LukeyIsHandsome(dot)com - Narcissism at its Best

kids nowadays
Friday, August 24, 2012

When I was in school last time, I remember having this fearful respect of the teachers, where no matter what they say, I will listen to it as if they were instructions from my parents itself. Which is why I always kept my hair and fingernails short, afraid of the punishment that I would receive should I choose to disobey the school rules and the teacher's instructions.

And back in my days, teachers were respected and feared by the students, and they were not afraid to carry out their duties with authority. Students who flaunted the school rules were either sent to the school barber or given a painful stroke of the cane. We never complained and we grew up fine.

Not anymore though. It would seem like teachers nowadays are losing their authority with each passing day, it would seem like teachers are more like maids and the students are the bosses. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that it would be a good idea to switch the teacher's authority and give it to the students instead.

There's a lot of stories that are going around about the horrors of being a teacher, but the one that I read today just topped my list of "Why it is just plain impossible to be a teacher nowadays". The story goes that a mother decided to file a police report against a teacher for cutting her son's hair, claiming that the haircut was expensive (60$) and the teacher had absolutely no right to ruin such a beautiful haircut. Okay I reworded a little but the gist is there.

Source: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/1279636/kids_getting_too_soft.html

Yes, I know the mum used her son's dyslexia as part of her argument but come on, the teacher is not even discriminating the student based on his condition. She was just merely carrying out her job. Maybe the mum was afraid that this experience would permanently scar her son for life.

But then again, if we were to shelter the generation from young, choosing to shield them from any criticisms, rejections and disappointments, how are they going to react when they step out to the real world, where it is much more cruel? (Scientific research seems to back the idea that too much sheltering will not be good for the child as they're not trained to deal with rejection, disappointment etc. Read more here).

And if they grow up thinking that the world owes them a living, how would they treat their friends, colleagues and people around them later in life? And how would the teachers have confidence in doing their job if police report is one of their occupational hazard now?

Well, in a way, I envy the children born in this generation though. Having iPad, iPhone or PSP by the time their fingers know how to move, where handphones are given to them as a necessity rather than a luxury and having their parents lodging police report against anyone who dares bully their child, teachers included, they're really a privileged bunch, aren't they?

Discipline. Apparently it's a fast disappearing method of raising our kids now.

Labels: Rantings

Audrie said on August 24, 2012 at 2:59 AM

Hmm.. I used to envy the kids who were born in the smartphone era, but after thinking hard about it one day, I realized that there is nothing to envy. They are privileged, certainly. But in a way so are we. Most of us made do during our respective childhoods before search engines and msn. Assuming that one has not lost it yet, our generation has experienced simplicity and perhaps it can even be said that we're the last generation that possesses the ability to tolerate and work through difficulties as well as understand the values from the days before technology became available to just about anyone living in a first world country (*cough* though Singapore may not feel like one at times).

...but then again, I realized that the people raising the spoilt brats should have also gone through what we did as kids, and I can only conclude that the people raising such children are probably the scum of society and have forgotten the values of the good old days anyway..

Luke Phang said on August 24, 2012 at 3:22 AM

It's sad isn't it? Seeing how much things have changed

Audrie said on August 24, 2012 at 3:52 PM

Yeah.. :\ People keep suggesting that I become a teacher, but stories like these really put me off. I'm convinced that I'll lose it and slap some brat or his/her mother.

Post a Comment

Post a Comment