Gobby teenagers!

fStopBob1977

Completely agree!

The problem is that our society is evolving (has evolved) into one where everyone defines their own ‘norms’ and wo betide anyone who takes issue with them. The only way not to offend anyone is to keep yourself to yourself, don’t go online and only leave your house when it’s absolutely essential to do so. Whatever you say or do these days it’s guaranteed to offend someone, if not result in a complaint to the police who are called upon to enforce the social engineering legislation passed by self-serving politicians who will say and do just about anything for votes. Our society is sick and I’m afraid if it continues on the same trajectory the prognosis is not good.

It may be an urban legend but it is said that ancient Egyptians wrote that the young were badly behaved these days, disrespectful of their elders and lazy. 

My experience is that my kids' teenage friends are politer and better behaved than my friends and I were at that age, and they work harder. There are also some absolute shockers but there are at any time in history . We're all sorry to hear your bad experience, but there's nothing very 2019 about it. I also believe if you want to see humans at their worst, for the majority that's their teenage years. 

mph said

In fairness, plenty of teachers have probably met gobby parents - who were probably gobby teenagers some years ago.

When I was young, getting into trouble at school resulted in getting into trouble at home too - not my parents going into school to bollock the teacher! Teachers need supporting if they are to help youngsters develop.

My mum was a teacher and regularly tells the story of sending a child home with a reading book saying "get mum or dad to help you with it", and the child returning the next day with the book saying "my dad says that's your job". That would have been about 1960. Tales of parents who went in and bollocked teachers go back a long way too. 

I was listening to someone on the radio this morning, who had been to a private school who's produced a report saying influential places in society tend to go disproportionately to people who go to private school and or Oxbridge. (so obviously people are taking note of his report)  He also said that the best state schools tend to be in "good neighbourhoods" - if your school is in an area populated by parents who value education, back the teachers up, and put pressure on kids to get good results, you get a good school which attracts good teachers. If the parents don't do those things it should be obvious what sort of school results. And the kids leave find partners with a similar out look on life and repeat the attitude to education they got as children.
I've thought for a long time the biggest advantage children can be born with is to have parents who value education. That's correlated with other social advantages, but if two children are born into similar homes lacking advantage, the one who breaks out of the cycle will the one whose parents push the education side. The stereotype of the immigrant who comes to a country and takes a shitty job and pushes their kid to work hard at school so they can get a good job exists for a reason. So does the stereotype of the indigenous, feckless family whose limited attendance at school has wasted the time of generations of teachers, and the only thing taught to children is how to commit petty crime.    

The use of ‘disproportionate’ is interesting. In a mathematical sense - or is it taking account of relative ability?

Having said that - I agree with the point you made.

"It was never like this when I was a kid in the 70s" 

Let's go back to an era where a wife beaten black&blue by her husband would be told "you must have done something to upset him." To an era when racism was acceptable. When ignoring equality was the norm. When beating the shit out of someone because of their sexuality was ignored because the victim was "a poofter".

Let's go back to a time when we had to bring in legislation to ensure that a woman got the same pay as a man for the same job; to ensure that a black man got the same wage as a white man. To a time when health and safety legislation wasn't in place and employers didn't have a general legal duty of care and had staff working dangerously when not covered by specific things such as abrasive wheel regulations.

Let's go back to a time when people blamed rape victims because they "asked for it" by wearing then-current fashionable clothing instead of the men who committed the vile act.

***************************************************************

Yes, there's a hell of a lot wrong with our modern world, but it's not as fucked up as many things in the 70s was(were?).

Matt

Fair comment, but don’t you think things have now swung way too far in the opposite direction?

007 1/2 said

Matt

Fair comment, but don’t you think things have now swung way too far in the opposite direction?

I don't think they have. I think we keep getting told they have, though.

I think the most negative thing we've got at the moment is that the majority of our media is controlled by a tiny number of people and we're dripfed misinterpreted information along with deliberate misinformation; this drip feeding is designed to divide us and make us distrust and be scared of our neighbours. The reason I think this is the most negative thing about our modern world is that this is done purely and simply to sell more advertising space, not to inform or report.

But... what do I know? 

There’s one thing for sure - they are stabbing more people than they used to...

mph said

Dr Stairway said

Theres no discipline in schools or at home anymore. This is because it just isn't allowed. Teenagers are physically allowed to walk out of a classroom these days and can even refuse detention. Kids can do what they like when they like and know they can get away with it. Things will only get worse. It's a shame you've had to endure this but I do feel your pain. Teenagers are just rude and nasty to their elders these days. It goes even younger in some cases I've heard the lad living next door to us use incredibly bad language to his mother and hes about 6 years old. I fear for the way people are in this era.

In fairness, plenty of teachers have probably met gobby parents - who were probably gobby teenagers some years ago.

When I was young, getting into trouble at school resulted in getting into trouble at home too - not my parents going into school to bollock the teacher! Teachers need supporting if they are to help youngsters develop.

And to make it worse, some  children (not necessarily very old either) accuse the teacher of bullying when they are told off for being disruptive, resulting in investigations. This is starting to filter into the workplace too, much to my irritation :P. When you have 12 y.o children playing the game there is a serious problem. When I was that age I doubt I would have even thought of manipulation on the levels that now happen.

Not "today's teenagers", just "teenagers".

And even then it's not just teenagers.

I think it's probably worth remembering that 'thanks' to the internet we're just so much more aware of every little thing that goes on everywhere because everything is posted about and shared by and to people we would have never even met. We've a constant stream of information and viral stories and 24/7 news articles that were never available before when newspapers only came out at set times and had to only include the most relevant and important stuff.

So it's unsurprising that these things may seem like they happen more but do they? Or do we just hear about it more now and add that to our own subjective experiences and generalise that out? As many people have said already, this generational scorn isn't exactly new and things weren't exactly roses a good few decades ago.

I do, however, agree that we're in danger of pandering at the other extreme on occasion. 

A Shot in the Dark

You make a good point!

You've only just realised?

fStopBob1977 said

The whole incident has made me come to realise how ignorant, disrespectful,careless, irresponsible and downright rude some of today's teenagers can be. Seems some parents don't know how to teach their kids respect and responsibility these days. I don't ever remember growing up being so disrespectful to others, I wasn't brought up that way, so it makes me wonder why people of my generation who have kids seem to have lost the basic skills of parenting. 

David Anderson Photography said

You've only just realised?

fStopBob1977 said

The whole incident has made me come to realise how ignorant, disrespectful,careless, irresponsible and downright rude some of today's teenagers can be. Seems some parents don't know how to teach their kids respect and responsibility these days. I don't ever remember growing up being so disrespectful to others, I wasn't brought up that way, so it makes me wonder why people of my generation who have kids seem to have lost the basic skills of parenting. 

No but this does kinda confirm it

007 1/2 said

Matt

Fair comment, but don’t you think things have now swung way too far in the opposite direction?

Without doubt.

CalmNudes said

.....if you want to see humans at their worst, for the majority that's their teenage years. 

.... closely followed by their 'retired' years, when "It wasn't like that when we were kids!" and everybody else is wrong ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE