On beating a dead horse
Well, we've established that 16 sucks. Regardless of the freedom of depending on parents for one's needs, there are plenty of other issues coming to light that make life a roaring inferno of emotion. One of the issues that many children face that adults try to avoid talking about is lack of concern on the part of parents. My own parents were ridiculously strict. I say that in all honesty looking back on it knowing that rules must be placed and that limits are necessary for development of good character. Some of the rules that my brother and I had to abide by were archaic to the point of stupidity. I was not allowed to wear pants until after my parents divorced. At that time, I was told by each of them separately that the other had come up with that particular rule. I went to my first movie when I was 17. I didn't get my driver's license until I was almost 20. I was not allowed to watch TV when I was young other than "Little House on the Prairie" and shows similar--even with those, I had to ask permission. "Sesame Street" and most shows on PBS were not on the approved list for some reason. So, I missed out on those educational opportunities provided by "School House Rock," etc. But I digress...mainly to show that the only rules I am opposed to from my childhood, and teen years are the ones that were archaic and served no purpose. I am all for rules that limit how late a teen can be out. Alcohol is illegal to a certain age, as are cigarettes thus, I'm all for not letting children under those ages smoke or drink. After those ages, they have a choice to make. .....as I am digressing again......
On to my point....Which was.....Oh yes....
Teacher: I'm calling to see if will be in school today.
Father: Oh...um.... No, he's not going to be there.
Teacher: Oh, well, I just wanted to check on him. He's missed a lot, and he won't be able to get his credits to graduate if he doesn't start coming.
Father: Well, he couldn't find a ride so he can't be there.
Teacher: Do you think you could bring him?
Father: Oh...um...I asked him about that and he didn't want me to, so I guess he's going to stay home.
So, if the parents care that much, is it any wonder that the dropout rate in high school has skyrocketed in the last few years.
Since I have already ranted on how we expect kids to find happiness in nothing, I won't go over that again. But I will go over this. As an employee of a public school, I'm expected to keep kids interested in learning. I'm expected to give them incentive to aspire to greatness. I'm expected to show kids how they can achieve their true potential. Then I send them off home to a parent, or two who really don't care whether or not they get out of bed to come to school the next day. Which leads me to the point of my parents rules. Whether or not we had archaic rules, had I ever told my father or God help me even worsemy mother that I "didn't want to go to school," I would have woken up in the car halfway to said school having learned the lesson to never say such a silly thing again. Come rain, snow, sleet, shine, and usually even illness, I was in school. Whether or not I wanted to go, I agonized through my classes. And this is the one thing I learned...while my parents were not very up-to-date on many aspects of life, they recognized the I had to have education. Regardless of my own desires, school was mandatory. If I had been given the choice, I probably would have quit. But at least they cared that I went.
I'm sure there were parents back then who didn't care. Those parents have had children who don't care if their children go. Those children will have children who don't care if their children don't go to school. And the cycle continues. We speak a lot about cycles of violence, cycles of abuse, cycles of emotional illness, but we never address the cycles that are caused by them. So your kid doesn't want to go to school. Guess what? Most kids don't. By making it an option to stay home, a parent takes away a child's aspiration. By not caring whether or not that child goes to school, the parent then exhibits apathy to that child's future. Don't think that the kid's miss that. They don't. The same kids who have parents who won't make them go to school are the ones who come to me and tell me that they wish their parents would be more demanding. They come to me and say "I know I need more structure, but I know I can do whatever I want, so I do." And parents expect me to change their lives.
So I bring this whirlwindish confusing post to an end by saying...Kids aren't stupid. They know when parents just give up. They know when people quit caring. They know what love is supposed to be. They know they are testing the limits. But if you never give them rules, if you never give them any reason to rebel, they will just push it till they find something to rebel against. So what if they don't want to go to school. Education is free here. Would you rather surrender the world to a generation of uneducated people or to a generation who understands that whether or not it is desirable, education is still important?
Well, we've established that 16 sucks. Regardless of the freedom of depending on parents for one's needs, there are plenty of other issues coming to light that make life a roaring inferno of emotion. One of the issues that many children face that adults try to avoid talking about is lack of concern on the part of parents. My own parents were ridiculously strict. I say that in all honesty looking back on it knowing that rules must be placed and that limits are necessary for development of good character. Some of the rules that my brother and I had to abide by were archaic to the point of stupidity. I was not allowed to wear pants until after my parents divorced. At that time, I was told by each of them separately that the other had come up with that particular rule. I went to my first movie when I was 17. I didn't get my driver's license until I was almost 20. I was not allowed to watch TV when I was young other than "Little House on the Prairie" and shows similar--even with those, I had to ask permission. "Sesame Street" and most shows on PBS were not on the approved list for some reason. So, I missed out on those educational opportunities provided by "School House Rock," etc. But I digress...mainly to show that the only rules I am opposed to from my childhood, and teen years are the ones that were archaic and served no purpose. I am all for rules that limit how late a teen can be out. Alcohol is illegal to a certain age, as are cigarettes thus, I'm all for not letting children under those ages smoke or drink. After those ages, they have a choice to make. .....as I am digressing again......
On to my point....Which was.....Oh yes....
Teacher: I'm calling to see if
Father: Oh...um....
Teacher: Oh, well, I just wanted to check on him. He's missed a lot, and he won't be able to get his credits to graduate if he doesn't start coming.
Father: Well, he couldn't find a ride so he can't be there.
Teacher: Do you think you could bring him?
Father: Oh...um...I asked him about that and he didn't want me to, so I guess he's going to stay home.
So, if the parents care that much, is it any wonder that the dropout rate in high school has skyrocketed in the last few years.
Since I have already ranted on how we expect kids to find happiness in nothing, I won't go over that again. But I will go over this. As an employee of a public school, I'm expected to keep kids interested in learning. I'm expected to give them incentive to aspire to greatness. I'm expected to show kids how they can achieve their true potential. Then I send them off home to a parent, or two who really don't care whether or not they get out of bed to come to school the next day. Which leads me to the point of my parents rules. Whether or not we had archaic rules, had I ever told my father or God help me even worsemy mother that I "didn't want to go to school," I would have woken up in the car halfway to said school having learned the lesson to never say such a silly thing again. Come rain, snow, sleet, shine, and usually even illness, I was in school. Whether or not I wanted to go, I agonized through my classes. And this is the one thing I learned...while my parents were not very up-to-date on many aspects of life, they recognized the I had to have education. Regardless of my own desires, school was mandatory. If I had been given the choice, I probably would have quit. But at least they cared that I went.
I'm sure there were parents back then who didn't care. Those parents have had children who don't care if their children go. Those children will have children who don't care if their children don't go to school. And the cycle continues. We speak a lot about cycles of violence, cycles of abuse, cycles of emotional illness, but we never address the cycles that are caused by them. So your kid doesn't want to go to school. Guess what? Most kids don't. By making it an option to stay home, a parent takes away a child's aspiration. By not caring whether or not that child goes to school, the parent then exhibits apathy to that child's future. Don't think that the kid's miss that. They don't. The same kids who have parents who won't make them go to school are the ones who come to me and tell me that they wish their parents would be more demanding. They come to me and say "I know I need more structure, but I know I can do whatever I want, so I do." And parents expect me to change their lives.
So I bring this whirlwindish confusing post to an end by saying...Kids aren't stupid. They know when parents just give up. They know when people quit caring. They know what love is supposed to be. They know they are testing the limits. But if you never give them rules, if you never give them any reason to rebel, they will just push it till they find something to rebel against. So what if they don't want to go to school. Education is free here. Would you rather surrender the world to a generation of uneducated people or to a generation who understands that whether or not it is desirable, education is still important?
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