There is a huge debate around town these days concerning 14 little kids who despite having nice fruity breath and strong jaw muscles, spent the day sitting at home catching up on the top videos of the week. It seems everyone has an opinion and many parents are outraged that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. The one thing we have become in America is a society that believes everyone is bluffing. Well life aint no poker championship.
You might find this difficult to understand, but given my Solomon like wisdom, I straddle the fence like a marathon runner with chapped thighs. There comes a time in an organization, institution, group, crew, band of brothers or collection of guys playing fantasy curling in which all discipline is lost. You see this all the time on TV when a prison gets taken over by inmates. It has been seen throughout history on battlefields and on the deck of ships. The old “give an inch and they will take a mile” is not just a stupid phrase. This particular case of schoolyard layoffs is a product of slowly taking the control away from educators. Let me state my case and see what you think.
1. Should chewing gum warrant a suspension? Well of course not. We are not that void of common sense. This only leaves a school board backed into a small box when it is time to hand down the punishment for……lets say coming in late……or drawing on a desk…..or putting a tac in the teachers seat. If you lay the second largest form of punishment on a kid for the simplest rule infraction how do you justify giving the same punishment for far worse “crimes”. So the issue, first of all, is not whether they should be suspended, but that the principle did not think this thing out before he set the ship to sail.
2. Should these kids have been suspended? Yes
The school has the ability to set rules and punishment. The principle posted the Wrigley rule all over the school. He went to each classroom and informed students of what the punishment would be if they were caught. Ok, so the bases were all covered. There is some controversy on whether all the parents were informed, but I tend to believe they were. You do not have to agree with the policy but you do have to follow it. So maybe a dose of consequences for your actions is needed in schools. When these 14 kids get to college, mommy isn’t going to get the opportunity to run to the Humanities building and cry that her child was 1 minute late and should be allowed to take the exam. I don’t know about you but I have experienced the “no makeup, no excuses” clause more than once. They do not care if your dorm was taken over by terrorist. So suck it up mom and pop and teach your kid to accept that life is not always fair. I would bank that 95% of these mommas calling this an injustice have never graced a college campus. If they had, i can't imagine them coasting 4 years without having been told that if your car breaks down and you are 5 minutes late....don't bother showing up. I hate those type of Profs. but I knew what the consequence was and accepted it.....even if it was stupid. Back off momma and let the kid get ready for the world.
3. The problem all boils down to a sense of desperation by teachers. They have lost control and have decided that you have to start somewhere. Of course all this wild animal kingdom that exists in schools today is a direct result of taking away the paddle. You can debate me all day long but you will never convince me that turning an ass red causes kids to think they can punch their wife in the face as an n adult. A paddle hurts and that pain will always be the one thing that makes a kid think twice before doing something. You soft hearts can continue to save the kids from turning into fist wielding maniacs and keep churning out spoiled, ill behaved and disrespectful kids. You want clean up a school then bring the pain. You will never win this debate with me…NEVER
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2 comments:
Yep. It is lack of enforceable consequence that has brought our country to this state of entitlement and irresponsibility.
If you don't like the rule, challenge it upfront - but abide by it. If you choose not to, understand there will be an outcome to your choice. Parents aren't doing any favors when they encourage their children to disrespect authority and blatantly disregard rules.
My friend Kim has posted to the Nanner - Mr. Meeker you do not know what a privileged this is for you!
I already stated how I felt about it in my own blog. My vote is for no.1.
As for corporal punishment in school I will defer you to Mr. Knowles on that one. I'm sure the two of you could have some lively discussions about this topic since it was allowed when he taught at our inner city schools.
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