Teacher ‘petrified’ after being attacked by student

[Schmalzy]

Ive been very fortunate to have had a great upbringing, but there were two people I feared growing up. God, and then my father. He, never abused the power, but there was a very clear CoC established. Responsibility, integrity, hard work and honor were all qualities that were taught to me to be absolutely required to be a member of our family. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have received an ass whippin beyond comprehension if I EVER hit a woman or pulled what happened in the article.

[Go Devil]

Humans are quite bright and adaptive as soon as they leave the ol' birth canal.
We normally start pressing boundaries at 6-12 months; "No" is understood very early.
RAISING a child into adulthood requires a DAILY emotional investment from a parent (mother or father) from day 1.
Our world has changed drastically since the Industrial Revolution.
Most of the social education that is needed to become a productive member of a family or society takes place standing by the hip of mom and dad during daily activities (Meals, Work, Study, Social Exchanges, Play, and Rest).
Unfortunately that environment is missing in a great part of our culture. Without the ability to have our children by our sides as they could have been many years ago , communication (dictionary definition) , daily, between parent and child is now the critical event for shaping the minds (SA) of our kids.
Talk to your babies and leave the "Goo-Goo's" to Gram and Gramps!

Invest early. Don't kick the wayward in the teeth and walk away, be a mentor. You might be the only one they will ever have.

My daughter is in the tenth grade. We just returned from meeting with a prospective university that is interested in her talents.

I wish I'd had a fraction of what she has when I was her age.

Go Devil

[nmap]

Originally Posted by Radar Rider

I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on
the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless
beyond words.

When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of
elders, but the present youth are exceedingly unwise and impatient of
restraint.
--- Hesiod, Eighth Century B.C.

This quote and others attributed to Socrates and Plato make the point that adults throughout history have been alarmed by the behavior of young people and that civilization hasn't yet come to an end because of the rebelliousness of teenagers.

I honestly believe that kids are no worse than they've ever been, but that bad behavior is simply more visible due to stupid things like mytube and youspace.

Perhaps you're right.

Then again...maybe we can draw different inferences.

Hesiod was a poet and a philosopher - and someone was around to record his words for posterity. What does this mean? It could tell us that Hesiod lived during a period of relative affluence, with considerable leisure time. If we look at societies through history, the above factors (affluence and leisure) seem to be at least corrosive - and maybe, an indicator of the looming demise of the society.

Our present age enjoys unprecedented mass affluence, as well as the time to enjoy the abundance.

So - perhaps the behavioral problems have less to do with "modern" youth (whatever era modern might refer to), than to youth exposed to some set of experiences. Perhaps Hesiod whispers to us that by developing a certain environment, we assure ourselves that youth will be frivolous and reckless.

Ah, well. Not to worry. Affluence seldom lingers long in a society that abandons the old virtues of hard work and thrift in favor of luxury and hedonism.

[Radar Rider]

I don't have a perspective on this, I guess.

Mom and Dad were married for 53 years; my oldest brother was married for 24 years until the cancer got him. I and my sweetheart just celebrated 19 years (6 April). If our families are stable, it is muddled as to see why others have such difficulties.

I just asked my 17 year old son "Why are you such a good kid?". He said it's because of "you and Mom". I think it's because of his Mom, but it's nice to be recognized.

I can't forget when the boy and I went to a concert called "The Sounds of the Underground" in 2006. It was an all day hard rock fest; at the end, as we were both somewhat burned out, he watched the "mosh pit" with some degree of disgust. I thought that he was tired and asked him what was up. He told me that "Those kids in the pit are idiots". The young man is more mature than I am.

[Mustang66]

Reading over this thread reminds me of time when my wife, daughter (3 yrs old at the time) and I were walking around the mall. My daughter was not in a stroller but walking with us and behaving herself in the way we as parents taught her to behave. We were walking out of a store and a woman comes up to us with her son in a stroller and asks her son "Why can't you act like that?". while point at my daughter. I asked her "Why don't you teach him to act that way?". She got extremely angry and stopped off cussing me. I'm sorry but being parents is a privelage not a right. Till this day, 6 years later my daughter behaves herself in public as she has been taught. I know many of us want our kids to have it better than we did, I know I'm one of them, but within reason. Having a better life does not mean they cannot be taught life lessons and discipline along the way. Yes to this day she is daddy's girl and I teach her everyday, in an attempt to get her ready for this world, which I honest don't know if I can prepare her enough with the way this world is going. My penny worth's of thoughts.

[Wired]

Originally Posted by Radar Rider

I guess I'm an anachronism. The wife and the boy and I sit down every night for dinner.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all do that? I am, unfortunately a product of the failing economical climate in this country (no denial comments, please) and as such, am forced to work rather than spending that kind of time with my family. -- no offense or disrespect intended (I would love the same opportunity), but I think that is a generalization... it takes more than presence at the table to raise good kids...

That being said, My children are in the public system during the day, where they learn. Before and after that, they are with family, whether myself, my wife, their aunt, or Grandparents-- they are with family. Family that tells them NOT to do the things that BET or the Xbox will teach them to do. Are they denied these things? No. Do they receive the major part of their education from them? Absolutely not!

They have chores and responsibilities. Errors are seen as learning opportunities, not opportunities for a bruised bottom-- HOWEVER-- blatant opposition to the rules or manners result in just that.

What am I getting at? In a nutshell, the result of all of this can be summed up with one word: PARENTING. It seems to be all but lost. Gay or straight, Married, Divorced, Widowed, Adopted... don't care... good parenting results in good kids. Bad parenting results in bad kids.

Its long past time for ADULTS to own this. If you can't face the realities of your life and still focus on that which matters most, DONT HAVE KIDS! If you're not ready to be an adult yourself, DONT HAVE KIDS. And mostly.. I am sick to death of people who have kids to raise their social status and then pay other people to raise them... I wont even begin to raise my voice on this one, because I'm likely not to stop if I start.

I hereby reserve the right to further contribute my .02 in this post, as it comes to me..

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Wired

...the failing economical climate in this country (no denial comments, please)...

Ok, instead of comments, how about I provide facts?

Real GDP is indeed growing at a slower rate than in the last 4 years, but its still growing. In fact, the annualized real GDP is higher now than any time in the last 78 years. If you're driving in a car at 1mph or 10mph, you're still making forward progress. We haven't seen an annualized decline in GDP since 1991.

Unemployment has risen a fraction of a percentage from last year, but its still lower by a full percentage point than 5 years ago, and 2.5% lower than 15 years ago.

Lastly, inflation has been on a downward trend since 2005, sitting a half a percent lower since then. At 2.9%, it is significantly lower than the 5.4% rate in 1990.

So, looking at the cumulative data for the entire economy rather than individualized situations, how is our economy "failing"?

[cold1]

This story is very disgusting. It happens everyday though. The parents of these kids dont want to be parents, they want to be "friends" to their children. If they want to be anything at all to them. I have seen it many times. The parent thinks that this is what parenting is, to be my childs best friend. This is utter bull shit. The goal of a parent should be to raise a child to be a responseble productive adult. Children dont want their parents to be their buddies they want them to be parents. When parents try to be Buddy, the kids take advantage of the situation and use the parents.

Look at most split house holds. The kids live with parent A. Parent A is strict about homework, chores, and curfew. Kid threatens Parent A with, "I will go live with Parent B, and you will loose child support and have to start paying". Of course parent B is the one that wants to be a buddy. Parent B sees this as an opertunity to stop paying child support back and start getting paid.

You can see it in even younger kids in a stable household when they try asking one parent and then the other when the first one says NO. That is when you have to have a united front as a couple.


The second thing in this story is the Wuss of a teacher being to terrified to go back in the class room. She misses the good kids and they miss their teacher, they are depending on her. She is teaching them that if something bad happens to you, you should run and hide instead of sucking it up and driving on. It would have been different if she had said that she needs alittle time to heal and she would be back as soon as possible. Instead she is crying and giving up. What is this showing the students, even the bad ones.

We have all been there to some degree but it is how you handle it that shows the world who and what you are. I think this teacher needs to go and see some of our wounded vets and see that how they are handling thier situations.

Rant over

[mdb23]

Originally Posted by Razor

Ok, instead of comments, how about I provide facts?

Real GDP is indeed growing at a slower rate than in the last 4 years, but its still growing. In fact, the annualized real GDP is higher now than any time in the last 78 years. If you're driving in a car at 1mph or 10mph, you're still making forward progress. We haven't seen an annualized decline in GDP since 1991.

Unemployment has risen a fraction of a percentage from last year, but its still lower by a full percentage point than 5 years ago, and 2.5% lower than 15 years ago.

Lastly, inflation has been on a downward trend since 2005, sitting a half a percent lower since then. At 2.9%, it is significantly lower than the 5.4% rate in 1990.

So, looking at the cumulative data for the entire economy rather than individualized situations, how is our economy "failing"?

I have no doubts that the data that you provided is absolutely correct. However, I still think that the economic situation for families has changed drastically in the past 30 or 40 years.

I grew up in a house where dad had a "good" job at GM. Mom stayed at home with the kids. I came home to dinner with the family, dad had regular days off, etc. We weren't rich by any means, but we were comfortable. Nice home, two decent (never new) cars, and we didn't want for any necessities. Dad made it to all of my games, was at the parent teacher conferences, etc... most of the families that I knew of were like this (single income), were stable, and divorce was rare.

Those days are gone.

My wife and I both have to work to make it. We live in a very modest older home, have chosen to only have one child, drive very modest used cars, and we still have the same 19" TV that we had in college. Our standard of living isn't any better than what either of us had growing up in single income families. The single income middle class family, at least from where I sit, is a thing of the past. To be "middle class," you almost have to have two incomes, which puts a strain on the "family unit" that worked so well for the generations before us.

Also, though salaries are up, the number of hours required to get that salary have increased greatly. My wife's standard work week is 60 hours, she works nights, weekends, and holidays, and that is not uncommon for managers of businesses... some weeks, she works 80 hours. I have to work "secondary" duties in addition to my 40 hour week....

So we may make more than those before us, but we are working more hours, nights, weekends, holidays, etc. to do it. This, in addition to the fact that both parents now have to work, puts a strain on the family unit....

So, while I do see what you are saying from a statistical point of view, I also know what I have observed. Nearly every family I knew while growing up was single income, mom stayed home with the kids, etc...... Now, I can count on one hand the number of people that I know in that situation, and most of them have highly technical (upper class) jobs.... this has undoubtedly affected the raisiing of our children.

I know families where the kids spend more time at a sitter than with their parents, or basically raise themselves. They have no role models, and are charged with too much responsibility at too young of an age.

I also agree with what Reaper said in regard to divorce. I remember when I was in second grade, there was that one kid in our class who's "gasp" parents had divorced. Now, in any given class 3/4 of the kids are the product of broken homes. There is no stability, as new boyfriends and girlfriends are marched in and out of the kids' lives, they are shipped from home to home, etc....

That's what I always found so curious about the "defense of marriage act." The Bible condemns divorce as strongly as it does homosexuality, and it is indisputable that far, far, far more children are negatively impacted by divorce than could ever be by two gay people getting a marriage license, yet we are so determined to "protect marriage" by banning gay unions. it's almost laughable.

Over half of all marriages end up in divorce... think of how many kids that screws up....but nobody, and I mean nobody, wants to outlaw divorce... I mean, after all, we might find something younger and better someday, right? But if we are really serious about protecting our children, and "saving the sanctity of marriage," then what actually needs to be looked at? Gay marriage, or the ridiculous divorce rate?

There is a gay couple that lives on my block. Two dudes that have been together for 15 years. They helped me landscape my yard, and we invite them over whenever we have a fire pit going out in the yard. Good dudes... big basketball fans.... they even let us use their pool during the summer with our kid.

I can't see how their getting a marriage certificate would in any way "damage" my daughter's concept of family or marriage. However, should I or her mother pack up and leave, and she had to split time between homes, I can undoubtedly say that she would be damaged by the experience.....

But nobody wants to touch that..... Odd. Anyway, rant over.

In closing, I agree with you Razor, but I also think that the economic reality for most families has changed drastically in the past 25 or 30 years,a nd not in a positive way.

I also agree with Reaper in his assessment that the incredibly high divorce rate (with many people getting married 2 or 3 times) has also had an incredibly negative impact on our kids.

And yes, kids are getting worse....

[Razor]

Originally Posted by mdb23

I grew up in a house where dad had a "good" job at GM. Mom stayed at home with the kids. I came home to dinner with the family, dad had regular days off, etc. We weren't rich by any means, but we were comfortable. Nice home, two decent (never new) cars, and we didn't want for any necessities. Dad made it to all of my games, was at the parent teacher conferences, etc... most of the families that I knew of were like this (single income), were stable, and divorce was rare.

Those days are gone.

My wife and I both have to work to make it. We live in a very modest older home, have chosen to only have one child, drive very modest used cars, and we still have the same 19" TV that we had in college. Our standard of living isn't any better than what either of us had growing up in single income families. The single income middle class family, at least from where I sit, is a thing of the past. To be "middle class," you almost have to have two incomes, which puts a strain on the "family unit" that worked so well for the generations before us.

I hear ya, and agree with your assessment at the micro level. The question you have to ask, though, is what were the good paying jobs in the "good ol' days", and what are they now?

I grew up in a paper mill town. Even lower level hourly guys were paid well, because they did something others weren't willing or able to do--in this case, make quality paper and work shifts in a semi-dangerous environment. Today, that town is dying because the paper company, who is beholden to its shareholders, found they could build a mill in Russia, pay less for environmental controls, pay workers less (but hire more of them because they're not nearly as productive), pay nominal shipping fees and in the end generate better profit margins. The mill still runs, but at a mere fraction of its former production rates, with fewer workers, and at reduced wages because demand isn't as high for their product. It sucks for the guys that gave the best part of their lives to the mill, but its an economic reality. The demand for higher priced domestically produced paper (or GM autos in your dad's case) is low, so prices adjust lower and wages follow.

In the end, supply and demand are strong drivers. Unfortunately in our society today, there's higher demand to watch a grown man toss a ball through a hoop (and a small supply of those who can do it well) than for a cop to help control crime, a paramedic to save lives after an accident or a soldier to kill the bad guys in a far away land rather than Main Street USA. All those unemployed auto workers out there aren't bad people, but they (or their unions) priced themselves out of a job. I deeply respect and appreciate the job you do as an LEO, but the societal demand for law enforcement isn't high enough (until things go wrong, that is) to warrant higher pay.

Economies and markets are dynamic; how many coopers do you run into nowadays? How about print setters? Many hand loom weavers? Technology advances and the competitive advantage of foreign markets giveth and taketh away. If someone wants a bigger piece of the pie, they have to be willing (and able) to invest the human capital required to move into a job with higher demand. Otherwise, the economic express train will zip along without them. I'm not claiming its fair, but its damn sure real.

Again, thank God you're doing what you do, 'cuz I sure wouldn't be willing to do it. However, if doing what you do means you struggle to make ends meet, and the struggle isn't offset by job satisfaction, then perhaps you need to investigate what you could do in today's economy that would bring in higher wages. Economic evolution is an efficient but cruel mistress.

[Plutarch]

I went to high school in the 80's. Even at that time, the boys who got into trouble were given the choice of calling their parents or taking "licks" from the football coach.

For those not familiar with licks, it was basically bending over and having a large man strike you with a thick wooden plank with holes drilled in it so that it whistled through the air on it's way to your backside.

No one EVER called their parents.

[JMI]

Originally Posted by Radar Rider

I just asked my 17 year old son "Why are you such a good kid?". He said it's because of "you and Mom". I think it's because of his Mom, but it's nice to be recognized.

.

I remember telling my Dad this one day. He deferred the responsibility to me, saying "no, I showed you the way and you chose the path." We argued back and forth for years ( giving each other credit for my upbringing.) Good times. I miss Dad a lot.

But again, if it were not for my Mom and Dad, and the upbringing I had as a kid - the summers I spent working while other kids played; the jobs I got when I was 15; the work ethic and strong back as a result; the beatings I took when I lied or cheated - I would not be where I am today.

No question I had great parents who did an exceptional job with all 4 of us - with no playbook or "Dr Spock" to refer to.

Thanks Mom and Dad

[mdb23]

Originally Posted by Razor

Economic evolution is an efficient but cruel mistress.

Agreed, Sir.

I understand what you are saying, and wasn't trying to say otherwise. I am just pointing out that, for a majority of Americans, the reality of day to day life is much different than the picture presented by the statistics that you listed.

People are working more days, longer hours, swing shifts, and are paying out more for insurance than in any generation before. While the numbers are up, the quality of life is not.

I also understand that the types of jobs out there are changing. The rub is that not every American is capable of doing those jobs. Unlike times past when anyone with a strong back, good work ethic, and desire to earn could support a family, you now have to have a technical skill.

Unfortunately, not everyone possesses the mental faculties needed to get their MSE certification, become a chemist or engineer, etc.... for this group, the future is bleak.

But as you said, a cruel mistress she is.

[nmap]

Originally Posted by Razor

So, looking at the cumulative data for the entire economy rather than individualized situations, how is our economy "failing"?

Sir, I am reminded of a statistical jest. Suppose a person has one foot in boiling water (212 degrees), and another foot in ice (say, -10 degrees). On average, they're comfortable!

I suspect the economy has similar attributes. From the NY Times:

Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top 1 percent of Americans — those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 — receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows.

The top 10 percent, roughly those earning more than $100,000, also reached a level of income share not seen since before the Depression.

While total reported income in the United States increased almost 9 percent in 2005, the most recent year for which such data is available, average incomes for those in the bottom 90 percent dipped slightly compared with the year before, dropping $172, or 0.6 percent.


LINK

So, on average, people are moving ahead somewhat. If one delves into the numbers, some are doing quite nicely, whereas others perceive that they are not. Humans being humans, this is likely to generate some jealousy and resentment.

If one supposes - as I do - that we will experience some economic distress over the next year, then the political implications may become significant.

Will it change? I think not. Should it change? That's way above my pay grade.

[GratefulCitizen]

Originally Posted by mdb23

I also understand that the types of jobs out there are changing. The rub is that not every American is capable of doing those jobs. Unlike times past when anyone with a strong back, good work ethic, and desire to earn could support a family, you now have to have a technical skill.

Unfortunately, not everyone possesses the mental faculties needed to get their MSE certification, become a chemist or engineer, etc.... for this group, the future is bleak.

I don't entirely agree with this assessment.

There are plenty of opportunities to make a good living for those lacking advanced skills.

However, people must follow the work. They may not be able to live where they grew up.

I would also argue that the larger problem is spending, not earning.
Patience, frugality, and long-term planning will make the difference.