It wasn’t
too many years ago that the logo “No Fear” was plastered on clothes items
everywhere. It was considered “cool” to let folks know that we were not afraid
of anything—that nothing could deter us from doing what we wanted. In the 60’s,
LSD was the popular psychedelic drug of choice for many college students. Young
people were known to jump out of windows intending to fly, with no fear of the
consequences. In reality, a healthy “fear” would have saved their lives. LSD is
not as popular today, but the “no fear” mentality still exists at epidemic
proportion. I’m talking about the lack of respect for authority on every level
of society.
It was alarming
to read the account of a six- year old in the Atlanta area who pitched a fit in
Kindergarten, and had to be handcuffed by the police and taken to jail. Could
it be that the teacher and principal were afraid to physically restrain her
because of a “brutality” law suit? Of course, the mother was upset with the
police, when she should have been angry and grieved with her child’s wicked
behavior.
It’s time
to take a close look at this situation, because I would not be surprised to
hear of a similar scenario right here in Warren .
I have reason to believe that similar “tantrums” occur all too often in our
school system, leaving teachers and administrators in frustration and
helplessness. The problem is exacerbated by parents who literally “cuss out”
the teachers, instead of clobbering their little rebel! The philosophy of “kids
will be kids,” without restraining their actions, will eventually destroy our
educational system.
What’s a
teacher to do with no backing or cooperation from parents? Moreover, fearful
and ineffective administrators only enhance the dilemma. This illustrates the ongoing
dilemma confronting public education---but it has not always been that way.
In the “old
days,” parents and teachers were on the same team. Child brutality was minimal,
because children were put in their place quickly and effectively. When words
failed, the paddle was used sparingly, preventing the parent and teacher from
losing their tempers, and thus hurting the child. Security guards were not
needed, because children were trained to “fear” and respect authority.
Sure, there
were problems in school back then---I was one of them. But when we stepped out
of line, we were met with “fair justice!” There was freedom for teachers and
principals to administer discipline (including spanking) without repercussion
from the parents and the ACLU. Home and school were geared up together to make
children all that they could be. That produced a mutual liberty to accomplish
great things, without a thought of police intervention. Somehow that’s been lost, with teachers
fearing to reprimand a student in any way. The age of “delinquency” is getting
younger all the time, because of the growing delinquency of parents.
Remember
those days not long ago, when students threatened teachers with: “Don’t touch
me, or I’ll sue you?” Then they pulled the same thing with their parents. Now
they thrive on a “no fear” mentality, which can easily lead to bullying and the
use of weapons to deal with their rebellious insecurity. Indeed, the harvest has
come in, and the results are frightening.
Parents
have the God-given responsibility to educate their children, using schools and
other means to accomplish it. The battle is won or lost at home. No teacher at
school, no mater how gifted and dedicated, can rise about the student’s
parental support. Without such backing, we will continue to lose many choice
teachers, who refuse to take anymore “abuse.” Our new superintendent in Warren needs to address
this serious problem, providing an example of personal integrity and courage.
Let’s not be afraid to deal effectively with students who spoil much good
because of a “no fear” mentality.
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