I blame the parental situation, for two reasons. First of all, if my parents got a message on their voicemail (and schools have parents' phone numbers) or on my report card comments saying so much as "Zach can be slightly disruptive sometimes", then they'd darn well make me behave myself. Which brings us to the second reason - a lot of parents seem unwilling to lay down the law and make their children respect their authority even slightly. I'm not suggesting we go back to beating kids with switches or anything, but I think there's a fundamental link between whether or not you make kids eat their vegetables and whether or not they'll listen to the teacher.
Now I'm sure there are a lot of mitigating factors on the parental side, in terms of having to work long hours to put food on the table, but in the end, discipline and respect begin at home.
Now I'm sure there are a lot of mitigating factors on the parental side, in terms of having to work long hours to put food on the table, but in the end, discipline and respect begin at home.