Young people today

Lampman · 14-10-2004, 11:13

What opinions do other forum users have of the young people of today?
Are they the stereotype foul mouth yobs or are they a much maligned group?
In the course of my employment,I encounter many teenaged people;most are foul mouthed and have no respect for property or other people.
They spit swear and fight and that's only the females.
Has authority collapsed? (school,police and parents)
Have things really deterioated,or were the Teddy Boy,Mods and Rockers/Skinheads eras just as bad?

WillowTheWhisp · 14-10-2004, 11:56

I have experience of trying to teach 11 year olds and I certainly wouldn't like to do it on a full-time basis. I wouldn't have dared to give cheek the way they do these days. I often feel like I'm talking to a brick wall.

As has been stated previously on this forum/message board those of us whose schooling was presided over by Mabel B Horne wouldn't have dared answer her back. The very threat of being sent to see her was enough to make us quake at the knees. There may have been a fair bit of bravado behind her back but none of it to her face.

I think authority collapsed when it was no longer permissable to punish children. At one time a cuff round the ear from a Bobby on the beat was all it took to deter a would be delinquent but now of course the policeman would be charged with assault.

Try to defend yourself and suddenly you become the assailant.

I do believe a large majority of young people today have no respect for anyone. That doesn't mean they are all the same. I have come across some very polite and helpful young people and hopefully I try to bring my own children up to behave in a manner I consider correct and desirable. Unfortunately it isn't easy. It isn't helped either when teachers no longer command the authority they once did.

I don't see that there's an answer to it and I dread to think what that means for the future. Will it get worse? I sincerely hope not.

rockrabbit · 14-10-2004, 13:46

there is also the fact that quite a lot of school leavers to late teens have no interest in working i work for a small company but already lost count of the amount young lads we ve employed this year most are lucky if they last a week before vanishing

JohnW · 14-10-2004, 14:09

I really think it is unfair to lump them all together as if they are all exactly the same. As Willow intimates, there are plenty of polite, hard working, good citizens which are part of today's 'young people'. I consider that the 'yobs' are a minority. Unfortunately, I think it is a fast growing minority and may not remain a minority for much longer. It is also unfair to put the whole of the blame on the young people themselves for this state of affairs, although, I do believe the older ones share some responsibility. The majority of blame has to be shouldered by parents. They have neglected to discipline their offsprings when required, and I do not necessarily mean corporal punishment, a whole new thread could be devoted to that. But, discipline, of whatever sort, is what has been missing. I believe the most important lesson schools could introduce, in the last couple of years pupils are in attendance, would be 'parenting'. I think in the past, we learned from our parents. What we thought they did right; we copied, what we thought they did wrong; we omitted. Why this learning process hasn't continued I am at a loss to understand, but it has obviously gone awry somewhere along the line. Parents do not seem to want to take responsibility for their children these days. How often do you see kids of all ages behaving badly when accompanied by adults? Too often I think. The "free spirited" thinking, like 'political correctness' has been taken too far. As I have said before, the problem seems to be much worse in Europe than it is here in America. Government here does seem to be encouraging parents to be more involved in their children's lives. There are many adverts on television to this end. eg. Sometimes at 10 pm an advert comes on, "It's ten o'clock. Do you know where your kids are?" Other ones show parent and teenager having a silent meal, or silently travelling in the car. The overvoice says, "Another opportunity missed to talk to your kids about drugs." Another one says: "Talk to your kids about not smoking and drinking - they'll listen"

Of course, we all know that not every kid is going to take advice from their parents, but if half of them did, think how much better things could be.

WillowTheWhisp · 14-10-2004, 14:59

Co-incidentally my cousin in California just sent me an email. Here is a copy of part of a quotation included in it.

Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. And we said, an expert should know what he's talking about so we won't spank them anymore...

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Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And the school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued. And we accepted their reasoning...

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Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said, that's a grand idea...

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Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want, so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said, that's another great idea...

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Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And we said, it doesn't matter what anybody, including the President, does in private as long as we have jobs and the economy is good...

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And someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then stepped further still by making them available on the Internet.And we said, everyone's entitled to free speech....

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And the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex... And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes...And we said, it's just entertainment and it has no adverse effect and nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead...

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Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, classmates or even themselves.

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Undoubtedly, if we thought about it long and hard enough, we could figure it out. I'm sure it has a great deal to do with...

"WE REAP WHAT WE SOW,"

KIPAX · 14-10-2004, 15:55

Quote:

I think authority collapsed when it was no longer permissable to punish children. At one time a cuff round the ear from a Bobby on the beat was all it took to deter a would be delinquent but now of course the policeman would be charged with assault.

Of course he would.. and quite rightly so. A policeman or anyone else for that matter has no right to hit any child.. Full stop.. I am suprised anyone in todays society would advocate hitting children

WillowTheWhisp · 14-10-2004, 16:15

I can make the distinction between an abusive attack on a child and the sort of thing I mean by a clip round the ear - it wouldn't bruise or leave a mark.

If anyone physically brutally attacked a child or an adult then yes they should be done for assault but we now have worse problems caused by lack of discipline since things like the ruler on the knuckles was banned from schools.

Do you think society is better off for it?

KIPAX · 14-10-2004, 16:31

Quote:

I can make the distinction between an abusive attack on a child and the sort of thing I mean by a clip round the ear - it wouldn't bruise or leave a mark.

You may want to re read and retract the above statement.. I am pretty sure you didnt mean to say its OK to hit kids so long as you dont leave a mark....

OMG and your second sentance is again advocating the hitting of children.... sigh....

Tealeaf · 14-10-2004, 16:34

Down here, nobody bothers hitting kids....the kids are to busy, anyway, sticking knives in each other.

wayneyboy1942 · 14-10-2004, 16:40

The more you have the more you want. I think a lot of kids now get spoilt, they seen to be bored all the time and have no understanding about how to respect other people. Having said that not all kids are like that and get tard with the same brush. It's an old saying but it realy is down to the parents.

WillowTheWhisp · 14-10-2004, 16:43

I'm saying there is a distinction between child abuse and the sort of minor smacking which until recently was considered normal.

A small child reaches out his or her hand towards a flame and the parent sharply taps the hand - it's an instinctive reaction in many cases. What is best? What else are they supposed to do? Let the child burn his or her hand whilst endeavouring to explain that it's not a good idea to touch fire? Would that be considered neglect?

Can a parent these days ever do right for doing wrong? How can you reasonably explain the danger anyway to a child too young to understand? If you even grab the hand and pull it away that could be classed as a physical assault. I honestly think things are more than a little out of proportion.

I don't smack my children. I don't have to. The mere fact that they know I'd like to if they warranted it is enough.

When I was at Junior school we had a teacher who used the ruler - once you'd experienced it you ddin't want the same experience again. It acted as a deterrant. We don't seem to have deterrants any more but we do have the situation which inspired this thread.

I've seen teachers attacked by children and unable to do anything about it. I've seen a teacher with a bleeding nose and split lip. I've seen a child hurl furniture across the room at a teacher and other children - the teacher is not allowed to do anything about it. These children know they are in control.

KIPAX · 14-10-2004, 16:45

I am against hitting children full stop! .. your so obviously for hitting children.. perhaps we should leave it at that and just pray you or anyone else who thinks like you are never left anywhere near my children

WillowTheWhisp · 14-10-2004, 16:49

I wouldn't hit them Kipax because it's against the law to do so.

But please do tell me how you think we should solve the problem of the violent yobs who have learned that it's OK for them to behave violently because no-one is allowed to do anything to stop them. Too many children are hurt more by other children who lack discipline.

wayneyboy1942 · 14-10-2004, 16:57

The teachers today are better than the ones I had. I know two teachers and yhey are cool. They like kids for a start! some that I had at school hated us and were nutters.

princesshales · 14-10-2004, 17:03

I'm a teen i'm not cheeky,i don't answer bck 2 teachers and i'm hard workin and always do hwk and class work. so i don't think its fair 2 say we all are lioke that