I can only imagine the level of dissent that this thought will pose but so be it. Has anyone recognized how instrumental the decision by the Anglican Education Authority has been in setting a precedent towards ‘standards’? I am somewhat dismayed by the reaction of parents who have taken the low road of selfish pride and blind ambition and disregarded the principle which was being set. How often in society do we call for ‘some’ authority to make a moral stand on an issue? It is so obvious to me that we as a society are all prepared to point the finger at others as long as there is no blame or affect to self. We live such a life of hypocrisy. I can remember years ago when it felt as if the whole school suffered if there was a fight. Where has that collective consciousness disappeared to which allowed us to share standards and moral attitudes which invariably operated as a unifying force? What the Anglican Authority has done, is to set a precedent which finally say’s to parents and children; ‘we expect all to act with an immovable standard’. Today, we see that there are a plethora of standards. Is there any wonder why kids are so unruly in our schools? It’s because we have diminished our standards to the point that anything goes. Consider this; is there truly a difference between one parent who believes that their child is entitled to hit a teacher and another parent who decides that their child needs not to adhere to the school dress code? The semantics of the situation may seem different but the principle is the same; the rules are the rules and should not be broken. Should many suffer for the crimes of one? Superficially, this is a difficult question to say yes to but a holistic approach to the question can offer up a different view. If we open our eyes and look at what our society is becoming, can we be happy with that view? I saw a video online the other day where a police lady was locked in a struggle with a school child. What concerned me most was the reaction by the observing students. What parents are not accounting for is the pervasiveness of ‘ACCEPTANCE’ observed in that video. I challenge you to look deeper at the deleterious behaviour where children became emboldened in the prospect of criminality. I saw no child offering to help the police or expressing shame. We are far too blinded as a society to imagine or understand the poisonous sociological stigma an incident such as that renders on kids. Discipline among our children is at an all time low. We stand for no standards so our children are continuously pushing the bounds of criminality. How do you stem this tide of behaviour? I posit that it is by holding ‘ALL’ accountable. When children begin to recognize that there is a true honour system which holds all accountable, their behaviour will start to change. When all children begin to suffer the consequences due to a minority, the majority will pull together to correct the problem. As it appears now; the minority can ‘get away’ with anything so the majority become conformist to the lowest standard of behaviour. Here is a bigger picture. The government should implement a ‘truancy program’ along with a curfew which holds parents accountable for kids being absent from school or out on the street at various hours. Accountability would be such that parents could be dragged before the courts to pay fines or jailed if kids are seen to be acting delinquently. Parents should also be held to pay a fee for not showing up when it’s time for Report Cards and fined for failing kids. Question; how many parents would become far more responsible? We need to become a society of standards again. A society where it matters what everyone is doing. A society where everyone is responsible and consequences matter. I put it to the parents; hold yourselves to a standard and turn your anger towards the activity of your children. If you don’t stand for a standard today, tomorrow will be too late.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:14:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015