Brats behaving badly.

We’ve recently had stories in the newspapers about children arriving at school for the first time who cannot use a knife and fork, are unable to string a few words together, and are still wearing pull-up nappies (diapers) because parents are failing to teach them the basic skills they need before they start school.

Now it seems that teachers are complaining about another group of kids whose doting parents bring them up in a culture of instant gratification and then send them to school with no sense of basic social etiquette or proper moral boundaries. In other words they are “little princes and princesses” who refuse to do work they find hard or boring, in the knowledge that ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’ will leap to the aid of their spoilt offspring should anything negative happen or their right to a stress-free existence be questioned.

National Union of Teachers boss Steve Sinnott has called for more advice for parents who struggled to say “no” to their children.

“Advice” ! … “Struggle” ! .. and he’s a bloody teachers’ leader ?

Still never mind because the president of the NASUWT Amanda Haehner has advised their annual conference that she has got it worked out, for apparently it’s all due to … 

“A materialistic society which so readily promotes a culture of immediacy through new media and technology makes the concept of deferred gratification inherent in education anathema to many.”

She went on to warn that the problem was fuelled by the testing culture in schools which risked producing a … ”Dickensian education system”.

Ah ! ‘Dickensian’ .. Now there’s an idea ! … If only Mr Wackford Squeers …

…    could chair the next meeting. 

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