Yes possibly, I do feel sorry for todays kids, ****ing Tik Tok and instagram ruins lives, influencers wtf is that, some tosser filming himself smacking old women and young kids copy it. Kids just want to be famous now, they don’t want to work for a living, and look how many parents came out and said my son/daughter will never do national service. I blame the parents for every thing wrong with todays kids
If we're focusing on a specific age group of children, there are varying problems that are contributing to things like behaviour and mental health. In Primary age children, the biggest cause of problems seems to be caused by technology. Children become addicted to things much easier than adults and the advent of technology geared towards kids has seen a huge uptick in behavioural problems, primarily due to children getting dopamine hits from being on technology and then suffering withdrawal symptoms from it. I don't know if anybody has seen a heavy user of anything go 7-8 hours without their addiction, but in an adult it can be terrifying, yet some will scratch their heads when they get a call from school saying that their child has screamed at their teacher or simply "wasn't themselves today". To young children, technology has the same effect as cigarettes and alcohol on the brain; it feels great to consume it and you're okay for a while, but after a few hours the itch kicks in and you need a hit. HOW the problem is addressed is down to the parents, but WHY those problems initially occur isn't entirely. Yes, parents will buy tablets etc for their children because it's an easy source of entertainment and keeps them quiet. I don't agree with this as a method of parenting, it's basically selfish on the part of the parent because it's giving both parties what they want. That being said, as a parent to two young girls myself, I know that rewarding children is important when the time is right, so if my eldest is well behaved, she can watch a bit of Kids YouTube for half an hour while I clean the house and her sister is asleep. She does dance, she swims and she helps out in the garden a lot, so for a five year old she gets a really good balance between education, physical activity and leisure and I ensure the content she watches is appropriate. But that isn't why the child might be demanding or why "kids these days are so lazy (they aren't)" or whatever trope is thrown out (some crackers on here already). I was born in 1988, so things like technology, fast food, media etc were still pretty rare. Look at the world now and you buy a Chromebook for around £60, the Internet is a billion times larger, fast food is everywhere, communication has gone from waiting for somebody to finish using the phone line to pressing a button on your wrist and calling Hong Kong if you want. So all the things that we wanted to do but couldn't are the things the youngest of our society have as standard. They'll be having this exact same conversation in twenty years time, just like my parents will have done when they, perplexed, asked me what a Gamecube was and why I wanted one. Twas ever thus, but what helps is not spinning this into a negative, but finding ways to balance exposure to technology with the rest of life's aspects in a positive way. Lockdown hit Primary kids badly, we're still picking up the pieces and as necessary as the whole ordeal was, not enough was done to counter the setbacks it caused. The issue that I've run into in the last three years has been not just how parents react to children's behaviour, but as Kalman stated, the expectation that WE fix it. A child that is making poor choices in school never does so "just because they're bad". There's a reason. It could be medical, psychological, sociological, emotional, any number of factors influence behaviour. Hell, it could be that they scored an own goal in football at the weekend and couldn't get over it. But getting to the root of the issue doesn't happen unless the child, the school and the parents are all on the same page. If a parent thinks the school isn't doing enough, they are well within their rights to go in and speak to the head. If a school thinks parents aren't doing enough, we can do **** all. We can't tell parents what time to send their kid to bed or what to give them for dinner. Teachers take their jobs seriously, because the amount of constant scrutiny we are under is nothing short of unfair, especially with that pay grade in the modern age. We're educators but expected to be, at any given time of day, an agony aunt, a pharmacist, a doctor, a mediator, a psychiatrist, a mental health nurse, a counsellor, a therapist, a cleaner, a babysitter, a disciplinarian, IT Consultants, a food bank, a stationer and an examiner. Double my salary then, or you're just getting the education bit I signed up for. As for the "There were never any kids with autism or transgender or adhd when I were a lad" crowd, I'm telling you as somebody who knows first hand, there absolutely were. ADHD and ASD, like most neurological disorders in the 90s, was only diagnosed in extreme circumstances. So a kid would have to be throwing chairs or shouting "tits" every five seconds in class to be diagnosed properly. Schools and by proxy parents didn't bother with anything like that because behaviour was seen to be a rigid standard that brought consequences for breaking it and that deviation from it was inexcusable, medical or otherwise. Behaviour wasn't considered because results were what mattered. We know better now, we know that autism, ADHD and other spectrum disorders are a barrier to learning and instead of punishing a child for having a disability, we work to teach them in a way that suits them. I've adapted my lessons in so many different ways as a teacher so that children who can't sit still for five minutes can remain engaged. If my teachers had done that for some of the kids in my class, instead of throwing them out of the lesson and denying them a learning opportunity, maybe they wouldn't go on to treat their children and their various needs with the same disdain. The same people who whinge and moan about everything being "woke" will be the same people who think fear is the best educator, that nurture is just giving kids an easy ride and that hardship is a measure of human value. And I have no doubt that if you read this and you think things like LGBT rights, multiculturalism and diagnosing disorders is a detriment to society, chances are you're probably one of the reasons your classmates in high school DIDN'T come out as gay, or confide their struggles to you, or openly explain their disability. You won't have seen them because either a) they didn't see you as somebody they could trust to help them or b) they were taken away from their friends and classmates, put into an ill fitting environment and never heard from again. And that's what society wanted for decades, it's why words like r****d, s****** and p**f lasted as long as they did in public discourse, because people that weren't "normal" presented a potential problem and had to be dealt with, in schools that was done with ridicule and physical abuse. The treatment of ASD and ADHD children in the early 90s was appalling by today's standards (I imagine it gets worse the further back you go), hell I was undiagnosed because my parents just thought I was a bit of a "rum lad" and it was part of my charm. When I told them I struggled to sit and study, well, let's just say bad times would follow, so when I inevitably underachieved despite being far and away one of the most intelligent in my cohort, they were dumbfounded. Everytime I got a B or an A-, I'd be torn a new arsehole, they just didn't get it. I was one kid, looking back at my time at Hunsley, there were probably 20 of those in my year group. Now extrapolate that out to the entire country and you'll start to understand why we have such a huge mental health crisis. It starts with the children, if you don't catch it then, you're setting them up to fail. It isn't labelling for the benefit of a parent's ego, it's identifying barriers to learning that absolutely can be overcome. No child is beyond teaching, not a single one and anybody telling you otherwise is a ****ing clown.
Can be approved in emergency conditions, I think this year it's only on crops of suger beet infected with some virus. Don't forget that the farmers need the bees too.
Well you can put me down in the "there werent any of those around when i was at school brigade". That or i was not paying attention. Funnily the first time i encountered this was at Uni in 75 but thats another story. I don't have kids but i have encountered a mum seemingly desperate to have her daughter classified as autistic which i was surprised at. Teaching in University appears less complicated
Just on the comment about what people are eating, there is something going on that is causing a higher level of allergies than 20 years ago, which must be environmental or food related, it really is concerning how much more of an issue that is. While I tentatively agree with Kalman that I think an over-labelling of conditions in children is a frustration, that only becomes an issue if parents use it to alleviate responsibility, rather than use it to alter their parenting methods or the education requirements. I remember when I was at school (over 20 years ago now) a child had special conditions in exams because 'his hand hurt' after writing for an hour, so was allowed to use a computer. These people taking advantage of 'conditions' or circumstances have existed forever and a day. Back in the 50s/60s perhaps it was less visible to some because with the creation of the internet everything becomes magnified, more visible, and more discussed. Plus just add in the mere fact that when you yourself were a kid you were probably a whole lot less aware of what was going on in the world than you are as an adult. As someone said, a great example is something like cancer or other illnesses. People might claim there's higher levels of certain illnesses now but the far greater likelihood is that people are just more aware of them now and diagnose them correctly.
cancer is a mutation of the cells, it can happen from just breathing oxygen but i do believe, modern life is massively increasing its rates be that, processed food, chemicals and what else i dont think that can be disputed but in terms of mental health conditions like ptsd theyve always existed the one whos suffered were just shot etc plus, yes life could have been bad growing up in the 1960s, but just cause you had it bad why do future generations need to? surely the whole point, is to make it easier in the future theres so much, well i got mine, so **** you mentality especially from boomers life is meant to get easier as we progress technologically otherwise, how far do we go back? oh well in the 1970s, we didnt even have a tv.. well in the 1700s.. most of my siblings died to smallpox.. get a grip the whole point of technology was to make life easier, i remember seeing some future plans people in the 50s imagined.. technology would make life easier, we'd work less but what happened was, we work more, but even more profit goes to the top wages have massively stagnated versus inflation but again, i got mine so **** anyone else mentaltiy is all that matters.
"Teachers take their jobs seriously, because the amount of constant scrutiny we are under is nothing short of unfair, especially with that pay grade in the modern age. We're educators but expected to be, at any given time of day, an agony aunt, a pharmacist, a doctor, a mediator, a psychiatrist, a mental health nurse, a counsellor, a therapist, a cleaner, a babysitter, a disciplinarian, IT Consultants, a food bank, a stationer and an examiner. Double my salary then, or you're just getting the education bit I signed up for" Teachers are not trained or qualified in the majority of the roles highlighted above which can cause additional problems (pay is in some ways irrelevant because even if teachers are paid more their still not qualified or trained) parents also have to fulfil all of these roles and more, also without the majority or training (I know parents have chosen to have children, however parents certainly dont get to chose if their child is neurodiverse or have additional needs or not), teaching has always been about more than just teaching a curriculum, it's about building a relationship through trust and respect, especially under 16 year olds It is a failed system when teachers or other professionals choose to ignore the qualified professionals who have diagnosed the children, who have identified support packages (EHCP) to meet their needs. These are sometimes ignored as some teachers feel they know best because in their limited life experience and training they have not come across it before, or that strict boundaries and rules will sort all children out and point the fingers at parents for over advocating for their children It should be a partnership between the child, parents, family, schools and any other relevant professions to meet the needs of the child, not all disabilities can be seen, this does not mean they do not exist, it also does not mean the child should have a get out if jail free card for everything, but understanding a childs capacity and capabilities is very important If you think getting support or a diagnosis for a child with additional needs is easy or quick then it probably means you have little to no understanding or experience in the area and what is involved. Times have moved on, somethings for the better and somethings for the worse technology, lifestyles, expectations, food. Traditional teaching doesn't work for every child, but with some reasonable adjustments in place more children can reach their potential Reading this thread which includes people from all walks of life, has highlighted some peoples ignorance, prejudice and intolerance of others and shows why life can be so hard for individuals and families with additional needs The number of armchair professionals who don't have a clue, more worrying is some of the actual professionals who work with our children and their values and beliefs. These people without the proper qualifications and training can criticise, belittle and point fingers at others as they think they know best My post isn't directed at the the person who's post I replied to, I just used it to pick up on a few of the points raised Education is about more than passing exams ...
A bit surprised at who said this but thought it relevant: https://x.com/Mrbaiti/status/1796264105755443324
He’s right. I made my point about personal responsibility earlier in this thread and how not everything can be blamed purely on the system but this definitely can be blamed on the system. Gen Z are in a weird situation of having the most advanced technology in history and an interconnected world yet in many ways have it worse off than their parents and grandparents.
Really good post. My frustration at the moment is some parents viewing teachers and schools as adversaries instead of people that are trying to provide an education for their children. The parents themselves probably had a bad experience at school which causes them to have this attitude as adults but this binary ‘my child is right and I will always defend them and you’re wrong’ approach by some parents isn’t helping anybody. The technology thing you mentioned, as well as us being unable to do **** all to tell parents where they might be going wrong at home, reminds me of a discussion I had with a parent who said their child was always late and didn’t do any work because they were constantly tired due to playing on their Xbox until 3am every night (I understand the irony of me posting this at 01:30; it is half-term though). I suggested unplugging the router at a certain time or telling the child that they will stop paying for their Xbox Live subscription if they don’t go to bed at a reasonable time. The parent sort of just ummed and ahhed at this and said they didn’t want the child to kick off and cause tension at home if they tried this. My old man would’ve ripped the ****er out of the socket so I thought this was a gentle alternative lmao.
You never get overweight orcas or salmon etc And i think thats a big part of the problem with society
Also, I think Chazz brought up something about things being in food from fertiliser that may be causing neurological issues in younger generations. I don’t know enough about chemicals in fertilisers and their effects on human brain development and I don’t want to open the can of worms that is ‘do vaccines cause autism?’ but I do remember reading something about lead poisoning being a huge contributor to the onset of neurodegenerative disorders, increased irritability and aggressiveness etc. This of course would’ve actually affected older generations more as lead was more prevalent decades ago. However, I do wonder if there is something in what we eat, breath or drink today that has negative effects on people’s neurology in the same way lead poisoning affected the Silent Generation and Boomers.
Plastic Plastic Pesticides Processed food And constant exposure to car exhausts Being near roads is insanely bad for health Younger people are getting more and more illnesses typically associated with older people
Allow me to unequivocally close said can and allow the worms to asphyxiate slowly, before welding the lid shut and lobbing the **** in the sea. No. They absolutely do not. You cannot give somebody autism, it is not a condition that can be acquired or caught. It is a neurological condition that is present from birth. That's not to say that genetics doesn't play a part, so some sort of mutation created in an earlier generation could be a condition, but if it was we'd almost certainly know by now exactly what stimulus in the older generations causes it.
You're absolutely right. But if teachers were taught it in school themselves then it wouldn't be such a leap.
