The sissification of our kids, part MCMXXIV

SCARR wrote:

Fletch1 wrote: In reply to bgkast: The liberals will have that outlawed next.

and that right there is the problem. "I disagree with this thing, so it must the other political team." instead of fixing problems, it is easier to just blame someone else.

It is also a very stupid thing to say since this is decided on a local level and I am sure there are countless cases in every state controlled by each party. The school administrators in a very conservative county are probably conservative..likewise with the very liberal counties

turboswede wrote:

bravenrace wrote:

fritzsch wrote:

bravenrace wrote: Who do you think controls the educational system?

If they are responsible for getting rid of footballs at recess, I don't care if they are conservative or liberal, they are idiots. Don't try to link being liberal to banning tag, that would make you just as ignorant. Don't associate my political orientation with this super safety, cover your ass, nonsense.

So who do you think controls the educational system?

I'm pretty sure its the Pie companies, since you know, kids and adults like pie..... In other words, take your ignorant flounder bait somewhere else. We the people control the educational system as well as the Government and we've done a piss-poor job of it, mostly because the right and left have decided that dividing us into two (or three) camps is better. A divided or polarized nation, pointing fingers at each other, means we can't form a cohesive group to kick their collective butts to the curb. Stop being part of the problem and be part of the solution! EDIT: Its going to be a looooong berkeleying winter around here, isn't it? The floundering of this board is almost as quick off the line as are Andy's Challenge cars!

See madmallards post. You know its possible to have an intelligent conversation about almost anything if people behave properly. Though making accusations of floundering or ignorance isn't the way to do it.

As the father of two boys who act (GASP) like BOYS I am learning that this politically correct parenting bullE36 M3 is getting out of hand. Your kid whacks my kid? Oh, it wasn't their fault they just don't know how to express their emotions. We should calmly discuss this with our children after an appropriate time out. My kid whacks your kid back? YOU MONSTER! YOU TERRIBLE PARENT! HOW DARE YOU LET YOUR EVIL CHILD TOUCH MY LITTLE SNOWFLAKE! I'LL SUE!

We've pretty much cut out these kinds of parents from our lives. I'm tired of treating my kid as guilty until proven innocent just to make other people happy. When I meet other parents of real kids at the playground you can see the shellshock look on their face as they rush to apologize to me for how their kid acted. Um, they are playing tag, they pushed each other. It is okay, nobody is hurt. Then you see the look of relief as they go on to tell you about how energetic their kids are and how hard it is to find other kids for them to play with. The kids all play together, the parents talk about real life, and everyone leaves with new friends instead of as potential litigants.

bravenrace wrote:

fritzsch wrote:

Fletch1 wrote: In reply to bgkast: The liberals will have that outlawed next.

Seriously? Dont be stupid. It has nothing to do with being liberal

Who do you think controls the educational system?

Texas.

Have y'all been to Zeeland, MI? I have - I used to live in Grand Rapids. Zeeland is so far right wing that the people there think Rush Limbaugh is a tad too liberal.

In Zeeland, you may not purchase alcohol on a Sunday. If you purchased alcohol on Saturday, it is illegal to drink a beer IN YOUR OWN HOME on a Sunday. And yes, your neighbors will rat you out.

So whoever thinks this is part of some liberal agenda has clearly never been to Zeeland, MI.

EvanR wrote: In Zeeland, you may not purchase alcohol on a Sunday. If you purchased alcohol on Saturday, it is illegal to drink a beer IN YOUR OWN HOME on a Sunday. And yes, your neighbors will rat you out.

What do they do about communion wine?

EvanR wrote: Have y'all been to Zeeland, MI? I have - I used to live in Grand Rapids. Zeeland is so far right wing that the people there think Rush Limbaugh is a tad too liberal. In Zeeland, you may not purchase alcohol on a Sunday. If you purchased alcohol on Saturday, it is illegal to drink a beer IN YOUR OWN HOME on a Sunday. And yes, your neighbors will rat you out. So whoever thinks this is part of some liberal agenda has clearly never been to Zeeland, MI.

Yeah, because Zeeland Michigan is representative of the entire country.

In reply to fritzsch:

I respectfully disagree for the most part and like Madmallard's post. But it's getting out of hand regardless of who's pushing it.

When I was in school, we played tag with baseball bats and that's how I liked it, dag nab it....

bravenrace wrote:

fritzsch wrote:

Fletch1 wrote: In reply to bgkast: The liberals will have that outlawed next.

Seriously? Dont be stupid. It has nothing to do with being liberal

Who do you think controls the educational system?

Lawyers.

This is a way for a school system to cover their rears for liability. Instead of worrying that Jonny got pushed over, cut his head, and the family is suing since there was no way to supervise recess- they are banning the reasons that people sue school systems.

note- this isn't an issue about punishment, or how you parent, it's about kids being kids, and parents assuming that theirs won't get hurt. Especially since parents are so protective of theirs.

EvanR wrote: Have y'all been to Zeeland, MI? I have - I used to live in Grand Rapids. Zeeland is so far right wing that the people there think Rush Limbaugh is a tad too liberal. In Zeeland, you may not purchase alcohol on a Sunday. If you purchased alcohol on Saturday, it is illegal to drink a beer IN YOUR OWN HOME on a Sunday. And yes, your neighbors will rat you out. So whoever thinks this is part of some liberal agenda has clearly never been to Zeeland, MI.

I grew up right next to Zeeland. This guy right here knows the neighborhood. It's not a liberal thing, this is just what elementary schools are going to now. The biggest problem is that it's really really hard on the boys. My son's school has 60 teachers and the only two men in the school are the janitor and one gym teacher. Nobody there understands that little boys are wiggly and wild and kind of little jerks and that's all part of being a boy and sorting out your place in the world. If you want to turn things around, start working hard to get men into teaching the same way that they're pushing to get women in STEM careers. I don't think there is any job field in the country that is as homogenous as elementary education, and it's not good for anyone in the long run.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Does this mean "kill the guy" and "smear the queer" is not allowed?

Ahhh yes, this is what we played in middle school. On what was the equivalent of a gravel road.

I think my favorite thing ever was the time I saw an award for no E36 M3- PAYING ATTENTION. They give awards for that now!

I just had a great idea for a new thread called "Remember when", but I think it's already been done. For example, remember when you could play Cowboys and Indians and not be racist or get suspended for using your finger as a gun or playing TACKLE football.

Fletch1 wrote: In reply to fritzsch: But it's getting out of hand regardless of who's pushing it.

I think we can all agree on that

I experienced a fair bit of this pussification in elementary school and even highschool. I remember having to fill out a form in 4th or 5th grade about an arguement/fight I got into.
In 8th grade I tripped a kid at a school dance who was wearing the shoes with the wheels -> had to write an apology note.
Got into a bit of a fight a few months later that got me expelled (the decision was later appealed and reversed) but at a normal public school, I doubt I would have even gotten a detention for this. It all started when I threw away a rubber band.
A year or two later this kid was being super annoying and trying to mess with my computer mouse and when I pushed him away he then lunged at me and threw himself into my knee, he started crying and I had to write another apology note.
And then I had to write ANOTHER apology note when I made a joke to a kid who may or may not have drank a gatorade someone peed in, I really don't know if it happened or not I was on a different continent at the time.
I think I had to write at least 4 apology notes in highschool, but by that time I already had a template. Insert name here, insert heinous appalling crime here, change date and sign.

The majority of the time it was the student who went to their parent who then went to the school. I blame the parents and that generation for a lot of this stuff. I went to a semi public semi private highschool, so it was a bit different than the public highschool that my sister went to. The parents of the students at my highschool were a different breed of crazy altogher.

It's all about the lawyers and liability.

Have you noticed how more and more man-made wetland areas like storm water basins and other fun places for kids are now getting fences and no trespassing signs?

Pseudonym wrote:

EvanR wrote: In Zeeland, you may not purchase alcohol on a Sunday. If you purchased alcohol on Saturday, it is illegal to drink a beer IN YOUR OWN HOME on a Sunday. And yes, your neighbors will rat you out.

What do they do about communion wine?

Well, if they believe in transubstantiation, they're drinking blood and not wine. Much better.

I got a gold star in grade 1 because "Keith tried very hard to work today without disturbing the other children". Which my mom (a teacher) thought was hilarious.

A friend of mine who's a long-time teacher has told me that there's been a big shift in power. It used to be that the biggest threat you could give a kid was "I'll tell your parents". Now, it's the kid threatening the parent with the same thing. Blame for that goes all the way to the top, for school boards not backing up their teachers as well as parents who think that school is a 13-year babysitting service.

The pussification of merica' continues...

When I was about 9, a boy wanted my seat at the lunch table. I was there first and ignored him when he demanded I get up "or else". He tried to do some weak ass lame karate chop move on the top of my head. I barely noticed the impact, it shattered his wrist.

His parents threatened to sue the school. The schools attorney said "bring it bitches". When that failed, they tried to sue my folks directly. My dad, upon receiving a letter from a legal professional, walked up to the other kids front door, and told the kids dad "if you want to settle this as gentlemen of old would have, fisticuffs is fine by me. But that is the only way this will be settled, with one of us bleeding from the nose...youll not get a dime from me either way". This was in the eighties.

They moved

Lesley wrote: It's sad. I know there are children in my neighbourhood, but I never see them. We used to go outside after breakfast and not come in until dinner. Does anyone build tree forts anymore. How about climb trees? Or is that forbidden?

If you could have raced people from all over the world, vanquished waves of virtual nazi zombies or run into a crowded subway with a flamethrower to bait the cops just so you could steal their tank... you would have wasted away indoors too.

The real world just cannot compete with the Playstation. I chase my kids outside just so I can play the damn thing.

That's ok. We know how to berkeley um up again when they get home. ... E36 M3. GPS beat me...

4cylndrfury wrote: ...words and stuff...

Obviously I'm older than you.

When I was in 7th grade I got in a fist fight with a kid over whether I started the turn to second (and was tagged out) or not.

We were both bloody but I got the worst of it. One of the male teachers broke it up then dragged us by our neck hairs to the office where we got to choose between push-ups or the paddle. Neither of us could do 50 push ups so we got both. No one's parents were called or notified.

For those you who feel like corporal punishment is effective in schools... I fought him again at lunch the next day after we taunted each other about who was going to die in all sorts of horrible ways for a whole day and it ended the same way except this time the paddle really berkeleying hurt. A week later in gym class I hit that shiny happy person teacher in the face with a basketball from half court as hard as I could throw that ball. I fight authority. Authority always wins. (yes, it ended badly for me again) :)

Cliff Notes: I'm not sure if the 70s/80s were any better than today but the stories are.

I sometimes wonder if the real problem is that everyone these days sits in front of their computers and complains about these things, instead of getting out of their chair and doing something about it.

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

It works, but by the time high school runs around, its too late to work.

I find it pretty simple. When E36 M3 got real back in my day, we beat the hell out of each other. Probably caught a detention, but as long as I didn't start it- I was off the hook so it didn't matter. Can't do that anymore. Lawyers and crap get all in it... and someone goes to jail.