Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[guest]

I have my own opinion where it "all went wrong" and I think it was the 1980s. Kids saw their parents out of work with no hope of ever working again. Then the same thing happened to them. Now they're the parents of the kids we're discussing. Eg - where I once lived, male unemployment stood at 58%.  I know I was VERY bitter watching the "yuppie" south east of England on TV from Scotland where at the time it really didn't matter what qualifications you had - you simply weren't getting any sort of job unless you knew someone in that firm who could pull strings for you. Lots of people I knew then went right off the rails and plenty never really "recovered". I moved 700 miles for a job in 1989 - that's how bad things were.

Once upon a time I was naive enough to believe that Labour would reduce some of these social divisions. I've become much more cynical in the last ten years.

I fully agree about all the PC stuff regarding kids. I smacked ours when they were toddlers (and up to the age of about 6) - not so much because they were "bad" but if they did something dangerous. They still remember that but they know I'm not going to smack them now as they are old enough to understand a reasoned argument.

[Floydoid]

What really pees me off is teachers can no longer defend themselves against unruly pupils for fear of being charged with assault.

[UncleUB]

Well just to add to these comments,Got my living room windows 'egged last night'.That time of year I suppose.Do you remember some years ago the subway vigilante in New York going round topping all the no-marks,just turn me loose  People wonder why young  kids get all this bad press.

[Oh Snap.]

What really pees me off is teachers can no longer defend themselves against unruly pupils for fear of being charged with assault.

I remember I was only young, in year 3 I think, and we had a VERY... violent member of the class. This boy threw a chair at the teacher, Miss Wilson, and she couldn't do anything. Tbh, I think that's a pile of crap. He was allowed to return to school the next day too!

In high school, however, I did have a teacher that was willing to take a chance. I won't name him, but he was a good teacher. One member of my class was, in short, a complete and utter ****. And said teacher got sick of it, and threw a board rubber at him. I think he intentionally missed, however. It was a great sight to see the pupils face, however! Nothing happened to the teacher, but the pupil stayed quiet in class after that!

[Floydoid]

Throwing board rubbers was quite normal in my day.  I remember once I was talking in biology class to a mate.  We were sitting on the back row... the teacher fired a piece of chalk at me which stung me on the end of my finger... I soon learned to behave in his lessons after that.

[kitz]

I remember being whacked on the head hard by a rather large and thick text book, simply for talking in class.
I was hardly the most disruptive of pupils and the punishment was dished out without warning as he was walking past.

No-one ever complained if teachers did this and it was accepted the norm...  if you got caught then tough.  I can imagine the riot if a teacher did that these days.

[Floydoid]

I also remember in junior school being rapped round the back of the knees with a ruler on several occasions (we wore short trousers in those days).  It was just accepted as being normal.

[roseway]

I remember being made to bend over in front of the whole class while I was given 6 of the best with a plimsoll. The thing was, it didn't hurt at all, but it was damned embarrassing.

[guest]

I got belted (on the hands) several times in secondary school. It was always preferable to them sending a letter home where I'd have been hearing about it for weeks

I can understand entirely why corporal punishment has been banned in schools. Violence solves very little - it certainly didn't stop me skiving off school, whereas a letter home certainly would have had my mother checking every damn thing I did for weeks.

Back to parents again - I'm damn sure I am a bloody awful parent compared to my parents' generation. I have always been primary carer too - well apart from the first few months where I lack the equipment to be useful

[ralphw]

I have always been primary carer too - well apart from the first few months where I lack the equipment to be useful

I'm sure there's an operation that could be arranged if required...

[kitz]

naw - much easier to use a bottle and milk formula