In 1940 teachers identified their top concerns with students in their classroom - No, I wasn't around in 1940. Do the math and figure out someone you know that was in school in the 40's.
Think about them, their attitudes, manners, etc. How do you think they behaved in school?
The top concerns in the classroom as expressed by the teachers of that time were:
Talking out of turn
Chewing gum
Making noise
Running in halls
Cutting in line
Dress code infractions
Littering
I remember some of those same things in the sixties and seventies. There was order in the classroom, chewing gum wasn't allowed just anywhere, and running in the halls got you detention or worse. One of the things I remember was people smoking in bathrooms or other hiding places. There was also some vandalism.
When teachers were asked the same question in 1990 here is what they said:
Drug abuse
Alcohol abuse
Suicide
Rape
Pregnancy
Robbery
Assault.
Wow, what happened?
What do you suppose the top concerns of the classroom are in 2009? This is my list and it is just speculation, but I bet it's not far off.
Getting shot
Getting sued
Getting filmed, edited and posted on the internet
Being victimized by those with no conscience
Pornography
Drug abuse
Pregnancy
Rape
Assault
They other day there was a story of the fourteen and fifteen year olds taking nude pictures of themselves and texting them to each other at school. It was so out of hand they arrested a couple of them on child pornography charges. The law doesn't stipulate the pictures sent over the wire have to be of someone else. They made their point to the parents and kids who weren't taking this seriously.
We've seen the videos on the news where teen girls beet the tar out of their 'friend' while filming it for their Myspace page. They giggled and laughed and had fun at their game. Again, it seems there was no conscience.
In the list of the nineties, we saw drugs, rape and pregnancy. These things were a concern but not in the classroom. In the last few years we've seen these things happening in class. In a few instances they involved teachers!!
Where did we go wrong? The important things are trending down, the immorality and violence are trending up. Here is my opinion. See if you agree.
- No prayer allowed. Somewhere about mid eighties prayer was challenged and it freaked everyone out. Student led prayer is not against the law, but schools don't want any part of it. We need prayer in School - not sanctioned and led by the government but initiated by the student, starting in their heart with their eyes to God.
- No pledge of allegiance. This too was challenged a while back mostly because we declared to be one nation under God. At the rate we are going we will no longer be under God's sovereign protection. We need to repent of that. It was by God's hand and God's people that this nation came about. We are a nation founded on the principles of God. Those were Christian principles. However, we are no longer a Christian nation. We need to once again, pledge our allegiance to both God and country with a deep abiding faith in the first and pride in the latter.
- No paddle. Hey, I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of the paddle. I spent a fair amount of time at both ends of one. I turned out all right and my kids turned out great. Bring back the paddle - big long, thick ones with holes in them like Mr. Baumgartner, the shop teacher had. Enough said.
- No parents. This has to be one of the larger factors. Parents just aren't involved in their kids like they used to be. I think there are several factors. Moms went to work in the seventies and eighties. This left kids on their own after school. The idle mind is the devil's playground. Then somewhere along the line divorce began to plague our society. More kids were brought up with one parent. In the sixties, divorce was extremely rare and considered a bad thing. By the late seventies, people were hopping in and out of marriage and relationships at the drop of the hat (or something else). We used to be concerned about how much TV the kids watched. Now the video games are extremely graphic and without any redeeming quality. Porn is available to every kid - don't kid yourself on this - even if your kid can't get to it, their friends do. With all the Myspace pages, computers and cell phone's with texting and internet access kids have a playground us adults don't always understand. Parents need to be deeply involved in their kid's life. You do not have to respect their privacy - that is a lie from the devil. Look at their computers, cell phones, etc. Do it for their own good, explain it to them. Look at their school work, ask them about it. Talk to them about their future plans.
Let's return to Old School. It seemed to work well. Let's remove the nose ring, take the stud out of the tongue, remove the dark eye makeup, clean the black fingernail polish off the hands, pull the pants up and put a belt on; cut the hair (buzz short) and be respectable, shut off the computer, throw away the cell phone, shut off all Wii's, X boxes, and any other boxes hooked to a video screen. Then, parents, when you get that done, when you've got yourself straightened out you might be able to get through to your kids. Let me say it plainly…. IT'S TIME TO GROW UP!! BE A PARENT.
Now go grab your kid and clean them up. Then paddle the tar out of them for good measure - they have it coming somewhere along the line, recite the pledge of allegiance and sit them down and talk to them.
Okay, I wrote that last part a little tongue in cheek…. Just a little.
Just thinking and ranting.
Doug