Anti-social behaviour - are we tackling it in the right way?

Andrei writes today on a new Government initiative to combat Conduct Disorder/Severe antisocial Behaviour in 3-7 year olds. The plan is for teachers to take note of which children exhibit behavioural problems - which could include things such as "interrupts others when they are speaking" and whether or not the child "takes his/her turn when others are waiting". Not that those particular behaviours will necessarily be on the list as the government wants to reinvent the wheel themselves, but for goodness sakes!

I'm really horrified by this. On the one hand I agree that children need to be trained how to behave. Having two boys myself, I am well aware of how often this needs to be done. And not only do children need to be trained, they need good examples of appropriate behaviour around them modelled by the adults that have the most influence on them - namely their parents. This influence is on-going and the training needed for children is on-going. They seem to hit various ages where they test the boundaries in new ways. They also want to know why so and so is allowed to do certain things and they are not - that's a fun one to try to explain.

So I agree in principle, but I don't agree with the identification needed of these children. Surely teachers would have some idea of how to train the children in their care in appropriate social interaction? You would think they'd be able to, anyway. I do remember the nuns back in my day were very capable of sorting out youngsters very quickly.

The Steiner school my children used to go also had teachers were able to keep children in line. Though being hampered very much by their inability to use physical discipline, they instead were able to still have a certain amount of success by being very strict, not letting things slide, and even calling in the parents if necessary. One other major success factor seems to have been having the same teacher for years (not just one year as is the norm in most schools). If a teacher had a problem child, they needed to work it out as they'd have the same child for a long time. They couldn't just wait it out until the next year when the child would move onto another class. Much like parents really - we have our kids for 18 years or so, so we have a vested interest in them that goes beyond the interest of most other people.

However, this governmental intervention system seems to be the result of everything else we have now. Building more prisons to tackle petty crime is anethma to most socialists. Our prison numbers would look really bad then, not just mildly horrendous. So we can't have that. Plus there is this aversion to discipline and punishment and allowing children to fail. Character building has fallen by the wayside to be replaced with feel-good measures of limited effectiveness, but that also necessitate the increasing intrusion into families. Just horrifying, really. Because once the system is in place for intrusion, it's very difficult to remove it even if it becomes no longer necessary.

I'd just like to finish with something from the Pope on educating children. I doubt it will get reported here, so here is a ray of light that will counter the darkness:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a letter to the faithful of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI said today's younger generations are not being well educated in the fundamental values of life.

The result is an "educational emergency" that has left many young people unhappy and disoriented, he said. The letter was made public at the Vatican Jan. 23.

The papal text touched on a sensitive issue in Italy, where the school system has been the focus of political battles and student protests in recent years.

"Educating has never been easy, and today it seems to be increasingly difficult. This is well known to parents, teachers, priests and all those who have direct educational responsibilities," the pope said.

It's unfair to blame the children, but blaming today's adults doesn't tell the whole story either, he said. The problem involves the personal responsibilities of young people and adults, but goes beyond that, he said.

At the root of the problem, he said, is "a widespread atmosphere, a mentality and a form of culture that lead people to doubt the value of the human person, and the very meaning of truth and goodness."

Values cannot be inherited but must be taught to every new generation, he said, and when such "essential certainties" are ignored, there are bound to be problems.

That's why parents today are so worried about the future of their children, why some teachers are distressed at the degradation of their schools, and why young students feel anxious when faced with life's challenges, he said.

He encouraged educators to take heart, however, and said the problems were solvable.

The pope listed some requisites of an authentic education. For one thing, he said, teachers need to recognize that true education must provide more than superficial facts or information. It should provide a sense of empathy and trust that comes from love, he said.

Nor should parents and educators try to keep children from every negative experience or failure in life, he said. Suffering is part of life, and without it "we risk raising, despite our good intentions, people who are fragile and not very generous," he said.

Above all, the pope said, educators and students need to find the right balance between discipline and freedom.

"Without rules of behavior and of life, respected every day even in small things, character is not formed and one is not prepared to face the trials that will appear in the future," he said.

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Pope says youths are not being well educated in values of life