In the Herald today is a story about how police are going to be stationed at the worst schools in South Auckland to keep order. I almost couldn't believe it when I read it. What occurs to me is that this has come about because we're so afraid of disciplining a child at home or at school (and have had a pushy Helen-knows-best government nose it's way into our home lives) that police are now required to keep order at school.
Have things really got so bad? Things have swung way too far in the wrong direction. Perhaps caning might be a little too far to the other extreme, but surely there is a happy medium. When I was at primary school (a small country school that went from primers all the way to Form 2), we had 'the strap' with which a kid could be hit on the hand for something really serious.
I can only remember one or two kids getting it and most kids were well behaved. We didn't DARE say no to a teacher or give him/her any lip yet I don't remember feeling under any pressure or fear. It felt a safe place to be.
In giving our kids more responsibility and 'freedom', we are actually removing the boundaries that make them feel safe and creating more problems.
I have it on good authority that the media ignore most of what happens in south Auckland.
ReplyDeleteThe recent "upswing" in crimes was most likely just reporters deciding to report on it for once.
What on earth is going on?
ReplyDeleteThis is a perverse approach to the problem of youth crime. It merely makes teenage louts feel important. They are getting more attention and resources lavished upon them.
For several years now in the wesetrn liberal democracies, we have pandered to 'yoof' culture: swearing, gang 'colours', drugs, hip-hop's anthems of mysogyny and racism, grafitti, abuse of anybody in their 30s or older or any authority figure. The list just goes on and on.
As a society we are scared of teenagers. This is insane.
Our young people need clear and enforced boundaries: a 'this is acceptable, that is not' message from everyone.
They are not getting that message, of course, because we can no longer agree on what is acceptable.
We have a rampant human rights movement, an anti-family government (what would Mrs Clark, Ms. Beyer, Messers Carter and Barnett and many of their colleagues know - or care - about dealing with children daily and in the real world?), and a yoof culture which is truly destructive and increasingly self-confident.
I don't know what the answer is, other than prayer.
(Sorry about the anonymous name. I'm still trying to organise a Google ID.)
The next step is that Big Brother is going to have to station cops in people's houses.
ReplyDelete"I don't know what the answer is, other than prayer".
ReplyDeleteI do. In no particular order:
* Remove the state from education - it's too important for the state to mismanage/control - & allow parental choice to determine the ed their children receive/application of corporal punishment or not, etc.
* Abolish all state youth benefits - no access to easy money at others expense.
* Respect property rights with serious ramifications for breaches thereof.
* Abolish the position of Children's Commissioner & assorted state busybodies.
* Recognise parental rights.
That'll do for starters. I'm shifting house; flat out; see www.lp.org.nz for more details ...
:)
But Sus, all your ideas have no chance of being implemented, but prayer is something anyone can do right now.
ReplyDelete"No chance", Lucyna? Ye of little faith!
ReplyDelete