Monday, November 28, 2011
School discipline begins at home
Editorial commentary
Recent contributions
- Don't look to Bible to define personhood
- Repeal HPV vaccine mandate
- It depends on the meaning of 'create'
- Is Washington ready to kill Social Security?
- Commentary archive
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
"Teach children to behave in school" should not be foisted off on the teachers or school administration, as suggested by Nov. 20's lead editorial, but to where it firmly belongs: on parents.
Is it not about time that parents take full responsibility for the behavior and actions of their own children, and if they cannot do that -- or will not -- would it not be a good idea to add these children to the adoption rolls? How about building wonderful institutions (some are called orphanages) manned by capable, loving and educated staff who can teach what should be learned in the early home environment?
Teachers are constantly being asked to do more and more things within the confines of the classroom that have less and less to do with the task needed: teaching.
We have gone from a standard of normalcy to include children with all degrees of physical and mental handicaps, and if one does not think that this includes many disruptive times for the other students, think again. Would not these children actually benefit from specifically trained gurus who could assure optimum potential for each atypical category?
We teach to demands that everyone pass standardized testing with a "sorta-to-heck" nescience of the essentials that need to be met: reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic. In fact, I think we have gone so far afield from the original intent of a good education that it scares me to death for the future standing of this country when competing with the abilities and educational prowess of other industrialized nations.
How can the editorial suggestion work anyway? Legally, our nation seems to have backed itself into an inescapable rabbit hole where discipline is concerned. We cannot hug; we cannot swat.
Before kindergarten, what about handing out a written statement to every parent who brings his child to school for enrollment that must be signed and agreed to. This would stipulate that said child must behave in school and not disrupt the class or keep other students from learning because said school is "public" and entitles all children a right to learn.
If said student does behave in such a manner that warrants discipline, then said parent will be notified immediately to leave work, leave home, leave "whatever" and pick up the child from school premises and teach said child how to behave.
This, after all, is the parents' responsibility.
