Byron has absolutely nailed this one in my opinion, based on the people I
know.

The painful conclusion I have reached is that most parents do not actually
want kids. They want "a nice car and house with picket fence and 2.3 kids"
they don't ACTUALLY want kids. I didn't actually want kids, but I find they
have grown on me. And I couldn't stand to do to them what my parents did to
me... put me in public school, ignore my reports of the torture the bullies
and teachers put me through and ignore the fact that I learned more on my
own, at home, than I did in school. I mean, if a kid loves to read, all you
have to do is put the right books in front of 'em and you pretty much have
it in the can. I asked to be in boy scouts. Nope. I asked for martial arts
classes. Nope. I asked them to let me ride my bike the 4 miles to the public
library in our very safe country "town". Nope. I got a dog (because the deer
would eat my Moms garden without one). And I got a stereo (because my dad
got a better one and didn't want to pay to dispose of the old (huge)
speakers). The school library was pretty much my life line. That and access
to cast off parts and tools from my dads shop and components I salvaged from
dead appliances around the area. They did buy me a computer one year (COSMIC
ELF) and dad did spend time answering my questions. He also beat the crap
out of me with his thin black belt if I pissed him off. I mean welts on my
back, ass and legs. That's who I am. Now I yell at my kids when they piss me
off, but I don't beat them (or spank or box their ears or any other
euphemisms used for physical injury) and I do pay for them to join the clubs
and take the classes they want. And they don't know what a bully is. They
know how to resolve conflicts by confronting, explaining how they feel, and
then contacting an authority figure if necessary. Like mature adults, rather
than "lords of the flies." They watch discovery, history and science
channel. They have the internet (in the living room with us watching) and
they have a mother with an MSW and a father who always answers their
questions as best I can. Hopefully they won't even yell at their kids.

--
James.

-----Original Message-----
From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf Of
Byron Jeff
Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2008 16:20
To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public.
Subject: Re: [OT] Who is to blame:
Was:Usingvoucherstoimprovethequalityofschools(was:Educationreform)


<SNIP>

What doesn't happen is parental discipline. And no matter what you do
inside the school walls, if the parents do no discipline, then nothing good
ever happens.

See that's the missing element from the equation. Students haven't changed
much over the years. What has changed is the parental involvement and
discipline. Some children disrespect their parents, and as an extension
disrespect authorities at school.

There are many more screw-ups that are parents now than ever before.

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