I swap email forwards with a friend in the UK. This arrived from Julia this morning, and I thought I’d share it with Ink Desk readers. When I was teaching, I was often amazed at the lengths people would go to in order to avoid actually raising their children. Hillary Clinton, speaking for all the wise moderns, said that it takes a village to raise a child. The following (un)funny scenarios are what happens when we turn our children over to the village.
SCHOOL-1945 vs. 2012
Scenario : Johnny and Mark get into a fight after school. 1945 – Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. 2012 – Police called, and they arrest Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it. Both children go to anger management programmes for 3 months. School governors hold meeting to implement bullying prevention programmes.
Scenario : Robbie won’t be still in class, disrupts other students. 1945 – Robbie sent to the office and given six of the best by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again. 2012 – Robbie given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADHD – result deemed to be positive. Robbie’s parents get fortnightly disability payments and school gets extra funding from government because Robbie has a disability.
Scenario : Billy breaks a window in his neighbour’s car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt. 1945 – Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman. 2012 – Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care; joins a gang; ends up in jail.
Scenario : Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school. 1945 – Mark gets glass of water from Principal to take aspirin with. Passes exams, becomes a solicitor. 2012- Police called, car searched for drugs and weapons. Mark expelled from school for drug taking. Ends up as a drop out.
Scenario : Johnny takes apart leftover fireworks from Cracker night, puts them in a paint tin & blows up a wasp’s nest. 1945 – Wasps die. 2012- Police & Anti-Terrorism Squad called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, investigate parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated. Johnny’s Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly in an airplane again.
Scenario : Johnny falls over while running during morning break and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. She hugs him to comfort him. 1945 – In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing footie. No damage done. 2012 – Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy and ends up gay.
Honestly, neither set of presupposed consequences seems at all representative, with the exception of the aspirin case, which is all too accurate. I personally think it’s a bad idea to link criticism of today’s culture with rosy-eyed distortions of the past-it’s simplistic, and that’s something that real life never is, whether in 1945 or the present.
I outright guffawed at the ADHD example, which listed ‘dosed with Ritalin’ (a HIGHLY controlled medication) BEFORE ‘diagnosed with ADHD’. Not to mention the weird assumption that stimulant medication could somehow turn a child into ‘a zombie’. Stimulants can have some pretty scary side effects if given to a child or adult who has no need of them, but none of those side effects include becoming calm, pliable, or ‘out of it’. They are more likely to include mania, loss of appetite, and behavioral tics. If there was a conspiracy to drug kids into submission, it would involve sedatives, not stimulants.
Dear Kate,
I answered your comment a day or so after it appeared. I don’t know why it never appeared. (I just don’t want you to think your comment received no response.)
I don’t remember now what I said–it’s been quite a long while. But I wouldn’t want you to think I was advocating the beating of children.
About Ritalin, by the way. Yes, technically it’s a “stimulant.” So, why is it used as a depressant? Good question. I do know that when one of my students was introduced to the astonishing adventure of developing his own ego instead of taking a drug, the results were amazing.