Time to Introduce Compulsory Military Service

[dotinthesky]

I could never be a teacher in England. Either I would kill one of the students, get killed by one of them, or kill myself.

Just now, walking down the South Bank, I witnessed a group of teenage boys in green uniform bully their teacher. One of them threw water over the man and ran away, to the cheers and laughter of the other kids. The teacher tried to chase him then gave up. Eventually, when he caught up with the kid, what could he do? Nothing. He didn't even manage to wrestle the bottle of water from his hands. While he stood in the middle of the boys, befuddled and smiling awkwardly (to hide his shame) another boy came up from behind and pulled his coat's hood over his head.

If that wasn't enough, I spotted three other teenagers squatting by the London Tram displayed outside the National Theatre (the Mayor of London wants to re-create a tram line from Euston to Waterloo). The teenagers were graffiting the tram while on the other side a television crew filmed an interview. I wanted to give those kids a swift kick up the arse, but you can guess what I did instead.

I'm turning into a grumpy old man.

Comments

[thirstypixel.livejournal.com]

Put the lot of them up against the wall.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Bang Bang, thank you Mam'.

[sparklielizard.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to decide if things really are worse than they were "in my day", or if it's just the Daily Mail/Grumpy old woman in me coming out ;-)

I think things are getting worse though. I *think*. I mean, we weren't around in the 20s or whatever, and chances are we were generally good as teenagers and didn't mix with the tossers who do such stuff.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

From the stories I read in the paper, and the teens I see sometimes, it seems things are worse in London. I don't know about the rest of the country, but I'm guessing it's the same in other big cities like Liverpool and Manchester. Kids even boast of having ASBOs. Makes them look cooler in their group of friends.

[sparklielizard.livejournal.com]

I think it probably is worse in the big cities, but worryingly when I go home to see my parents in Falmouth in Cornwall, it's got rough round there. I am sure it's a lot worse, it's not just me being older. It actually is scary to walk home at night on a Friday or a Saturday, and I've had thugs push me at the checkout in a Spar shop whilst very visibly pregnant.. I haven't had that happen in London.

I think outside the towns Cornwall is still mostly fine though ;-)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

The whole country is having to deal with them (http://news.google.co.uk/news?hl=en&q=yobs&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn).

[sparklielizard.livejournal.com]

Yep, and I can't see a solution short of seriously draconian measures being brought in by the government. Compulsorary community service is not a bad idea actually - better than military service. And bring back chain gangs in prison ;-)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Either community services or a major scale boot camp regime (preferably somewhere remote and with harsh climate) would do the trick.

[sparklielizard.livejournal.com]

Start everyone off with community service, and if you do a crap job, you get sent off on the boot camp! I think everyone should spend a period of time doing community service as it engenders respect for one's local area. You're less likely to trash the place if you're the one tidying it up!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

That's a very good point. It could work here in England because local councils already have a certain type of infrastructure to accomodate those programmes - the only thing missing is more government support.

[stevek.livejournal.com]

I have to say I agree things do seem to be getting worse, it appears punishments or deterrents no longer work. :-(

I'm thinking that military service might not be the answer, but compulsory community service might be more appropriate. It'll never happen though.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I think kids are as bad as they ever were -- they certainly are not worse than the ones from my teen years. The problem is, as you said, no deterrents in place. Or parents able to educate them at home, so they are not complete monsters in the outside world.

[greenteablack.livejournal.com]

That's nuts. I don't understand the rude behavior towards teachers. Aren't kids taught to respect teachers anymore?

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

No. Plus, many people not suitable to the teaching profession -- those lacking in confidence, etc -- are joining because the government offers free training, bonuses, etc. Everybody ends up losing.

[(Anonymous)]

Since I began subbing in city schools here in San Diego, I've been astonished at the students' behavior. The only time I didn't have problems was when I was teaching Advanced Placement classes. I have spoken to office personnel and administrators and we agree, if our children ever behaved the way some of these kids do, we'd beat them! Collectively, that's the problem these days: children are not being parented as they once were. Both parents are either struggling to support the family, or the children come from single parent households where again, the parent is at work and exhausted at the end of the day. It's also a cultural problem and the desire to fit in and look cool before your friends temporarily takes precedence over academic achievement or the outgrown eagerness to please adults. Also, brain development - in that impulse control is not in place while the strong urge for thrill-seeking is predominant, make adolescence a very precarious age for humans...that is why in America at least, half of all new teachers quit within their first five years of teaching.

Subbing in San Diego

[msanthropist.livejournal.com]

Sorry...didn't realize I wasn't logged in. That last post was from me.

Re: Subbing in San Diego

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Britain has suffered as well from many teachers quitting, or a lack of interest in joining the profession. The government has tried to seduce people into joining the profession, but everyone knows a horror story about teachers/pupils (especially in big cities) which kills any interest in becoming a teacher. If I were to become a teacher, it would have to be for adults - people who are actively interested in learning.

Re: Subbing in San Diego

[deathrockboy.livejournal.com]

hey man, if they want to start outsourcing, i'll take an application. i mean, granted, i haven't actually gratuated from university, but it would be completely sweet to teach in england. america is SOOOO over.

Re: Subbing in San Diego

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Look into immigrating! I have a friend from Brasil who just went through all the proper channels and is now moving here in March. If you want to teach here, it might be easier to get a work permit.

[knacker-prince.livejournal.com]

Pipes and slippers for the lot of you!

Only rubbish teachers allow themselves to be bullied, and graffiti is cool.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Cool graffiti is cool. Scrawling your rubbish playground name on a tram because you want to impress your pimply mates, is not.

[live-life-like.livejournal.com]

nah..some people are just plain stupid and ignorant!!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

They need teachers here like you, to whip them into shape.

[live-life-like.livejournal.com]

like...i doubt they would bully the teacher if they were alone.....they are only "strong" when they are together.....a bunch of assholes!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

That's what it seemed to me too.

[deathrockboy.livejournal.com]

see, in america, the youth are so terrified of the teachers that they bring guns to school and shoot everyone. as ridiculous as it may sound, there is actually talk of allowing (or requiring) teachers to be armed.

i think i'd be able to handle some kids being hooligans.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

My impression of America was that kids were scared of other kids, and brought the guns to get revenge on them (usually with teachers getting in the way of the bullets.) The kids from Columbine, for example, had a grip with the school bullies, didn't they?

[tonight-we-fly.livejournal.com]

Ken Livingstone has some kind of a personal fetish with trams. He also wants to run them down Uxbridge Road; even though they won't fit, and the arguements for keeping the 207/607 bus routes as a preference in this environment are so overwhelming that they knock his ridiculous scheme into orbit. Even our local Labour MP is running a campaign against him.

But he's obsessed. If left unchecked, trams will be the new bendy-buses...

[dawnkitten.livejournal.com]

Now you know why I gave up my plan of being a teacher - a typical day would be 10% teaching, 20% abuse(verbal not physical, thank god), 70% general riot control- and there's absolutely nothing teachers can threaten kids with these days- and their parents often don't care either.

[hunterjr.livejournal.com]

In that case you have to wait untill they're old enough to torture them on bed :D

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

What would I be doing in their bedroom!?!

[hunterjr.livejournal.com]

Well, that is entirely up to you XD
But I like to think you could be torturing them when they're are older ('cause they were bad boys) :)

[kevyn-kronycles.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, hazing the teacher...sigh...no respect for us folk nowadays

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Have you encountered anything similar so far?

teenagers

[mirple.livejournal.com]

your post distressed me a bit. i've never come across a teacher actually being bullied like that. he must loathe his job. are things getting worse? it's hard to tell...

Re: teenagers

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I had also never come across a teacher being bullied, though I'd heard of cases. I don't know if things are getting worse; I know some teachers suffered on our hands when I was a student in Brasil.

Re: teenagers

[mirple.livejournal.com]

I suppose children being cheeky to teachers is so new thing. I went to school with some kids who were really very intimidating, but i don't remember them tormenting teachers physically. for a long time i wanted to teach English Lit, and i would still consider primary school teaching, but i wouldn't be a secondary school teacher for love nor money.

[vilia64.livejournal.com]

You could always just shake your fist and yell, "Ya bunch of ill-begotten whipper-snappers!" But you'd have to do it in your best "old man" voice, otherwise it just wouldn't work.

But what a bunch of punks- not like he can report them to the principle (or head master, or whoever) or call their parents. Most parents just take it in stride and do nothing.