What's happening to UK kids?

[Jacqui D]

Teachers 'forced to wear dog handler armguards and need inoculations to defend against biting pupils'By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:48 PM on 15th April 2009


Shocking level of violence towards teachers revealed
Schools tsar warns celebrity culture fuels violence and sex among children
He suggests ban on TVs in bedrooms
1,000 troublemakers suspended at least TEN times
Special school teachers face daily physical and verbal abuse from pupils, union leaders said today.
There is a culture in some schools that this is simply 'part of the job', according to the NASUWT teaching union.
Kicking, punching and biting are commonplace and teachers regularly have to go to hospital to have injuries treated.
Often, teachers are buying their own protective equipment such as armguards to protect against biting, delegates at the union's annual conference in Bournemouth heard.
Geoff Branner, of the union's executive, recounted two cases of which he was aware.
In the first, a teacher was removing a pupil from a classroom when he rushed at her, kicking her in the leg, punching her on the arm and in the face. She later discovered her thumb had been broken.
Teachers at some special schools where they have to deal with unruly pupils are having to protect themselves form being bitten. Picture posed by models
Mr Branner said: 'The pupil was given a five-day exclusion.'
The teacher told her head she wanted the incident reported to the police due to the violence of the attack, but was discouraged.
When she said being violently assaulted was not part of her job, her head replied 'it is part of the job when working in a special school', Mr Branner said.
In the second case, a teacher was attacked by a pupil who had been reprimanded for hitting a fellow student on a school trip.
Mr Branner said on their return to the school the pupil 'leapt into the air, shouted 'I'm going to kill you', jumped on to her back, put her in a headlock and punched her in the face'.
Suzanne Nantcurvis, of the union's executive, said biting was a big issue in special schools, and risk assessments often called for armguards.
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'There is a cost involved and with tight budgets, this type of item may well go down the list of priorities,' she said.
'In fact I know of members buying their own armguards.'

Special school teachers were also not routinely given free inoculations against tetanus and hepatitis B, she said.
NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates has said previously: 'Regrettably, there is still a culture in some schools, particularly where pupils have serious behavioural problems, that being assaulted is part of the job.'
There are around 14,800 teachers working in special schools.
The shocking stories about violence towards teachers come as it was warned that unruly pupils are copying the worst behaviour they see from footballers and celebrities on television.

Fuelling violence and bad behaviour: Children are copying footballers like Newcastle star Joey Barton, who was jailed for an assault in Liverpool, and singer Amy Winehouse, who has been charged with attacking a fan
Sir Alan Steer, a retired head who has conducted a four-year investigation into school discipline, claimed that abusive football stars fuelled violence in the playground while celebrity sex scandals encouraged teenage promiscuity.

Sir Alan called for parents to spend more time and less money on their children, and must be prepared to say 'No' more often to their demands.

He suggested a ban on TVs in children's bedrooms to minimise the influence of popular culture on the young.

Sir Alan Steer: Abusive football stars fuel violence in the playground and celebrity sex scandals encourage teenage promiscuity
Sir Alan also stressed that schools should make more use of traditional methods of discipline such as detention to tackle unruly pupils.
A big expansion of parenting contracts enforced by fines of up to £1,000 for those who fail to control their loutish children has also be urged under a crackdown on bad behaviour in schools.
The plans come amid claims that indulgent parents are fuelling an epidemic of classroom disruption.
Sir Alan's report calls for schools to make more use of their legal powers to deal with unruly behaviour.

These include imposing 'old-style' evening and weekend detentions at 24 hours' notice, confiscating mobile phones, withdrawing privileges, searching pupils for drugs and ultimately suspending or expelling them.


Teachers can also confiscate baseball caps if children refuse to remove them when entering a classroom.


He wants more 'consistent' use by schools and local authorities of parenting contracts issued to parents who need 'support' in managing their children's behaviour, possibly including parenting classes.

Lisa Walker, the mother jailed over her truant daughter
Parents can also be issued with £100 penalty notices for condoning truancy or failing to control children who have been suspended.
Lisa Walker, of Leeds, was jailed for allowing her 11-year-old daughter to play truant despite living 100 yards from the school.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls presented Sir Alan's report at the NASUWT's conference.
According to the union, more than half of teachers believe parents 'over-indulging' children are largely to blame for poor behaviour which has worsened over the past decade.
A culture in schools of offering unruly children rewards such as games consoles for 'normal' behaviour leads to an even bigger problem, the NASUWT claimed.

A spell in a school isolation unit is seen by yobbish pupils as a 'badge of honour'.
Low-level disruption is so widespread that 16 days of teaching are lost every year in primaries and 26 in secondaries, a union survey found.

[Swanny]

It's simply down to bad parenting.
The bad parents give their kids everything they want, they don't discipline them or make them do chores.
They let them watch tele and play on PS/box's whenever they the kid decides.
They let them have tele's in their bedrooms.
They reward their bad behavior with bribes.
They don't let them out to play.
They drive them to school instead of making them walk.
The list is endless.
The kids have absolutely no respect for their parents, so why would they respect anyone else??


And no I don't have kids of my own, and don't want any either thx

[Egg]

No swanny, your blinkered my good friend. It is down the the governments intrusion into normal every day life that is at fault.

1940 - children were polite, obeyed and yes, even feared their teachers wrath, the Police could give you what for and you would have to obey because if you told mum and dad, there was hell to pay.

The courts still hung murderers, drugs were unheard of, pride in your nation was almost 100% - no inner fifth column here thank you!

Mothers and fathers disciplined their fammilies, and a strich hierarchy was observed. Mum and Dad ruled, children did not.

Then the powers to be decided the status qouw as not to their benefit, and from 1960 slowly slowly introduced a new order of ill discipline. Then from that generation come our present leaders who take us down even further into the pit of decay.

The powers now tell mum and dad what they cannot do, the courts cannot help, the police cannot help, the society cannot help, because the powers that be seem hell bent of bringing us down to a 'lord of the flies' type of society.

Poor Piggy.

[Swanny]

Sorry Egg but I have witnessed it myself.
They threaten their kids with empty threats, eg "If you don't stop that we won't be going to ...... tomorrow." when both they and the kids know dam well they will be.
If you behave you can have a new toy. So the kid learns to play up until the offer comes along.
Try to get a kid to wash up after a meal, they just laugh.

[Jacqui D]

Totally agree with you Swanny!
There are far to many little princesses and mini me's when i say that i mean the father figure letting the child behave like themselves.
letting them drink and smoke in the home is disgraceful i have seen it myself and it never ceases to amaze me.

Our kids today are not kids, they live,talk,drink,smoke and generally behave like their parents, i'm not saying i'm down on people drinking and smoking but where is the parental control there isn't one anymore.
The kids today have no respect for their elders for themselves or their friends, how are they going to grow up as fullfilled adults when all they think about is themsleves.

Well i do have 3 kids all adults and a grandchild whom i would like to say have a bit more respect for others and i'm not just saying that because their my kids, believe it or not there are still some good kids out there.
Shame the majority are these spoilt brats who think they are more important and are owed something from the rest of us.

[Egg]

your missing my point I fear.

The government tell parents they are powerless - so they use empty threats and rhetoric on their children as its all that is left to them.

The powers say you cannot be in charge because the full weight of the law is on the childs side.

When a child can sue their parents for breaching their human rights for taking away their computers and phone, then you know its not too far from anarchy and bedlam.

If the law stood four square firm with the parents and common sense, the rest falls into line.

In short, mum and dad would still rule.

[scanner]

Originally Posted by Swanny

It's simply down to bad parenting.
The bad parents give their kids everything they want, they don't discipline them or make them do chores.
They let them watch tele and play on PS/box's whenever they the kid decides.
They let them have tele's in their bedrooms.
They reward their bad behavior with bribes.
They don't let them out to play.
They drive them to school instead of making them walk.
The list is endless.
The kids have absolutely no respect for their parents, so why would they respect anyone else??


And no I don't have kids of my own, and don't want any either thx

Yes you are spot on swanny, however discipline has disapeared in the home and at school, because the dogooders of this lovely country of ours stopped us from disciplining our children and the little lovelies think they can do anything they like NOT IN MY HOUSE. I rule the roost in my house and no I don't smack or hit them, don't have too. There's more than one way of scinning a cat ( metaphorically speaking of coarse ) just don't put up with it . One of the magor problem is young ppl having children with no parenting skills ,the kids do whatever they want in and out of school .

Rods for our own future backs me thinks

[scanner]

Originally Posted by Egg

your missing my point I fear.

The government tell parents they are powerless - so they use empty threats and rhetoric on their children as its all that is left to them.

The powers say you cannot be in charge because the full weight of the law is on the childs side.

When a child can sue their parents for breaching their human rights for taking away their computers and phone, then you know its not too far from anarchy and bedlam.

If the law stood four square firm with the parents and common sense, the rest falls into line.

In short, mum and dad would still rule.

spot on Egg

[Jacqui D]

Okay so where did it all go wrong!
My generation the 50 somethings were taught not to answer back, speak when your spoken to and have respect for others.
My kids 2 are 30 somethings still have a mind to my upbringing my youngest who is middle 20's is slightly different always respectful to me and his dad and family but you can start to see tendancies of where the rot sets in.
Below that age group seems to be where it has gone wrong i may be wrong
here.

I can see bad parenting in some families and yes schools have become lenient on kids.
It has become a nanny state for sure.
At the moment my granchild is a good kid i just hope peer pressure doesn't change him.

[Dantheman62]

I must say I agree with everyone here, I just want to add LOL

[Egg]

I agree with Jaqui here. 1940s/50s children were the last proper generation with a modicum of dignity and respect for themselves.

Look at Tony B'Liar - a classic product of the anarchic 'era'. Then when he grew up, he made it sink even further because he wanted it for the younger generations as per the plan that he was told to work from.

My view? its all about breaking up the nuclear family, and making the state the sole author of authority from cradle to grave in a 'fines and taxes' world driven by their wants and needs, not of the populaton.

I could go on and link up alot of other ingredients to their plan, such as foods additives, medication, 'health and saftey' laws, but I probably would make a boring read. lol.

[Humble Janitor]

Originally Posted by Egg

No swanny, your blinkered my good friend. It is down the the governments intrusion into normal every day life that is at fault.

1940 - children were polite, obeyed and yes, even feared their teachers wrath, the Police could give you what for and you would have to obey because if you told mum and dad, there was hell to pay.

The courts still hung murderers, drugs were unheard of, pride in your nation was almost 100% - no inner fifth column here thank you!

Mothers and fathers disciplined their fammilies, and a strich hierarchy was observed. Mum and Dad ruled, children did not.

Then the powers to be decided the status qouw as not to their benefit, and from 1960 slowly slowly introduced a new order of ill discipline. Then from that generation come our present leaders who take us down even further into the pit of decay.

The powers now tell mum and dad what they cannot do, the courts cannot help, the police cannot help, the society cannot help, because the powers that be seem hell bent of bringing us down to a 'lord of the flies' type of society.

Poor Piggy.

Drugs were unheard of? They still existed.

I've never agreed with capital punishment.

My parents are probably part of a dying breed of parent that instills strict discipline. They weren't perfect but they allowed my brother and I to watch questionable programs with their supervision, they never let me outside by myself at night and they knew how and when to say "no". Neither my brother nor I turned out perfectly but we are still better off than today's kid.

Also, the 50s were a repressive era for the US. Women's rights, civil rights and the strife of the 60s changed the world (and mostly for the better!).

I don't think that we can stereotype an entire generation or anything. Despite the bad parenting that we hear about in the media, we don't hear much about the good parenting.