Sick And Tired Of Youth With Attitude Problems.

I worked as a school resource officer in a high school for 5 years (2009-2014).

The things I witnessed on a daily basis absolutely made me scared for the future of our society (USA).

Looks like it's similar across the pond.

a reply to: TorqueyThePig

I graduated in 2007 and the things I saw while attending HS scared me and made me weep for the future.

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

Ah yes, internet attitude. Digital compensation. Got ya

If that makes you feel better about yourself. By all means. In fact I find it a compliment. I've never known someone to say it to their inferiors.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Apologies OP.

I think you wrote a good thread. But I hope you do not cower from society into dusty corners of dirty bars. We need more people like yourself in the streets, walking one-abreast.

This is an entirely different world than the one I grew up in. My parents both worked, but made damned sure that their kids were respectful of others. In one school that I attended, there was zero tolerance for bullying of any kind. Respect and good behavior was expected or else! In another school I attended we had the typical bullies, but no one ever get shot or was so abused emotionally they committed suicide.

If parents and schools worked together more, there would be less crap going on. If you are surrounded by a good family with values and morals and spend much of your time in school, an environment with zero tolerance for bad behavior, it could be different.

I teach FE and HE, you can imagine the sort of attitude from some.

Also, near my house which is in a 'suburban village' and the best, most elite neighbourhood in the area, as described on the Telegraph's top area map, is an Express supermarket and a large retail park, guess where the local feral kids choose to spend their after school and late nights?

Being a woman, adds an extra dimension to the comments etc, goodness knows where the male population ever got the idea to comment on a woman's body and specific areas as passing comments as ''acceptable''. It isn't. They wouldn't want their mothers spoken to like that.

Their choice of past time it appears ranges from smoking, shouting at people, spitting, screaming, drinking alcohol and being void of any manners at all, and sometimes can be heard at 3am. The police now frequent the area regularly.

They need proper etiquette and philosophy teaching at school, from nursery age. They need to know how to behave for the sake of the rest of the population and for their own futures.

years ago, I blamed the generations new attitudes on the government. People wanted the govt to tell them how to raise their children and the result was a lot of brats.
Don't spank them in public.
411 kids. or whatever.
it resulted in a lot of bratty screaming unruly children in public. to say the least.

now I blame this generation on the internet. kids nowadays really have no morals. no one to tell them right from wrong. no one to tell them that their elders should be respected.

they are losing people skills. kids now rarely look an adult in the eye. think about it.

guess I'm from an older respectful generation. it's sad and irritating now to try to communicate with a teenager or younger person. If you don't send them a text or something digital along those lines, they just don't care. sad.

and that's my addition to the rant. thanks for listening.

a reply to: Night Star

Well that's just it though is it not?

At one point in history, educational establishments were entirely back the other way! Reasonable questions and dissent or rebellion against an over powerful school administration was stifled along with the more reproachable behaviour in times past, something my mother lived through, and they had their bullies even then!

So a middle ground needs finding, where effective discipline is used by schools and parents IN TANDEM to effect changes in this trend, and it needs to start from the ground up.

Here is how the school day ought to run in my opinion, from the age of five upward.

Registration
Assembly
First period: Community, a lesson in which children are taught how to behave in certain circumstances.
Second period: regular lesson
Third period: regular lesson
Break- monitored
Fourth period: Community, this lesson discusses things that happened during the monitored break, with any disputes or incidents being noted during that break, being gone over and guilty parties chastised before the whole class, and victims being offered an opportunity to speak out against whatever sort of treatment occurred that day.
And the day carries on, where after every break, and just before the end of the day, everyone gets to air their grievances in public, issues are resolved, and no one will be going home sad because they got hurt and did not get to respond to that injury of feeling or person.

Basically community lessons should be taught from age five until perhaps mid way through the seventh year of a child's formal education. That will perform two very important tasks. First, it will make sure that the child has all the tools he or she needs for the future, in terms of knowing right from wrong from a societal point of view. This will mean that as a second, but all important factor, a young adult will have had all the possible training and instruction possible on that topic, and will never be able to use an excuse like "I didn't know any better, life's been ard mister, ard it as, cor blimey and all that", for being a total and utter wretch to his or her fellow human beings.

Furthermore, now I think about it, a third function will be performed by such a system. Having explained the manner in which one is meant to comport oneself to the children, after a certain number of years of tutelage in these things, it should become obvious which children are genuinely prepared to engage with one another, and develop themselves emotionally and socially, and which are the anti-social face breakers who need a seriously intense eye keeping on them, both for their own sake, and for the sake of others.

a reply to: TrueBrit

G'day T.B.-Enjoyed reading this from you. You hit the nail on the head here. I remember when we were young...and no one could tell us anything. We thought we knew it all and we were the only people that mattered. Rude , crude and lewd....and acting like it it...

I guess that passed as we now realize...that you n me..have become our parents. I get it now....I really wish I could thank them now (they passed).....

Thanks again! MS

PS They really were trying to teach us how to behave civilized in an un-civilized society!

You dont know what its like man!! I was like omg lol #selfie. Try living in our world for 2 seconds old guy now let me go insult my elders for trying to help me.


That aside....

I honestly know how you feel. I work in a College in a front facing role (I sit in a room with students in it and they .... they.... they irk me sometimes) and some of the students are just vile. No manners, no self control, no clue.

a reply to: thekaboose

I've gotten so tired of it that I started going to the gym and now if a youngster acts like a punk around me I call them out on it! If more older people would do this we could turn youth around🙈

Spare the rod, spoil the child. The spoiled will have a hard time in society. I think society is up to the task. They just need a little push and I bet the spoiled will do so. Call me a hopeless romantic.

I think most of us, or allot at least, that grew up in the 90s had # parents. I was never taught the importance of a college education by my parents, it was by taught by the school...but back then I didn't take teachers seriously because most were walking jokes that wanted to surf the web and hand out packets. I never really learned proper people skills from my parents, I taught myself just like pretty much everything I know was taught by me, to myself. Our parents were too busy either working or getting divorces. I was a real bastard in school but they deserved it because I learned more outside of it than in, and I've never learned through a packet. I got stupid in my early twenties but not nearly as dumb as most I graduated with, all either having kids or going to jail, and few that went off to college. We were never taught the importance of where our food comes from, the importance of college or learning a trade...and now I feel a whole generation that didn't jump onto the Tech Ship probably feels hopeless and stranded. I blame our parents mostly however because any time I got into trouble I could talk my mom out of any punishment. She would never admit that of course just like most parents. But I wised up real quick, have a clean record and decent job and wife. My children will be taught everything I was not.

originally posted by: Flesh699
I think most of us, or allot at least, that grew up in the 90s had # parents...... My children will be taught everything I was not.

Same for me, but the 80's. There was no internet for the public, but my parents were equally #. Growing up in 2 different households, with parents that each used me as a weapon against the other - I had no idea about what being an adult meant until I found myself homeless at 18 years old (kicked out, on my birthday). The exception was my step-father, who was an incredible guy who I miss terribly.

Long story short, by my 20's I figured out what it meant to be responsible. By my 30's I'd attained an education which allowed me to have a career. In my (now) 40's, I'm teaching my son what it means to grow up and that one day I'll be gone and he will need the skills I'm teaching him to survive without me. As you said, I'm teaching my son all of the things I had to learn the hard way.

I have 2 step-daughters who are on a path to either die young, or end up in prison. They expect everything to be given to them, and nothing is ever their fault. One is a follower, who re-invents herself with every new boyfriend and then eventually cheats on him. The other is a sociopath, who's burning out her ability to manipulate people as she continues to use drugs. At this point, I'm planning on telling my son that his sisters are poison and beyond help, and that he needs to avoid them at all costs.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Times have changed and the people have changed with it-When I was growing up I was disciplined with the belt of a swift kick in the ass. Fast forward to the mid nineties and suddenly the kick up the bum became child abuse. Fast forward to the mid naughties and stripping a child of privileges for misbehaving can now be considered 'emotional abuse'.

Kids nowadays run riot because their parents can't do a damn thing about it.

Not to mention many parents want to be friends with their kids instead of the authoritative figures they need-my father might've been a drunken oaf and my mother might have been a drunken...oafess? but they did lay down the law and instill in me the basics of common courtesy and social etiquette that has stuck with me throughout my life...well most of them did (I still swear like a sailor on shore leave). Nowadays the only true authoritative figures many kids have is the cops who bust them for misdemeanors.

As an adult I'm a ne'er do well- but at least I'm a polite and generous ne'er do well, thanks to what my parents taught me. At times I'm thankful that I'm not a parent because it's a tough gig-for now my adopted cats and my video game avatars are enough for me.

I can truly sympathize, TrueBrit. But, remember this (and it won't make you feel any better), it's only going to get worse, when you consider how society is currently dealing (or, not dealing, depending on how you look at it) with this issue.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

I think there has to be a happy medium somewhere, between preventing abuse, and promoting some sort of discipline. This is why I believe there ought to be a new subject added to the curriculum in schools, to specifically inform and promote proper conduct. I think the lack of discipline shown by some young people, starts with a lack of information in some circles, about just how things ought to be. I think putting that in place at schools would inform children what they need to be doing, and highlight to them the factors playing into their lives, which might not be healthiest they could be.

This will lead to better and faster development of, and forgive the terminology I use here, emotional intelligence, empathy, and sympathy. A lack of these amongst some young people, can lead to worse behaviour as time progresses, and worse consequences as the child reaches adulthood, so it is very important for the future of our species and indeed the individuals concerned, that these measures are implimented, and done intelligently.

a reply to: ProfessorChaos

Well, precisely!

This is what I am so concerned about!

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: ProfessorChaos

Well, precisely!

This is what I am so concerned about!

I'm sorry to tell you that your concern is legitimate, and very well-founded.

I think it might be the media. People tend to use Facebook in an age when we went into the forest and destroyed things, rode our bikes and kissed girls.

The language many people use is copied from their idols aka musicians and so on and it's doing most people no good.

a reply to: TrueBrit

A parent should feel blessed if they have a teenager that can decide what is good for him or not. Of course the foundation is laid by the parents but these kids must have a strong will to refuse the temptations around them. Also have the character to say no to 'friends' is a requierment not to screw up their future before it has began.