On C4 there is a series named "That`ll Teach `Em", and which DD1 and I watch avidly.
We settled down comfortably for last night`s offering, following the fortunes of a group of GCSE students (aged 15-16) who are "sent back" in time to the life of a 1950s boarding school, where they were taught in single sex classes and with strict discipline.
It has been a real eye-opener to see how these youngsters have reacted to being made to behave, be polite and respectful, and to be punished for wrongdoing, instead of being allowed to weasel their way out of situations.
Many of them simply cannot cope at all, to be honest. At the first hint of difficulty, several of them have visibly crumbled, having the emotional stamina of a wet tissue when it transpires that they cannot get their own way.
One of the leaders of the girls was a female priest`s daughter, who lied outright when questioned as to whether she took part in a night-time breach of dormitory bounds. Several other youngsters have shown themselves happy to lie through their teeth to avoid trouble.
In all fairness, I must say that the priest`s daughter did subsequently own up to have taken part in wholesale rule-breaking, and took her punishment with reasonably good grace, but so many of the girls in particular seem to have attitude problems to anyone in authority.
If I were a prospective employer, or university selection board officer, I would have been black-listing quite a few of them.
I would have been ashamed to have been the mother of some of them.
What is more scary is the prospect of having to teach some of them.
I take my hat off to anyone in the teaching profession if these youngsters are truly a representative sample of what they face in the classroom on an everyday basis........
2 comments:
Yikes!
As a teacher (who is not currently teaching), I found that probably the reason that students weasel their way out of things is because their parents continually help them to get out of trouble. When I was growing up, if we got into trouble at school, my parents made us take responsibility for whatever we did...they always took the teachers side. Now, most parents (not all) take their childrens side and attack the teachers for either being too harsh with their children or having the attitude that kids will be kids so lets just let this slide. It's very sad and it puts teachers in a bad situation where they will not even attempt to discipline students because of the backlash from the parents. and then the students lose all respect for the teachers because if my parents don't respect the teacher, why should i? sorry this is such a lengthy comment:) I wish we were more like the "olden" days!!!
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