"With great power, comes great responsibility. "
Truer words have never been spoken. Why then do people -- such as the RCMP -- abuse their power?
I think just about everyone nation wide has heard about the flooding in southern Alberta. A little town called High River was completely devastated by this flood. Thirteen thousand people are homeless. Homeless.
At first firefighters, military and RCMP were part of the solution, ensuring flooded residents reached safety. All that has changed.
RCMP have been illegally entering homes and confiscating weapons, in the name of safety. There are blockades set up. There is tight control on those allowed to enter this devastated zone.
It is the RCMP and military who have forcibly entered many homes, presumably to ensure residents' safety, yet they have allowed some residents to stay because they refuse to evacuate. They have made people's formerly secure homes unsecure; thereby giving them an excuse to remove weapons in the interest of public safety.
I believe this act would be called break and entry, with a few theft charges rammed in there. Why are the officers committing these crimes not being charged? If they were not wearing a uniform, they most certainly would be charged for such lowly crimes.
If you have authority, don't aggravate a volatile situation. These people need kindness and understanding. They need communication. They need to see their properties so they can begin making decisions and moving forward.
Quit riding the ego train and start being part of the solution. Quit abusing the power of your authority by stealing the few belongings some have left. Quit destroying property that Mother Nature so nastily abused. Actually, RCMP Officers, do the world a favor -- pull your heads out of your asses and grow a heart!!!
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Parental Responsibility
This subject is nearly as touchy as racism. Maybe more so. Yet, I feel compelled to write about it.
My youngest daughter has Type 1 Diabetes. When she was first diagnosed, my husband and I decided I would stay home and learn to manage this life-long, chronic disease. I had an okay job with great benefits and good pay, but I was willing to give this up to better support my entire family during this huge learning curve. After two years, I am back to work part-time.
When I say huge learning curve, I mean it. You have to learn to poke fingers and interpret blood glucose readings. Match insulin needs to food requirements. Learn to make appropriate increases or decreases in insulin to maintain a very fine balance between "good" and "evil" glucose levels. This disease leads you into one of the hardest juggling acts you will ever perform. You have to fight a child who doesn't want another needle but must have it to live. Your heart is often ripped from your chest and stomped on in this constant battle to preserve a decent quality of life for your child.
With this on-going battle against a disease you have no control over, you must remember to give enough love and attention to your other child or children. Even though she may understand the medical need, your non-diabetic child needs you just as much as the diabetic child does. She's emotional, too. No one likes to watch someone they love suffer. No one likes to feel someone is more important than they are. I think a tight-rope would be easier to walk than to maintain this balance.
Don't forget your spouse, either. They are sad and struggling with this ugliness life dealt our daughter. An ugliness he can't protect her from. It's hard. Hard to carry the weight. Difficult to turn something so negative into a positive. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears have been shed in the two years since diagnosis. Oh, and sleep deprivation, to the point of insomnia. I rarely sleep a full six hours.
By now, I'm certain you're thinking what does all of this have to do with parental responsibility? Where the hell is she going with this???
Lately, I have been reading too many complaints about parents with Type 1 children who are upset about the lack of support for their children at school. They are upset about not being able to have an educational assistant in place to help their child at school. They are upset when a teacher is a little later testing than is required. Angry about an educational assistant who made a decision that was incorrect in the treatment of their child's disease.
My first question always is: are you available to go to your child's school at key points throughout the day? Many times I receive a "yes", followed by many excuses as to why they can't/don't want to this. From younger siblings at home; to it's a human rights issue and everything in between.
I'm fully aware not all families can manage this ugly disease the way we have. I get it's hard to pack up two or three younger siblings a couple times a day. I even get that it is the right of our children to be safe at school. I understand the single parent who must work with no one else to rely on.
What I don't understand is my perception of parents insisting on passing their responsibilities to medically untrained educational assistants. Many of these same parents with complaints like to spout about how Type 1 is a life-threatening disease. It is. They like to point out mistakes these assistants make during a treatment and how they would have handled it differently. Demanding that schools train personnel how to handle this disease in five minutes.
We live, eat, breathe and sleep this disease. We learn to make decisions based on previous history. Many decisions are made on gut-instinct alone - with a very sincere hope it was the right choice. Some of us have been battling diabetes for many years; some for mere months. How can we possibly expect an educational assistant to learn all they need to know from a half hour meeting at the beginning of the school year? How can we expect them to make a good decision based on the protocol we have written for them, yet often twist knowing we will achieve the desired result? We can't.
If you truly want the best care your child can have, I believe parents are the only ones who can deliver this. We should not be passing it off to someone who doesn't understand - or care - on the same level we do.
If you are unable to go to school to care for your child based on your life's circumstances, then fight for trained medical staff at your child's school -- not for an educational assistant. I, for one, would not pass this responsibility to a person who has no medical training or real understanding of this chronic, life-threatening disease. For any reason. Fight to be welcomed into your child's school to help whenever they need it - a battle I had to fight in another province and won.
Don't complain when someone makes a decision, even if it isn't the right one. You've chosen to trust them with your child's life-threatening disease because you are unavailable during those hours. Use it to further educate them. Make yourself 100% available to give assistance or to answer questions. Remember how difficult it was to make the right decision in the early days of diagnosis? Don't criticize those of us who choose to happily deliver the care our diabetic child needs by sacrificing our jobs or choosing to come and go from the school at key times during the day.
Are you a bad parent because you need help to manage your child's disease? No. But neither am I for choosing to be a fully hands-on parent who refuses to delegate the responsibility of my child's life to another because it is their "right". I get tired of listening to what everyone "thinks" society should be doing for them, rather than what they should be doing to improve society. We don't need everything legislated. Our world has too many rules, and it certainly hasn't improved because of it.
Schools have the responsibility to educate. Parents have the responsibility to keep our children alive and well. Don't pass that responsibility off so easily.
My youngest daughter has Type 1 Diabetes. When she was first diagnosed, my husband and I decided I would stay home and learn to manage this life-long, chronic disease. I had an okay job with great benefits and good pay, but I was willing to give this up to better support my entire family during this huge learning curve. After two years, I am back to work part-time.
When I say huge learning curve, I mean it. You have to learn to poke fingers and interpret blood glucose readings. Match insulin needs to food requirements. Learn to make appropriate increases or decreases in insulin to maintain a very fine balance between "good" and "evil" glucose levels. This disease leads you into one of the hardest juggling acts you will ever perform. You have to fight a child who doesn't want another needle but must have it to live. Your heart is often ripped from your chest and stomped on in this constant battle to preserve a decent quality of life for your child.
With this on-going battle against a disease you have no control over, you must remember to give enough love and attention to your other child or children. Even though she may understand the medical need, your non-diabetic child needs you just as much as the diabetic child does. She's emotional, too. No one likes to watch someone they love suffer. No one likes to feel someone is more important than they are. I think a tight-rope would be easier to walk than to maintain this balance.
Don't forget your spouse, either. They are sad and struggling with this ugliness life dealt our daughter. An ugliness he can't protect her from. It's hard. Hard to carry the weight. Difficult to turn something so negative into a positive. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears have been shed in the two years since diagnosis. Oh, and sleep deprivation, to the point of insomnia. I rarely sleep a full six hours.
By now, I'm certain you're thinking what does all of this have to do with parental responsibility? Where the hell is she going with this???
Lately, I have been reading too many complaints about parents with Type 1 children who are upset about the lack of support for their children at school. They are upset about not being able to have an educational assistant in place to help their child at school. They are upset when a teacher is a little later testing than is required. Angry about an educational assistant who made a decision that was incorrect in the treatment of their child's disease.
My first question always is: are you available to go to your child's school at key points throughout the day? Many times I receive a "yes", followed by many excuses as to why they can't/don't want to this. From younger siblings at home; to it's a human rights issue and everything in between.
I'm fully aware not all families can manage this ugly disease the way we have. I get it's hard to pack up two or three younger siblings a couple times a day. I even get that it is the right of our children to be safe at school. I understand the single parent who must work with no one else to rely on.
What I don't understand is my perception of parents insisting on passing their responsibilities to medically untrained educational assistants. Many of these same parents with complaints like to spout about how Type 1 is a life-threatening disease. It is. They like to point out mistakes these assistants make during a treatment and how they would have handled it differently. Demanding that schools train personnel how to handle this disease in five minutes.
We live, eat, breathe and sleep this disease. We learn to make decisions based on previous history. Many decisions are made on gut-instinct alone - with a very sincere hope it was the right choice. Some of us have been battling diabetes for many years; some for mere months. How can we possibly expect an educational assistant to learn all they need to know from a half hour meeting at the beginning of the school year? How can we expect them to make a good decision based on the protocol we have written for them, yet often twist knowing we will achieve the desired result? We can't.
If you truly want the best care your child can have, I believe parents are the only ones who can deliver this. We should not be passing it off to someone who doesn't understand - or care - on the same level we do.
If you are unable to go to school to care for your child based on your life's circumstances, then fight for trained medical staff at your child's school -- not for an educational assistant. I, for one, would not pass this responsibility to a person who has no medical training or real understanding of this chronic, life-threatening disease. For any reason. Fight to be welcomed into your child's school to help whenever they need it - a battle I had to fight in another province and won.
Don't complain when someone makes a decision, even if it isn't the right one. You've chosen to trust them with your child's life-threatening disease because you are unavailable during those hours. Use it to further educate them. Make yourself 100% available to give assistance or to answer questions. Remember how difficult it was to make the right decision in the early days of diagnosis? Don't criticize those of us who choose to happily deliver the care our diabetic child needs by sacrificing our jobs or choosing to come and go from the school at key times during the day.
Are you a bad parent because you need help to manage your child's disease? No. But neither am I for choosing to be a fully hands-on parent who refuses to delegate the responsibility of my child's life to another because it is their "right". I get tired of listening to what everyone "thinks" society should be doing for them, rather than what they should be doing to improve society. We don't need everything legislated. Our world has too many rules, and it certainly hasn't improved because of it.
Schools have the responsibility to educate. Parents have the responsibility to keep our children alive and well. Don't pass that responsibility off so easily.
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Happy Moments
Life has a habit of making us feel dragged down, but perhaps it should be interpreted as the kick in the ass we need to move forward. We've all been there. A job that makes us unhappy. Personal circumstances that make us feel "stuck". Living in a city we despise. Too many expectations placed on us we cannot live up to.
How do you get out of this vicious circle? It's a simple question - with no simple answers.
Most of us are in a position where we must support our family. The job that's been making you miserable must be replaced with one of equal - or better - measure because we need to pay the mortgage and keep food in our family's bellies. Maybe you have the experience required to obtain a new position, but your future employer requires the education to back up your experience. Maybe you want to go into a new field altogether. Which direction do you choose? Maybe you take an on-line course or two, preparing yourself slowly for a change you need. Maybe you're a "head first" kind of person, jump in and hope life will work itself out - because life usually does have a habit of working itself out. Maybe you have an amazing partner who doesn't mind carrying the financial load while you better yourself. So many directions to go - no clear answers.
What about those personal circumstances? Your child is still too young to be left home alone after school, so you've chosen to continue with your part-time job and not take a great, full-time promotion. Or your kids are almost to college. You want to re-model the basement but don't want to dip into a college fund. Maybe your kids are at an age where you are starting to have a bit of freedom again, but you feel guilty for being away. Or your child has a medical condition, stripping your ability to go away for a vacation without first extensively training someone so your child's quality of life is maintained? These are the truly hard questions. After all, we chose to have children; therefore, it is up to us to raise them to the best of our ability. I envy parents who so easily pass their parental responsibilities to others.
My favorite stressor is the expectations placed on us by family and friends. The expectation to be perfect. To show up for every family function, although I'm tired. Or maybe I'd just like to sit and drink a glass of wine with my hubby. Friends who get mad at you because you've been too busy to call for a few weeks.
I think we need to remember one simple rule: life has no happy endings; only happy moments. Hold onto the happy moments. They get you through the rough patches of indecision.
How do you get out of this vicious circle? It's a simple question - with no simple answers.
Most of us are in a position where we must support our family. The job that's been making you miserable must be replaced with one of equal - or better - measure because we need to pay the mortgage and keep food in our family's bellies. Maybe you have the experience required to obtain a new position, but your future employer requires the education to back up your experience. Maybe you want to go into a new field altogether. Which direction do you choose? Maybe you take an on-line course or two, preparing yourself slowly for a change you need. Maybe you're a "head first" kind of person, jump in and hope life will work itself out - because life usually does have a habit of working itself out. Maybe you have an amazing partner who doesn't mind carrying the financial load while you better yourself. So many directions to go - no clear answers.
What about those personal circumstances? Your child is still too young to be left home alone after school, so you've chosen to continue with your part-time job and not take a great, full-time promotion. Or your kids are almost to college. You want to re-model the basement but don't want to dip into a college fund. Maybe your kids are at an age where you are starting to have a bit of freedom again, but you feel guilty for being away. Or your child has a medical condition, stripping your ability to go away for a vacation without first extensively training someone so your child's quality of life is maintained? These are the truly hard questions. After all, we chose to have children; therefore, it is up to us to raise them to the best of our ability. I envy parents who so easily pass their parental responsibilities to others.
My favorite stressor is the expectations placed on us by family and friends. The expectation to be perfect. To show up for every family function, although I'm tired. Or maybe I'd just like to sit and drink a glass of wine with my hubby. Friends who get mad at you because you've been too busy to call for a few weeks.
I think we need to remember one simple rule: life has no happy endings; only happy moments. Hold onto the happy moments. They get you through the rough patches of indecision.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Live, Laugh, Love
This weekend, while celebrating my 89 year old grandfather's life, it was wonderful to see cousins I had not seen for years - many were small children last time. It was even good to see aunts and uncles, some who formerly criticized my life choices. Some who committed rather unforgivable sins. Yet, I managed to come to a few realizations about the dynamics of the family.
This side of my family has long been a religious and very judgemental bunch. Some are very hypocritical in their beliefs; others are not. It is their very hypocrisy that turned me away from institutionalized religious factions. This is not to say I have no belief in higher powers, but, rather, that one set of ideals is not the only set to follow. I have pulled from many different belief systems over the years - both religious and secular - and incorporated them into my own life. My main beliefs are kindness, tolerance and acceptance. The thing that amuses me the most is all faiths - Protestant, Catholic, Judaism, etc. - basically believe the same thing. So this is where I stepped off the cart of organized religion.
I spent many years feeling as though I didn't measure up to the stringent expectations placed on me by my paternal family. Quite frankly, I avoided all family functions due to this feeling. This time, I didn't feel that way. Why? I am no longer a child in constant need of approval from those I love. Life has a way of teaching us what truly matters. It doesn't matter that extended family disapproves of my lifestyle. It doesn't matter I have often been criticized by them for life choices they disagree with. It matters only that I made choices to make me happy. I have a wonderful husband. Two beautiful daughters. A great step-son. I no longer allow outside influences to change the root-deep happiness in my life.
Many of the older generation has not changed very much. They still judge. They're hateful to one another. They are hypocrites, for they preach against the very things they do themselves. They hold age-old grudges, which I doubt any of them remember the full reason for now. None of them are willing to discuss their issues calmly, respectfully and move forward from there -- or simply discuss them. My best realization was this no longer matters to me. They are who they are. I accept them, even if I don't respect them.
My other pretty amazing realization was this older generation is seeking the one thing they rarely had in life: acceptance. I saw this need in one of my uncle's eyes. It was so raw, I actually felt a twinge of pain in my heart. Instead of snide remarks, which I had felt compelled to make, I teased him, as I had many of the others. I didn't get a real laugh out of him because he is far too serious a man, but I felt good knowing I tried to make a change in the family dynamics.
We lost my grandfather, but I truly hope the older generation can see what it is they need: to quit caring so much about the transgressions - real or perceived - of others. Care about your life, what makes you happy, and move forward. Forgive, then accept.
Live, Laugh, Love
This side of my family has long been a religious and very judgemental bunch. Some are very hypocritical in their beliefs; others are not. It is their very hypocrisy that turned me away from institutionalized religious factions. This is not to say I have no belief in higher powers, but, rather, that one set of ideals is not the only set to follow. I have pulled from many different belief systems over the years - both religious and secular - and incorporated them into my own life. My main beliefs are kindness, tolerance and acceptance. The thing that amuses me the most is all faiths - Protestant, Catholic, Judaism, etc. - basically believe the same thing. So this is where I stepped off the cart of organized religion.
I spent many years feeling as though I didn't measure up to the stringent expectations placed on me by my paternal family. Quite frankly, I avoided all family functions due to this feeling. This time, I didn't feel that way. Why? I am no longer a child in constant need of approval from those I love. Life has a way of teaching us what truly matters. It doesn't matter that extended family disapproves of my lifestyle. It doesn't matter I have often been criticized by them for life choices they disagree with. It matters only that I made choices to make me happy. I have a wonderful husband. Two beautiful daughters. A great step-son. I no longer allow outside influences to change the root-deep happiness in my life.
Many of the older generation has not changed very much. They still judge. They're hateful to one another. They are hypocrites, for they preach against the very things they do themselves. They hold age-old grudges, which I doubt any of them remember the full reason for now. None of them are willing to discuss their issues calmly, respectfully and move forward from there -- or simply discuss them. My best realization was this no longer matters to me. They are who they are. I accept them, even if I don't respect them.
My other pretty amazing realization was this older generation is seeking the one thing they rarely had in life: acceptance. I saw this need in one of my uncle's eyes. It was so raw, I actually felt a twinge of pain in my heart. Instead of snide remarks, which I had felt compelled to make, I teased him, as I had many of the others. I didn't get a real laugh out of him because he is far too serious a man, but I felt good knowing I tried to make a change in the family dynamics.
We lost my grandfather, but I truly hope the older generation can see what it is they need: to quit caring so much about the transgressions - real or perceived - of others. Care about your life, what makes you happy, and move forward. Forgive, then accept.
Live, Laugh, Love
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Free Medical Care?
Free medical care is an oxymoron. There is no such thing. Publically funded? Most definitely. Funding for the most recent and proven better treatment methods? Absolutely not.
I am not sure why we Canadians constantly say our medical system is free. Oh, sure, we don't have to pay out-of-pocket to see our family doctor. Or make frustrating insurance claims. Yet, medical care is anything but free. A portion of our taxes fund this system. Some provinces pay a small portion each month to their provincial health care. Not to mention certain medical treatments are not covered "free", but, rather, patients in dire need are charged exorbitant amounts to get well -- or perhaps stay well. Don't forget the amounts we pay for employer insurance, and the difference not covered by this insurance.
As a parent of a Type 1 Diabetic child, one such example is an insulin pump, averaging $7000. This price does not include the $600 for monthly supplies, such as: infusion sets, reservoirs, insulin, and meter strips required to maintain my child's health -- thank goodness for employer benefits! Many provinces do not fund the cost of an insulin pump that significantly lowers several long-term side effects of Type 1 diabetes. Not to mention, greatly improves the quality of life for a child with this chronic disease.
Why isn't our medical system providing the lastest and greatest treatments to those who need it? Why must children suffer through multiple injections per day, simply to stay alive? Why must cancer victims beggar themselves to receive the best treatment possible to send their disease into remision? Why are medical treatments and supplies so ridiculously expensive? Why must those in need involve the media to obtain expensive treatments before the government or drug companies will help? Why do we give these same treatments to people in our country on refugee statuses for nothing?
This is wrong. If there is a better treatment, one should not have to sink into abject poverty to receive it. Or never know the freedom an insulin pump can give their child because of lack of money. No doubt if Steven Harper's child suffered from Type 1 Diabetes, he'd see to it every child at least had the choice for an insulin pump. He'd ensure every diabetes clinic - large or small - had an A1C collection system that required a simple finger "poke". I doubt he'd want to watch his child tense with anxiety, tears running freely, during blood work, if there was an easier way.
Why, then, do we Average Joes, allow this to continue? Whether we like it or not, our medical system is very much two-tiered. It's time that changed. We deserve better.
I am not sure why we Canadians constantly say our medical system is free. Oh, sure, we don't have to pay out-of-pocket to see our family doctor. Or make frustrating insurance claims. Yet, medical care is anything but free. A portion of our taxes fund this system. Some provinces pay a small portion each month to their provincial health care. Not to mention certain medical treatments are not covered "free", but, rather, patients in dire need are charged exorbitant amounts to get well -- or perhaps stay well. Don't forget the amounts we pay for employer insurance, and the difference not covered by this insurance.
As a parent of a Type 1 Diabetic child, one such example is an insulin pump, averaging $7000. This price does not include the $600 for monthly supplies, such as: infusion sets, reservoirs, insulin, and meter strips required to maintain my child's health -- thank goodness for employer benefits! Many provinces do not fund the cost of an insulin pump that significantly lowers several long-term side effects of Type 1 diabetes. Not to mention, greatly improves the quality of life for a child with this chronic disease.
Why isn't our medical system providing the lastest and greatest treatments to those who need it? Why must children suffer through multiple injections per day, simply to stay alive? Why must cancer victims beggar themselves to receive the best treatment possible to send their disease into remision? Why are medical treatments and supplies so ridiculously expensive? Why must those in need involve the media to obtain expensive treatments before the government or drug companies will help? Why do we give these same treatments to people in our country on refugee statuses for nothing?
This is wrong. If there is a better treatment, one should not have to sink into abject poverty to receive it. Or never know the freedom an insulin pump can give their child because of lack of money. No doubt if Steven Harper's child suffered from Type 1 Diabetes, he'd see to it every child at least had the choice for an insulin pump. He'd ensure every diabetes clinic - large or small - had an A1C collection system that required a simple finger "poke". I doubt he'd want to watch his child tense with anxiety, tears running freely, during blood work, if there was an easier way.
Why, then, do we Average Joes, allow this to continue? Whether we like it or not, our medical system is very much two-tiered. It's time that changed. We deserve better.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Public Safety
In the wake of extreme tragedy in Newton, CT, it is quite difficult to watch the news. Not for the grief that paralyzes us from such senseless loss, but, rather, the gross misdirection of the main issue. Public safety, most often spouted in the guise of gun control.
Gun control is merely a band aid. It prevents nothing, but soothes the minds of the public. After all, guns do not fire themselves. A law cannot protect a country's citizens from a person intending to do harm. Illegal weapons seem to be easily acquired, despite well-meaning laws.
I believe we need better measures taken against criminals. More laws to protect the innocent. Punishment that suits the crime committed, not just a few years in a cushy jail cell where society educates them in the name of rehabilitation. Real consequences. Society should instill a little good, old-fashioned fear of consequences into its citizens.
Why do we as a society glorify the criminal? The media is the worst culprit of this. They speak incessantly of the young man who committed this travesty, but little of the school's principal who attempted to defend her school - barehanded - against a madman. Why aren't we hearing about what an amazing woman she was? About her ultimate sacrifice? What of the other school staff members who gave their lives trying to save the children? I want to hear about their lives. I want to see them held on the media's pedestal. What of the childrens' families? They have made a terrible sacrifice to society. My heart breaks for these families, completely devastated by one random act of violence.
We must stop glorifying evil. Stop the infamy of Jesse James, Bonny and Clyde, the culprit in the Columbine shootings, and this young man. We keep evil alive by allowing the media to dictate these details. We will never understand - or know - the reason for this insanity. We serve to promote more of this behaviour by giving it our attention.
I applaud the adults who lost their lives trying to save these children. I applaud the families who now have such a heavy burden to bear. All of you are true heroes.
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Bullying
Outrageous bullying has, unfortunately, become an enormous part of society. Fingers are constantly pointed with no viable solutions to this growing problem among our children. I believe it is a combination of all three of the constants among our children: parents, schools, and society. Let's start with society's role in this fiasco, as I believe this is where the problem begins.
It began with the human rights movement. This movement gave the human race rights it had not had before: freedom of actions, told us how to conduct our personal disciplinary beliefs, that we are all invaluable. While all of the above was a step in the right direction, society forgot to say what is inappropriate with the gaining of these rights, such as cruelty, lack of discipline and respect.
Society took parents' right to discipline their children away, which led to a total lack of respect and no self-worth among our children. Without discipline, children no longer feel loved or guided. They feel insecure and this leads to random acts of cruelty toward others in an attempt to gain the love and discipline they need.
There is also the need for a two income home these days. A state also created by society's constant competitiveness for "bigger and better", driving the cost of living skyward. This takes one parent away who used to oversee the children's behaviour and correct it immediately, rather than hours, days or weeks later.
Next is the parents' refusal to believe their child is capable of such inhumane, awful behaviour. You can only help your child if you are willing to acknowledge the wrongness of their actions. This is a huge problem as no parent wants to accept their child may be on the cruelty fast-track, rather than the kind, loving baby the child used to be. Each and every parent has been guilty of this at some point.
Last, but certainly not least, is the responsibility of teachers and the school system. It is pitiful, indeed, when teachers stand by idly while a group of children is cruel to one. How can you possibly call yourself an "educator" when you stand by and allow the abject cruelty to continue while doing nothing? I know many wonderful educators who willingly go the extra mile, but we have all heard stories on the news of those who do not.
Years ago, my step-son was being roughed up during a no-contact game at recess. Finally, he swore at the boy who was playing rough. The teacher standing by -- who had watched the entire altercation -- hauled him to the office and called my husband. Once the story became clear, with the teacher admitting honestly to her lack of action until inappropriate language was used, my step-son was released and the other child disciplined for his despicable behaviour. Hopefully, it was a lesson she learned well enough never to repeat. Thankfully, the issue ended there. Many times, it does not.
So what is the solution to ending the reign of bullies? Simple. Consequences that fit their crime. Support from society. Support from parents. Support from schools. This cruelty must end before countless children are forever scarred.
It began with the human rights movement. This movement gave the human race rights it had not had before: freedom of actions, told us how to conduct our personal disciplinary beliefs, that we are all invaluable. While all of the above was a step in the right direction, society forgot to say what is inappropriate with the gaining of these rights, such as cruelty, lack of discipline and respect.
Society took parents' right to discipline their children away, which led to a total lack of respect and no self-worth among our children. Without discipline, children no longer feel loved or guided. They feel insecure and this leads to random acts of cruelty toward others in an attempt to gain the love and discipline they need.
There is also the need for a two income home these days. A state also created by society's constant competitiveness for "bigger and better", driving the cost of living skyward. This takes one parent away who used to oversee the children's behaviour and correct it immediately, rather than hours, days or weeks later.
Next is the parents' refusal to believe their child is capable of such inhumane, awful behaviour. You can only help your child if you are willing to acknowledge the wrongness of their actions. This is a huge problem as no parent wants to accept their child may be on the cruelty fast-track, rather than the kind, loving baby the child used to be. Each and every parent has been guilty of this at some point.
Last, but certainly not least, is the responsibility of teachers and the school system. It is pitiful, indeed, when teachers stand by idly while a group of children is cruel to one. How can you possibly call yourself an "educator" when you stand by and allow the abject cruelty to continue while doing nothing? I know many wonderful educators who willingly go the extra mile, but we have all heard stories on the news of those who do not.
Years ago, my step-son was being roughed up during a no-contact game at recess. Finally, he swore at the boy who was playing rough. The teacher standing by -- who had watched the entire altercation -- hauled him to the office and called my husband. Once the story became clear, with the teacher admitting honestly to her lack of action until inappropriate language was used, my step-son was released and the other child disciplined for his despicable behaviour. Hopefully, it was a lesson she learned well enough never to repeat. Thankfully, the issue ended there. Many times, it does not.
So what is the solution to ending the reign of bullies? Simple. Consequences that fit their crime. Support from society. Support from parents. Support from schools. This cruelty must end before countless children are forever scarred.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)