School Days - Then and Now
By AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16676)
Boston, Massachusetts
October 28, 2015 3:23pm CST
I have been reading a lot of stories lately about incidents in public schools across the US. Sometimes the issues aren't really very important , such as students violating the dress code. But parents vehemently take the student's side. These stories often obscure some of the really disturbing things that go on in public schools.
I read earlier of a teacher who told seventh grade students that they had to take a poll on whether or not God was real, but they couldn't say that He was real, because then they were just wrong and would get a bad grade. I don't think teachers should be teaching religion or anti-religion. It's one thing to discuss religion as it relates to history, etc., but the teacher obviously has her own little agenda. We wouldn't let her teach that God is real, so we cannot let her teach that God is not real.
And I heard about a teacher who was upset that a boy in her class wasn't paying attention or doing his work, so she drew a large cartoon of a male private part on his paper, making a statement without saying the actual word that would tell him what she thought of his behavior.
You know, when I was a kid, parents would probably never hear of these kinds of situations. We went to school and while we were there, the teachers could say or do anything and we never once thought about tattling on the teacher. It probably wouldn't have done us any good. Parents respected teachers so would assume that the child was misbehaving.
That was wrong, because teachers are people and people are flawed. I know I had teachers who were very nice, but I also had some who were naturally ill-tempered and a couple who were downright crazy. Maybe if I thought I would get support in dealing with the psycho teachers, I would have felt better about school.
But it's also wrong when parents take to social media to blow some little dress code violation into a civil rights issue. If your kid wears something inappropriate or that violates the dress code, they have to suffer the shame of being told to go home and change. That isn't going to destroy them. They might need to learn that lesson to prepare them for the workplace in the future.
I wish we could land somewhere in between, some middle ground where students understood that there are rules and where teachers also observed boundaries of behavior. Something between a boot camp and a party.
It seems that things always swing to extremes.
When you went to school, did you believe that you could challenge the teachers and get away with it?
28 people like this
24 responses
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
28 Oct 15
On my first day of school (this was in the mid-60's, mind you) the teacher smacked me on my knuckles with a wooden ruler and ordered me to put the pencil in my right hand "where it belongs." When I got home my mother saw the mark and marched me (dragged me might be a better descriptor) to the school and into the principal's office. She didn't ask to see her, she went right into the office! She wagged her finger at the principal and said, "Let me tell you something. My mother was left-handed. I'm left-handed. And my daughter is left-handed. She had better NEVER come home from school again with a mark on her hand, or you're gonna deal with me." The principal lived in fear of my mom. 
Having said that, there was another element back then: the teacher was CLEARLY in the wrong. When I was clearly in the wrong (such as when I played hookey from school), guess whose side my mom took? Today most parents think their little angels' fecal material doesn't stink, even when shown the video and the teeth marks. Back then, if you did something wrong you usually got two spankings: one at school, and then one when you got home!
Having said that, there was another element back then: the teacher was CLEARLY in the wrong. When I was clearly in the wrong (such as when I played hookey from school), guess whose side my mom took? Today most parents think their little angels' fecal material doesn't stink, even when shown the video and the teeth marks. Back then, if you did something wrong you usually got two spankings: one at school, and then one when you got home!4 people like this
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
28 Oct 15
My father was left-handed and so is my sister and my husband. I know that back in the day, they did try to make kids change hands, and it's great that your mother let them know they weren't allowed to do that to you. I agree about misbehaving at school, we knew that news wouldn't go over well at home. Nowadays, parents don't believe their kids are ever wrong.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
29 Oct 15
It's happened more than you think. I interviewed two left-handed Grand Ole Opry singers for a now-defuncted magazine devoted to southpaws. One (Cheryl White, of the Whites [her sister's married to Ricky Skaggs]) said that her family had no issues at all with her being left-handed. The other (Connie Smith, a Country Music Hall of Fame member who's married to Marty Stuart) told me that her family tied her left hand behind her back in an attempt to make her right-handed. This is Dark Ages thinking: the word sinister comes from the root word meaning "left-handed." It probably comes from a misinterpretation of the verse in the Bible that says, "To those on his left he will say, 'depart from me, you cursed people, into the pit of everlasting fire." (Gee, a verse in the Bible was misinterpreted then manipulated to hurt people, whodathunkit? 
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@Daljinder (23193)
• Bangalore, India
11 Jan 16
My brother was left handed and was persuaded to use his right hand rather than the left one when he was still learning to write. So, he adapted to the change easily. Although he was made to adapt to this change he wasn't beaten for it and now he is able to write using both of his hands.
Left handedness is like a taboo for some people.
But I don't see the point honestly. It gets the task done isn't it? Then why bother with which hand it was written.
Ever heard of the saying "Eat the fruit , don't count the trees"?
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
28 Oct 15
Just like the kids have to follow a code of behavior, the teachers, and the parents should too!
3 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
28 Oct 15
I went to Catholic school and some of our nuns went a little heavy on the punishment.
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
28 Oct 15
@Rollo1 They punished alright, and some were a little too far off center!
@garymarsh6 (23979)
• United Kingdom
28 Oct 15
We did respect our teachers when we were at school and yet when I think back how horrible we were they must have been pure saints to have put up with us. There were some teachers with bizarre ideas or ones I did not approve of and I would tell them what I thought. I don't think I have ever been afraid to voice my opinion but in a polite way!
2 people like this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
28 Oct 15
Not at all but i graduated in the olden days when the teachers were always right. I don't remember any problems in school, it was just pretty regular and no one broke the rules.
2 people like this
@rahulvsmokiee (3110)
• Thiruvananthapuram, India
28 Oct 15
I can never think challenging my teacher will be a good idea.
2 people like this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
28 Oct 15
No way could I or would I challenge a teacher but since I have had four children in school I have learned their are good and bad teachers. I will take up for my child if a teacher is in the wrong but if my child was in the wrong he would be punished. Not many children when I went to school would do anything really wrong.
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
28 Oct 15
I agree that there are bad teachers and I have run across some of the most wonderful people and some of the worst when it comes to my kids' teachers. There are a couple that I am so grateful to, and a couple I would have liked to punched in the face. I also taught them to think for themselves, and not necessarily believe everything a teacher tells them if it is opinion.
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
30 Oct 15
I suppose the best is something in between in every respect.
When I was a child I was a lot more challenging that most of my friends, but it was because my parents had a good comunication with us, children, and supported us if needed.
@vandana7 (102698)
• India
29 Oct 15
Quite disturbing thing. At times, I feel like telling the parents who side their children, well, that child may be apple of your eye, but unfortunately he is not of mine or anybody else's out here, so don't come defending a bad and undesirable apple. Nobody wants him/her. It would be rather cruel.
@workguddu (155)
• Shillong, India
29 Oct 15
Yes i also feel that school days are difderent then and now.
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
28 Oct 15
I was so shy and afraid of making a mistake, there was never any danger of getting in trouble at school. Today students have no fear of or respect for teachers or anyone in authority.
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
28 Oct 15
Yes, fear kept us in our places. I did have a couple of teachers who tried to indoctrinate to their personal opinions, but it didn't really take with me because I am not that impressionable. But other kids are. I want teachers to be worthy of the kind of respect we used to show them.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
28 Oct 15
@Rollo1 I think it goes both ways. Children shouldn't have an unreasonable fear of teachers, but the children should be taught at home to be respectful.
@Poppylicious (11134)
• United Kingdom
29 Oct 15
Society has changed so much that nobody really knows their place anymore. Teaching staff can't discipline effectively, students have less boundaries to adhere to, social media ensures everything becomes visible to the whole wide world ... Part of why I behaved at school was because I was scared of the consequences of misbehaving, and I think that fear can be a good thing in some circumstances. Fear of not doing well, of being told off, of the punishment that comes with forgetting to do or hand in homework ... There is no fear - and consequently, little respect - of authority now.
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
29 Oct 15
Another viral video of a deputy turning a student out of the chair onto the floor by turning over the desk has resulted in the firing of the deputy. But there is more to the story. The police were called because the teacher told the student to leave the room. The student refused. The teacher cannot physically force the student to leave. The deputy was called and the student struck the deputy. Then the deputy turned over the desk of the student refusing to leave, and forced the issue. A lot of this can be blamed on social media, our society of victims, our lack of respect for authority, the teachers who go too far, the students that go too far, the inability of teachers to maintain order in the classroom due to a lack of respect for their authority and parents who support their children when they have done something wrong. It's a big problem. There are many facets. We have to find a way to solve this, because teachers have a job to do and they can't do it under these circumstances. But there are other things that are not their job and they should stop trying to do those things. Parents need to be able to take back parenting and everyone needs to stop trying to be a famous victim.
1 person likes this
@Poppylicious (11134)
• United Kingdom
29 Oct 15
@Rollo1 Where I work the students mostly lack respect and it can be cringeworthy seeing some of the teaching staff try to deal with it. As a trained teacher myself I often want to wade in and sort out the issue, but I can't undermine the teacher. And because it's Further Education they keep the students because each bum on a seat is funding from the government.
@japneet20 (249)
• New Delhi, India
29 Oct 15
I passed out of school three years ago. I never dared to challenge what the teachers said. We went to learn from them and not object and raise questions against them.
@zebra2222 (5268)
• United States
29 Oct 15
Many schools have middle grounds, but parents have a good idea of what is appropriate to wear in school.
@inertia4 (27978)
• United States
29 Oct 15
I have dealt with crazy teachers in my past. I did go to a catholic school and those nuns were nuts. Down right crazy people. I was beaten by them and smoked around. My mother had gone up to the school a few times about that. They didn't seem to care one way or the other. That was a horrible experience I experienced. I see it that not only did the kids become more nasty over time, so have the teachers. The difference is that children are children. Teachers are adults. Like there is no more respect on either side, student or teacher. That's why home schooling has become a big thing these days. The kids learn way more much faster.
@JESSY3236 (22199)
• United States
29 Oct 15
I actually did go against the dress code a few times on the last day of school. I wore very short shorts on the last day. No one said anything to me.
