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British School
DisciplineTakes
aThrashing
by
Phol Steveos
Great concem is betng shown by school
te3chers in Engla.nd over thc increasing •n–
ctdc:nc:c
of
violenc:e in the classrooms. Re·
ports from che
Nathmal
Au~cíatlon
of
Sth()D/maJttrs
indicate that scrious dis·
cipünary problems havo riscn
a
stasscring
6.00()%
in three years.
Thrce arcas
o(
oomplatnt are moe:t com·.
mon. Anon
1$
the' most serious. A dan¡crous
and growing miooñty of $1udenu act\lally
boa-U
o(
hlvtftl
Jel
ñre
lO
thcir clusroom:s
No tess amponant
is
the
grow•oa
numMr
or
tcachert physo<llly assaulocd by Sludcnos.
Masters speak ofbc:ong tbumped
on
thc facc,
kocked by pupils wearing "bovver'' bool$.
and even havmg
10
be
hosphaliud Teachers
also
complain or thc growing use of fou l
langurtge. Pupits curse and
becom~
abusive
when told to work.
lf thc tcacher corree[$ his $tudcnlS
ror
thesc otrcnscs. he runs the risk of having hos
car llres
llashed
or windsctet:n
(windshteld)
seratehed
Thtse
tncldcnts an oot
c:on6.ned to oldcr
"hardencd" pupols. Sadly. evea ft'·e-ycar·old
oMdren have becn suspended somply be–
cau-se thcar bchavior was unconlrollable.
Oeepl) alarmed by the sit\latoon, the
6S.OOO
member
National Assoclatlon of
SclwolmasttrJ
held a special confercncc. Dr.
Rhodts Boyson. Conservative member of
Pa.rUamcnt. put fotward suggcstions to deal
Wlth lhc
detJ~nc
in
discipline.
Th1s rormcr beadmastcr expraincd th<tt
the brcakdown in order bad líute
to
do
wuh
thc
cconomlC Sltuatioo..
but ralhcr .,,,h a
laek or structurc and pwpose wotbon the
sc:hool systcm it5elf. For example. sehools
laekina ,n estabtishcd timetable ror IC$$0nS
were bnnging misery to ehildrcn who sub–
consc•ously wantcd scc:urity. w1thout which
they
would express frustration
ahroug.h re·
beIlion.
THEPOUTICS
OFETERNITY
by
Roben L.
Kuhn
Notlung so exempüfies !he transeendentol
potential of the human psyehe as ohe con–
ccpt or
tternlty
-
lhe buman
mind
com..
prehendlng unending eoos of epochs,
mftnitc cxpansion beyond aH
dire~tions.
11me without end.
And nothing so exprcsse. the camaluy of
human compctillon as
pob11cs -
ind•vidual
Or
COll«ttVe human
beiogs
U.SÍDJ IDtfiJUe
or
strtte¡y
to
obuio positions of power or -coa·
troJ over other human
beings.
Scemonsly "'ortds apan without anythong
ID c:ommOn,
uetemity~
and "'pohliCS" CID
even
be
taid to dcñne tbe upper and tower
boundarics of human consciousne$$.
This ts
why
ic
may
scem paradoxicaf in
t~e
extreme
- almost a contradiction in temu - to dis·
cuss "thc
~olítícs
of Etemity."
Unfortunately in·plai<> point or rac:t. poh–
t•cs Gnd etem11y have' Long beco bcdfcllows
Throughout human
history.polltlcs
has
been
drrtttly 1nvolvcd almost every umc
~ttnmy
has be<n vo&')ro\ISiy
d~
Wloetber the controvcny has been out–
nght wañarc between major relig¡ons.
sp~ts
and schlSms among dt:noaunatlons. or sim·
ply contesu for local dominance within ho–
mogeneou.s
.sects,
the outw:ud source of the
controversy has o ftcn
been how a human
being t hould acbieve eternity quickest,
WEEK ENDINO FES.
22.
1975
Dr. Boyson a[so pointcd out that behavior
in sehool is geotrally linkcd to behavior in
soeiety. Children in school naturally tend to
imilatc
che
rebeUiou.s
attiaudes
of' thcir
elders. Studcnu· behavíor
at
sehool wiU re–
ftea
the valucs they lcam al homc.
He cmpbamcd that the
pa"'nts'
role
in
shaping yo""& people's altitudes
os
vital; yet
many parcntS are U.t\ClOn«mcd about their
children's cducation. School, ror many par–
enu.. is simply a convenient place 10 dump
their kids whole they both go out to work.
Childreo are commonly placed in nursery
schools or day·c:are ccntcrs bcfore age Lbrce
- and sorne even beforc 1hey can walk.
Dr. Boyson was skcptiCBl
d~at
the eeo–
nomic
advantagcs
¡.amed
by
both
parcnts
workang
could
compensate (or che inevitable
laek or fomily auenoon and training those
choldren would expenenoe. 8eyond that.
howcver. be
~d
thjl
evcn in
a
•.-nonnal..
environment cherc. mU$1
be
pe:ater parental
involvement
if
che scbools are to
be
success–
ful in admin1stcnn¡
1nd
sustaining order
and discipJine.
In most area.s of Europe suspension from
school is regarded
11.!
shamcful;
yet
that
same aultude does nol exist widely in Brit–
atn.
Jt
is
no longcr con.s•dered really dis–
graceful
if
a chtld cannot read or write by
age seven. Consequently, a tcacher wbo m:ly
ba\o-e
tO
diséiplme a .student •s in danger of
recciving violent verbal abuse from
his
par·
e.nts. But conversely. should the
school
wish
to speak
10
the parent about tbe chold's cdu–
cation. the resuh is onen silencc.
ln
sucb
á
situation
1t
1J
not surprising that
many teachel'8 are becom1ng disillusioned
and
quitting.
Dr.
Boyson
also criticited tcachcr
trainjng.
debunking many of the new "half-baked so–
eiologi~l
and psyehologic::\1 theorics" whieh
don't really prepare ncw teachers for lhe
environmen1 lhey wlll facc He suggested
that lftSUUCIOI'$ &el more lO IOUCh WÍib rt.al–
oty by spendmg a mommum
or
fivc
years
tcachiog bcfore tryon¡
to
tell anyone else
how to go about •L
Dr. 8oyson concluded hos speeeh with a
warning that clviliz.ation can
be
preserved
intact on1y if author•ty and order
reg~in
re–
spect.
o
'
easiest, fastC$t, ..
bcsccst"! Man•s
religion
purports
U>
teU him how
to
beoomc immor–
tal -
l'low
lO
pin
an eterna! cxts-tcnu
beyond tbe meager conftncs or physi<:al bfe.
The goal is Sllrely oncl!'ably magnificent -
but the methods to ach1eve 11 are dtverse.
And thafs
the
rub. Witl\ etemity so g.rea1 a.n
end,
an¡
means to secure that end b«omes
permissible. And if mental eoerc.ion or cveo
physical force is necessary. so
be
it -
roan
has t.radition.ally rea.soned that if it must.
forc:e sbould be uscd. With cternity tbe car·
ro
t.
no sticlc
is
LOO
big.
The his1ory ofman
os
a record of religiow
eonftic:t. a catalogue
or
reh¡tous controversy.
a chroni._dc of
rehg•ous
pc-rwcutton.
Wit.ness the
monumtnta.l collision be·
twcen Islam
and
Chrut1an1ty. For
weU
over
500 yeari. from 'North Afnca a11d Spaio to
the numerous c:rusades to the Holy Land.
untold hundreds or thousand.s of religious
people died de•perately desiring to inJlict
their brand ofeternity on somebody else.
~itnC$$
thc massive
$truggle
betwecn
Catholic:ism and Protestantism: although
claimirfg belier in. and alleglance to, the
identic.tl st:ripture.s, thcse two religiou5
gianu of lhe Wntem world have
c;a..us.cd
inca.tculable human lorment and misery in
their
abswd
coataL
Ptodatmin& quite Slm·
ilar
c.ce:mities.
at
t.hat.
Calholicism and Pro–
testaotism have spawncd horrcadous
religious
Wll'$
across the rae• or Europe.
from lhc Tbirly Yt:ars• War in 17th century
GermanY to the undercover war in 20th cen–
tury Northern lrcl3nd. Hisoory knows or no
n1ore
di~bou:auy
insane examplcs of torture
What
Makes aChild
Successful
at School?
by
David Wainwright, Ph.O.
In
vittu~tlly
every study
t
havc rcad corre·
latlng the suceess of children aoschool with
ouuide
fae1ors.
thc- ooe constant 5eems
10
be
a happy borne environment.
As
the father of
'"'O
school·age childreo. l have been askcd.
"How can we d>ds persooally help
to
crcate
thu env,ronmencr
A fne11d of
mine
100k
a
aunute or two otr
from lunch tl>e otber
day
10
phonc his wofe
from th< offi«
and
te!l her how muoh he
apprea•ted her. The valuc of the call to hos
wofe (and so
also
o him) was oul or all
MALE CHAUVINISTS
AN ENDANGERED
SPECIES
by
Rbben
Ginskey
-!\~OSI
O(
U$
m<n
ate
bard presscd
tó
know
¡ust how
10
haodle
the ...
omen's hb move–
mcnL A repenoire ofego-savingjok.es-
Ji
ke
"""When women stancd making thc•r own
dough. thcy sloppcd making their own
bread" - may help for a whil<. but th•
problcm
ls
thnt much ofwhat
tht
women are
saying Í1 painfully true.
Women
ltave
bcen d.iscriminated 11gains1
despite me humbling. fact
thaí
women are. tn
many ways. formidably superior:
• Population There are now more women
tban meo on thc Unitcd StatcS. about
100
women for evtry
95
meo~
lfwomen a.sserted
theor
vo~
as a bloc. they could control the
eountry (assuming you don't belicvc they
alrudy
do.
whic:h bñngs
\IS
to
the sccond
·point).
• finances: Women spend
approximo.tcly
8S
centS out or every consumer dollar. They
•nd human dcgradation than
lhe• med•eval
onquisotions and !he Nazi holocawt - both
o(
whoch ol!'ercd thcir own unoque sump of
etemoty. wuh dtath tbe only other optoon.
Encompasscd by
S\lch
unendong tragedy.
you would th1nk that a merciful Ood would
havc noth1ng to do with an cternily riddled
with politics.. He doesn·L Not wlth man·s
etcrnity - which is destlned to become
Jl$
short·livcd
and
liule-rcmemb-ered as yescer·
day's sunset.
proportion lO.the
time
take.n. Another
rríend
recently askcd his eight-year-old son what
he enjoyed
mós~
He was surpril<Od
10
b~r
his son say he really cnjoycd it when
bis
dad
hugged bim.
Clearly. e•en
these
two shon cxamplcs
show that thc aeauon of • happy home
cnvironment
e.ntatls
more than providiag a
super "donnitory" for one's family.
1
have
found it does not neoessanly entail spending
a grearer quanlity
o(
time on m
y
pan. but
ít
invoJves making more lntelligenl use of m)'
time. lf tbe quaUty or time spent witb your
family is right, the divídend yoelded is out of
all proponion to the amounl ortime spent.
Quite onen (
WllJ Sit
ror
a
ftW
minutes
ÍO
my eight-year-old son's room afler putting
him
to
bed.
He
is
far more likely to talk
about anything that's troublong hom wben be
t.nows
he bu Oad•s
undivtded aucntioo
than
at othcr times when he ¡enses f'm• pre·
occupied with ..more amportant mauers." lf .
l'm doing some odd job around the housc
and
he•$ i.nterested in helping,
the natural
IDclination is
tO
tell h1m
1
haven't much
time. knowing that if he "helps"thejob will
take atleasc twice as long. That's the time to
ask whelher the specdy c:ompletion of the
job
'is
mo"' imponant !han the satisfaction
we could givc to our children and the corre·
sponding feehngs of accomphshment. happo–
nes.s and sccunty that come from being
indudcd as a pcnon and enJO)'•ng a mutual
projea. Abo, j\ISt sottona down for a few
minutes
10
talk. about
a
homev.·ork
problem
gJ.Yes
cncouragemcnt
10 a ehild
and helps
him or hcr realite 1hat 1f Dad can spend time
helping. in
a
constructive
way,
thcn home–
work
really
must
be
importan!.
Mothers,
o(
oourse. have much
the same
responsibility
in
providmg
a
happy
and
suc–
cessful bome environment. Parental
team–
wort
is
cssenual
lncidentally
tt
should
com~
as no surpris.e
(although it probably woll)
10
learn that in
helpong to rulfill the psyehological and
huma.n needs of our ramily we're fulfillin&
OUfO\lo'D, 0
own or share eonlrol of
65
perccnt of the
nalion·s privatc weahh,
1S
percent of all
ti·
tles to homcs. and 6S percent of all savings
accounts.
• Longevity: Women now out1ivc men
by
8
years. with a life ••pect•ney or 75•••
,w
only
67
for mcn.
• Stamina.:
Womcn
are
s:en~rally
superior
in cvery pbysical quahty cxeept br.Hc
$1rength. In every age group, women with–
stand di.sease beucr than men. Eve·n na1urc
secms
to
attcst to thc male's inherent weak·
ness by providing a llead Start program of
105
males bom ror every
100
remales.
• Control: Sociologíst Oonald
~1.
Bouma
put
it
this way: '1'"he weaker scx
i.s
really tbc
suonger
sex
b«ause
o(
the weakncss or thc
stronger scx.
(or
the wcaker
$C:X...
Afier
~11.
it
took all the power and eunning of the Oevil
10dtcci>< Eve - and then he suc:ttedcd only
aner
a
long c:onvenauon - but il
took
jU$1
11
bnef feminine sua,est1on lO persuade Adam
to ._,,
lhe forbidden fruit,
Without que.shon. the beleaguered baition
or male suprcmacy
1J 10
need of e.xlensive
buttressing. Sufely wc males should petition
Cong"'ss. to be ploecd on the endangered
.species lis
t.
O
The book or lsaiah states that
God
inha/Hts
et<rniry
(57: 15). oncomprehcnsible tbough it
may be. The 8ible sloows. and narural thcol–
ogy
implies. that the human m1nd was ere.
ated lO do tht:
umr
God is not ·a sadost. He will eventual!y
give each of usan opponun•IY 10
understand
and achieve h•s real
cternlty-
bul only ancr
we rully and finilly realite thal we can' t,
individually or collectively. do it by our–
selves. O