meembo

The kids were assholes, with a camera and provocative attitudes. While I don't agree with the teacher's methods completely (I was once a teacher), a classroom and school in general is not a democracy of any kind. There is no crisis of expression here at all. The boys' behavior was disorderly and disruptive. Moreover, a teacher is given both rights and responsibilities to control the environment in his/her classroom while instructing at the same time. My sympathy is deep for anyone dealing with assholes like those boys -- in loco parentis really sucks sometimes, when forced upon a teacher by the behavior of children intent on disruption. Ignoring or tolerating disruptive behavior is NOT the answer. I'd love to be proven wrong, that the assholes' parents really did everything they could could foster in their children a respectful attitude, but I suspect instead that the parents will try to defend their children's attitude by claiming rights instead of addressing responsibilities.

As for pulling out the chair -- BRAVO! It's exactly what I would have done. The asshole could sit on the floor as a deliberate sign of protest, and that I would have tolerated. Sitting on the floor would have been the logical response of a person seeking to preserve their "rights" (which seem to be completely undefined by the student). Of course, the flip side to any act of civil disobedience is to accept the punishment of the act by the powers that be. That kind of behavior, followed by a suspension, would be a more legitimate and compelling story that this example of childish and churlish behavior.

I showed this video to my teenage sons, and it's clear to them that the asshole's behavior was wrong, and wouldn't be tolerated by me or their mom. Raise your children to do the right thing, with pride, and never give up.

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less I say, smarter I am