck of the woods. In some areas, life is dangerous for everyone. This is is a time of great turmoil I believe in discipline, however, I am adamantly opposed to corporal punishment. In my line of work one sees far too much of the belt approach. Incorrigible kids will not be swayed from their path by violence. As for the rest, are they ok because they were punished in a physical way, or in spite of it? I can certainly tell you what mental health professionals believe. As for "needing therapy," there is nothing wrong in giving people, kids included, a place to heal. It saddens me that old attitudes around therapy/therapists still exist. There is nothing weak about seeking help. It requires a great deal of strength to look within and face oneself, and often it is the most rewarding journey of one's life. It certainly has been for me. Saved my life. I would like to state that I am not equating an occasional spanking with child abuse, but I believe there is a better way to teach children than through fear.
If I remember correctly, corporal punishment in school was more about bruising one's ego than it was about physical pain. When I faced the paddle, or rather, my posterior was met by the dastardly thing, it did not really hurt but the knowledge that everyone knew why I went to the principles office was embarrassing. When a 12" ruler was broken over the palms of my hand because I was enjoying myself a little too much by playing with the pony tail in front of my desk, my hands did not hurt as much as the air leaving the sails of my ego. When a teacher intercepted a note or two and finally read one of them aloud as I stood on tip toes in the corner of the room, the pain was excruciating but not in my feet, but the raging torment going on in my head knowing that Sally would no longer love me. The fear we often equate with physical pain was more often a fear of what our peers would say or taunt us with whilst having the inability to defend the red face and bruised id that came out of the incident. All that said, there were the occasional ruffians who wore a session with the principal or teacher as a badge of honor and a testament of bravery with the statement that they would never change no matter the punishment or counseling. It was those who eventually took to the prisons, jails and maybe even a military stay with hopes that something or someone could make a difference. Would a therapist have made a difference? Maybe to a couple, but those who defied authority deemed all authority including their own parents to be unjust and lacking and not just the teacher or principal but any adult.
Teachers today tend to rely on technology rather than inspirational leadership to learn. The pupils dread each session more and more if they experience a conveyor belt of barely relevant (to them) information
Throughout the last couple of years I have mentioned the International Learning Systems and my part as an instructor / proctor. In short, it is a series of computerized programs which, when used properly, help bring a student from illiteracy (and all points in between) to S.A.T.'s within a year or two without using live teachers. It works extremely well and so well that parts of the program have been integrated into the U.S. government school system. Here's the rub: The program is meant for those post puberty and not for the young ones. In the learning process, young people have very little if anything for memory to connect to and the program depends on the brain's ability to connect the dots whatever they may be. Even when a program is loaded onto a computer, there has to be some kind of memory foundation set in order for the program to function which is not unlike the brains of our children. The young need a foundation and the foundation includes human interaction and without it there are less "dots" for pre-pubescent memories to attach to. And lastly, a computer does not represent authority. A living, breathing human teacher helps our young to recognize authority and even some respect for the one who wields the scepter of information.