6 ways kids’ lives have changed

Odd, but I feel I have a debt to the bullies who made my life miserable

WHEN I WAS a kid, my family moved house and I went to a new school. A boy called Jeremy jumped me in the playground and we ended up fighting in the dust. Whenever our paths crossed we would point to each other and say: “You gonna DIE, scum.”

In other words, we were best buddies. When a boy throws another boy to the ground and jumps up and down on him, it doesn’t imply hostility. It could be affection. (This is a guy thing.)

That was a long time ago. Today, everything has changed. Nobody fights in the playground of my kids’ school. Death threats are frowned upon. Violence is considered gauche. Everyone tells me the changes are for the better. It seems logical, but I’m not convinced. Check out the following six situations.

1. Boys fight in the playground.

Response in old days: Kids cluster around. One of us eventually shouts “uncle”. We dust ourselves down. We end up as best friends.

Response today: Teachers intervene. Both children suspended. Videos of the fight end up on YouTube. Kids get a taste for fame, drop out of school and become rock stars. Die of drink and drugs at the age of 20.

2. Parent late to pick up child after school.

Response in the old days: Teacher takes me back into the classroom and I draw pictures until Mummy arrives.

Response today: Teacher sacked for being alone with child. Child traumatized at causing teacher’s downfall. Mother arrested for neglect.

3. Boy uses gunpowder from dismantled fireworks to make explosions among his model planes.

Response in the old days: I get commended for my imagination.

Response today: Neighbors call police. Boy arrested under the firearms act. Parents arrested for storing weapons. All put on probation as terrorist suspects.

4. Boy spends hours on the computer.

Response in the old days: Parents are proud. They show off their little nerd and his Acorn computer.

Response today: Boy arrested as a suspect in Pentagon hacking case. Parents receive million dollar bill from music industry for file-sharing. School expels boy and siblings.

5. Boys disrupt class with bad behavior.

Response in the old days: Teacher whacks us with a big stick. We stop disrupting class. We get A grades.

Response today: Boys are sent to psychologists. They are diagnosed with social disorders. Teacher told to make allowances for them. Classes continue to be disrupted. Teacher resigns. Entire class fails exams.

6. Child spanked after he gets caught stealing Dad’s cigarettes.

Response in the old days: Boy sulks for two hours. Boy makes up with Dad. Boy never does it again.

Response today: Dad arrested for child abuse. Mum arrested for aiding and abetting. Social workers break up family. Traumatized child becomes drug addict and dies at age of 20.
*
When I look back at the most useful thing I learned at school, it was this: the world is a strange, illogical place and contains a significant number of mad, violent people, so you better learn how to deal with it. Learning that never did me any harm. But if I ever meet Jeremy again, I have a message for him. You gonna die, scum.
*

Technorati Tags: school bully,bullying,nostalgia,children

Comments

[Angela]

Ah, Friday! Best day of the Week :)

On my way to work I passed by a group of playschool children, cute pony-tailed little girls in colorful cheongsams and sleepy-eyed little boys in pajamas…nyahahhaha..

Boys get a rough deal when it comes to chinese costume. They end up either looking like little gong fu dolls or like they just wandered out of the bedroom.

[Jason]

Nury, you posted unauthorized details of my childhood without my permission. I throw the gauntlet good sir, fisticuffs on the playground at recess. I'll meet you by the swingset, don't be late.

http://www.s-anand.net/calvinandhobbes.html#19881111

[Foxlore]

*Old man voice:
Back in my day, us kids had it easy. We only had to help Mr. and Mrs. Man (first name Pac) run away from a few bullies named Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde. Occasionally we would stop an invasion from space. Sometimes we had to do chores like cleaning up a bunch of rocks in space. And this one time I had to help this plumber guy rescue a girl from a big gorilla (or was it a donkey?)….but today? These kids do all kinds of crazy stuff with their dancing and their revolutioning and their crazy rock-banding…

Have a nice CNY folks. :-D

[Salaya]

I also shouted 'uncle' to mean "i give up when I was beaten in the playground, what is the origin of the term ?

[Jason]

What's the #1 American redneck tv show?

Touched by an uncle!

[Angela]

Oh!

I thought someone shouted "uncle" as a warning that an adult male like a security guard or a a teacher, policeman, jail warden, etc. is approaching so the crowd breaks up.

[Karn]

You actually remember and used Acorn computers Nury? I'm impressed - I thought *I* was the only one who remembers :p

[Jason]

A new hit reality show: Touched by Angela until you say uncle!

[Sabrina]

Agree! The [school] world is getting somehow weird :)

[Christy]

Boy pulls ponytail of girl

Old response: girl tells the teacher. girl also realizes that boys are smelly no-good creatures

Response today: boy is sent to psychologist and gets diagnosed with sexual addiction. also grows up to become paedophile.

[Jason]

Good point Christy and it reminded me of another Calvin and Hobbes, perfectly timed for Sunday.

http://www.s-anand.net/calvinandhobbes.html#19860214

[Angela]

When you are touched by Angela
you will never want to say 'uncle'
You will say 'MORE PLEASE!' ;)

*

I was a small kid (actually I am still small now but that's not the point), kids who offended me were usually bigger. So I would go home and get my older brother who now looks like Mike Tyson but with facial hairs, to beat up the offender.

One day I dragged him to the playground and pointed out a kid for him to beat up, he looked at me like a sad puppy and said in a very small voice, "but I don't like to fight" I yelled at him, "if you don't go and clobber that boy, I will punch you in the stomach!"

He has the body of a fighter but not the heart. But being physically big and mean looking, nobody bothers him. Meanwhile his little sisters who looked like angels were the terror of the neighborhood.

[Lesley]

You are right. When I was at school there were rough kids who you didn't mess with. I learnt how to be street wise and not get battered. They are life lessons that are not on the curriculum. I feel sorry for home school kids.

[fardel]

Since all of you are a little crazy , I would like to remind you
those basic rules:
- fireworks are not allowed on or around airports
- They should not be used by children ( i.e if you want to burst them ,please do it under a adult supervision)
-If you are an internationally famous truck driver AND small enough to ride the biggest rocket , please don' t ( at least NOT without wearing a parachute)
Happy Chine New Year everyone (i;e I wish I were there)
-

[Mahjuja]

On a more serious note, I think schools really are fading out in their role as a medium of socialization. Nowadays, even after 12+ years of schooling people don't even seem to know basic civilities like how to stand in line, wait their turn, sharing, respecting each other, and so on.

[Christy]

1 way primary schools HAVEN'T changed (at least in HK)

Students have to freeze when the bell rings. This makes no sense but if you don't stay still, or if you dare to scratch or sneeze, the prefects are out to get you.

Chatting with older relatives reveal that this absurd rule has been in place for more than 40 years

[xyz]

HK police drag minor boys off to jail, because they have had sexual contacts with minor girl !

Recently we had the police investigating some boy because of some stupid video on youtube. The video had no sexual contents, it was just that the boy was bragging about his sexual episodes. It seems our HK police are under-worked to have got themselves involved in this.

Why is that in HK, the law is against the minor boy ?

[farah]

Boy flirting with other boy's girlfriend or boy fighting with another for various reasons

old response: they fight, they bleed, taken to the principal's and suspended for a week or so. they go back to class point a finger at each other and say "i'll see you after school"

new response: take a gun the next day and shoot the other boy.

at least i have read more than few stories of teenage or adult violence where the end result is to entirely get rid of the problem.

[Chamin]

Two years ago, British police arrested 4 kids for climbing a tree in a park, questioned them for hours, took their mugshots, and prepared criminal records. This was reported on BBC and the entire area went commenting on how the police had failed to catch a single burglar or reduce the crime rate (the "real" crimes, not children climbing trees) in the area.

When I was at school, all of us had cool nicknames such as monkeyface, pee-in-pants, rabbit..., well, the entire zoo was in one grade :-p. I hear that using nicknames amounts to buying in most schools nowadays.

[Chamin]

Oops, Bullying, not buying :-(

[fardel]

In our times ( i.e last century) there was no gun;
There were not so many people to beat up , either ( or to beat us up).
Students were scared of teachers, parents too.

[Karuna]

even Dennis the Menace has recently lost his catapult...

[TS]

Happy Chinese New Year.

Here in London it's not celebrated until next weekend (21. Feb), I wonder why?

Maybe all the Chinese will be away from London this weekend and they will have no one to participate in the parade?

[bed and breakfast]

Lol.. yes at certain point you will think that the bullies of your life made you and help become this kind but there are certain kids also that can't take the way the bullies are treating them and the gradually results in low self esteem. Furthermore this can also affect the way they interact with each other but still i find this post amazingly informative.

[MIke]

Kids tired, so parents lay them down in back seat and they sleep on the home.

new response parents are fined and reported to child protective services