I was a t...Yes you know this familiar start to post of mine.
I took a one year teacher training program in 1957-58. The training was very basic. There was also a six week practicum in the program. We took many courses but they were brief. Everybody got the same course: primary methods, reading, art, music, phys.ed. administration, classroom organization... Discipline was emphasized. Did I say discipline was emphasized? Yes , I did.
These were the days when discipline was strict. Classroom control was everything. Anything fast and dirty was used to get these goals. School trustees were only concerned about discipline...good behavior. They didn't seem to get learning strategies and achievement. Terrible things were d
one: strap, cane, shaking, shoving, slapping, pulling hair...awful things.
Since I got half my education in the 40's, I was exposed to the discipline regime.
I got the strap but I well remember one and why I got it. This is the classroom and the teacher. when I look back at things this lady was an excellent teacher. I'm the innocent little fellow in the middle line from the teacher.
In the one room schools the teacher went to his/her house to eat lunch and the students ate their lunch in the classroom without supervision. This worked fine 99.9% of the time. Somehow or other WWWX broke out one noon hour. For some reason or other we started throwing chalk brushes. The fight became intense and was it ever fun until the teacher walked in. Some of us were so intent in the activity that we didn't see the teacher. I was one of them.
The teacher was very angry and we were sent to the cloakroom and soon she came in with the strap and we caught it. I was angry. We were having fun. Most of all , some of the people who were quick enough to see the teacher didn't get strapped. Did I stop doing stupid things? Well no. I still haven't stopped doing dumb things.
So I started my teaching career and the first part of it I emphasized good behavior. Many rants and raves occurred. One student even got the strap.
Over the years and about mid career I gradually changed. I could see that ranting and raving sometimes caused more harm than good and in most cases didn't help the situation.
I deliberately went low key. The adrenaline level was lowered. Problems that could have happened sometimes didn't happen. I rarely yelled. If I did yell, I sometimes heard, "He never yells.We better be good!" I used eye contact, hand motions ...low key stuff. Sometimes sterner methods were necessary.
So about mid career, I had learned some different strategies and how to apply them. We were given many professional in services. These strategies lowered stress and I went home at the end of the day in a much better mood.
So I guess you could say that I had a gradual epiphany.
Many of my posts have come from experiences on my paper route. I know I'm finished the paper route but this incident occurred at 7:00AM on my last Saturday delivery. I found some evidence of misbehavior.
I found a garage sale sign on the sidewalk about 8 houses away from where it was supposed to be. I carried the sign along with me and left it on the rightful owner's yard. In the same area a barricade around a small city work site had been pushed over. I began wondering who had been messing around in my quiet neighborhood. Then I remembered that I heard my papers being dropped off at 4:23 AM and at the same time I heard a male voice in my back alley. So somebody was in the area at that time and was probably the culprit. What else did they do?
I began thinking about this misbehavior and who and why someone might be roaming around at 4 AM. My mind started to work in overdrive and I wondered what had happened in our society that allows people to wander around and be a nuisance or worse. I thought of all the places which are open all night which allow people to receive services such as snacks and drinks, lack of policing, lack of parental guidance and other things which may lead to youth being out in the community at all hours.
Then I said, "Wait a minute. There's something wrong with this scenario." I remember that when I was a teenager in the 1950's. I would at times be out all night and come home and not go to bed. Just got home in time to milk the cows and have breakfast. I got into all kinds of mischief. Not only were vehicles not locked , the keys were left in the ignition. If there weren't keys the technology was so simple, you could put a nickel behind any ignition and make a connection and start a vehicle. So we moved tractors and trucks which were left out in the back 40. Some vehicles we took for a ride and brought them back. I discovered tobacco and alcohol during these ventures. Now in the 50's things close early and nothing was open all night. There was more stringent policing. Parents had more time for their kids and being from a farm we had lots of work to do.
So now I've shot holes in my own theory as to why some young males go out and become nuisances or worse. I also look at my severe condemnation of the youth who took the signs and detect that when I relate my own misbehavior I'm not as hard lined. I'm not looking at my misdeeds as harshly as the other guy's misdeeds.
So my question is,"Why do some young males misbehave and have difficulty seeing that what they are doing is wrong?" I thought all the stuff I got into was "funny", but it wasn't for the victims. How long before my time did young males go out and act up?
