Quote:
Originally Posted by JanH
I've had retiring and new school teachers tell me the parents are getting worse along with the kids. If you misbehaved in our day, you'd also have to deal with your parents' wrath. Now, the parents side with the kids.
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This is SO true. Teachers can't do anything about a misbehaving child because the parents support the kid no matter what.
I have a friend who is a 3rd grade teacher. One day this year, the kids got out their bags for snack time. The teacher helped one kid, opened his little cooler and there was a cold, full can of beer in his bag. She opened the bag herself and saw the can.
Of course, the father was called. Without hearing any details, he immediately made up a story to defend the kid saying, "Oh, he didn't bring a can of beer to school. He must have seen an empty can on the ground on the way to school and picked it up and put it in his bag." The story made no sense, of course, since the can was sealed, full and cold when the teacher found it. But this is the kind of nonsense teachers face today. The parents' attitude is "My child can do no wrong, and if you accuse him of anything, I'll make sure you pay for it." There are many stories of parents suing a teacher, a school, a school district for disciplining their child.
Just recently, there was a case around here. One school made it crystal clear that for the prom, all students attending had to arrive between 7pm and 9pm. During those hours, there would be a check-in procedure at the door to make sure everyone entering belonged there. There was a bag check and other security measures. Everyone was told repeatedly that if they arrived after 9pm, they would not be admitted. The building would be locked down at that point until the end of the prom. Hundreds of kids followed the rules and arrived on time. One couple showed up at 9:30pm and wasn't allowed in. The kids had no excuse. They weren't delayed for any good reason. They made no attempt to contact anyone to let them know they'd be late. They just didn't show up on time. Their fault 100%. Rather than the parents sitting them down and saying, "Sorry guys. You really screwed up. Mabye you'll learn a lesson and be on time next time" instead they raised hell and hired a lawyer to sue the school. What does that teach the kids? That the rules apply to everyone but you?