What a day...

[Veronica]

Oh it most definitely does! Let's face it: it's HARD to be a good parent- it's much easier to be a friend. Too bad we have a big portion of this generation of selfish, spoiled kids coming up who don't know boundaries.

I have to shut my mouth...

That's it!!!! I have 29 students. 24 of them seriously think, "It's all about me." Forget about what anyone else needs. MEMEMEMEME!!!!!!!



Veronica

[sbctwin]

When my twin sis taught in East TX, she had a student throw a desk at her. She was scared of the kid. The parents came in and blamed her. She only wanted the classroom to be quiet so she could teach and this upstart didn't want to listen. She told him to go down to the principle's office. On his way out, he thew the desk at her. My sis had to stand on a platform to see above the podium to teach. The bully was on the football team...go figure. I am glad she is out of teaching...

[Tri Girl]

Scary, sbctwin. I'm waiting for the day. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet this year. I had a kid come at me one time, but he tripped. heee heee

And they said the 80's was the ME decade (or the ME generation). They 'aint seen nothin' yet.

The old Whitney Houston song "I believe the children are our future..." I'm scared of the future. I believe in most of them, but for a good part- I'm scared of what they'll be like as adults. Very scared.

[Aggie_Ama]

And they said the 80's was the ME decade (or the ME generation). They 'aint seen nothin' yet.

I was born in 1981, yes 1981. I am DISGUSTED at the way the teenagers in my neighborhood talk, act, drive and behave. Last month we called the sheriff because one of the little darlings we peeling out in front of my house and drving about 50 in a 25 while kids were playing. This little punk doesn't even live here just hangs out here. This summer they were bored and thought buying 9 watermelons to throw around the neighborhood would be fun. Yeah and so were the thousands of ants and rodents in front of my house. DH can't stand them and he is only 10 months older than me.

My friends the teach middle school almost make me cry with their stories. One had to cousel second graders having sex and the parents were not concerned.

The kids that live around me are only 10 years younger than me but I would have a butt so purple I couldn't sit if I acted like they did. My parents didn't beat me, I think they were awesome but I did get one or two spankings and to this day I believe I deserved it and I am okay with the fact that I got it.

I live in a predominantly white, middle class, suburban neighborhood, very much the demographic and financial level I grew up in. It is probably more church going and community involved than mine, I tend to believe parents have gotten lazier. Maybe not but I am having trouble being swayed to other side.

[PamNY]

I was born in 1981, yes 1981. I am DISGUSTED at the way the teenagers in my neighborhood talk, act, drive and behave. Last month we called the sheriff because one of the little darlings we peeling out in front of my house and drving about 50 in a 25 while kids were playing.

Kids driving too fast is not a recent phenomenon. My cousin took us all on a 90 mph joyride when I was ten years old, and that was 48 years ago.

I do have every sympathy and much admiration for teachers, and I'm sure they see the dark side of social change.

Nonetheless, the "kids today are awful" chant has gone on since the beginning of time, and always will. It's comical as I get older, as the people doing the complaining are ones about whom I heard many, many complaints.

I do wonder why one report of a bad kid leads people to conclude that all kids are awful. If a woman aged 46 commits a crime, conclusions are drawn about her, not about all 46-year-old women. It's also true that news about successful young people doesn't generate cries of "All kids are wonderful!"

An interesting article in the NY Times touches on this phenomenon.

To be clear, this thread has wandered, and the article has no bearing on the issues of the original post.

Pam

[bmccasland]

V - you could come to Loo-si-Ana and join the ranks of the lowest paid school teachers in the nation too. So it could be worse.

Now don't you feel better?

Didn't think so. Being childless, I've wondered where the breakdown occurred that parenting fell off. Or rather when parents quit being responsible for teaching their kids basic manners and civility?

I chewed some neighborhood kids up and down one afternoon who were playing "Army" or something in the street, cause one of the boys pointed a gun at me. Unfortunately for him, the owner of the gun ("not My gun") had taken pain to scratch off the orange safety paint so it wouldn't look fake. I told the group that one N E V E R points a gun at another person - especially if they aren't part of your game. How was I supposed to know?!? I used to play "Army" or whatever when I was a kid, but my Dad taught me, Never EVER point your toy guns at someone who isn't part of your game. Furthermore, get some orange paint, and paint the safety ring back on the gun. Kids have been killed because police officers couldn't tell it was a toy being pointed at them! We then had a discussion on basic gun safety.

Their response was, "yes, ma'am". Gawd, I like living in the south, where you can still get away with yelling at your neighbor's kids. Did help that we were all the same race. Not sure I'd try it if they were all *pick your minority* as I'm white.

[rocknrollgirl]

I have been teaching for 21 years and it has changed. I could go on, and on, but suffice it to say these little beasties that we are cultivating are very, very entitled.And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

I teach primarily "good" kids, and even they are missing the basics in polite behavior and social graces. It is just not being taught at home anymore.

[Tri Girl]

I have been teaching for 21 years and it has changed. I could go on, and on, but suffice it to say these little beasties that we are cultivating are very, very entitled.And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

I teach primarily "good" kids, and even they are missing the basics in polite behavior and social graces. It is just not being taught at home anymore.

I agree completely. My kids are generally good from double income working class families who do their best. Most of the parents and kids at our school are good, but in general the level of entitlement and lacking basic manners is astonishing to me. General human decency seems to be going away (holding doors for others, picking up something for someone when they drop it, letting someone go first, saying please and thank you, etc...)

[Aggie_Ama]

Didn't think so. Being childless, I've wondered where the breakdown occurred that parenting fell off. Or rather when parents quit being responsible for teaching their kids basic manners and civility?

I do wonder if I have a right to judge since I have no kids and may never chose to have them. But seeing that I usually form opinions on anything I darn well feel I wonder the same thing. My parents are completely laid back and we are often more friend than parent so I don't think it is lack of discipline. We had a lot of freedom. I guess if I knew they magic answer I could write a book and make millions. Go on Oprah or something.

[OakLeaf]

I would hate to think it's a choice between suicidal (kids who were beaten) and homicidal (kids who weren't, supposedly).

I don't know if it's just kids, though. Honestly? The people I see behaving most rudely, most consistently, are elderly people. Definitely displaying a sense of entitlement and an appalling lack of respect for others. And unlike kids with their toy guns, the old people are REALLY killing people with their real cars. I think it's what people have been fed in the news media for the last 10 or so years. Kids may be growing up on it, but old people really BELIEVE it.

[Aggie_Ama]

Kids driving too fast is not a recent phenomenon. My cousin took us all on a 90 mph joyride when I was ten years old, and that was 48 years ago.


Pam

I got pulled over many times when I was younger and dumber but never did it in a neighborhood. This was 1:30 on a Saturday on a residential street. Kids play on the side walk and because our neighborhood is small and the adults drive slow they also play in the street. That is the part that makes our blood pressure go sky high.

The beautiful thing? The sheriff is required to investigate all complaints even if they think they are stupid so those little darlings parents got a knock from the boys (or girls one of them out here is a lady) in brown that afternoon. And I got to see it in the police log in the local paper. Been kind of quiet down there the rest of the month.

Seems what the teachers are experience is just what I seem to believe, many kids are just growing to feel a since of entitlement. Or maybe I am just getting old, jeez and I thought I was a spring chicken at 27.