Why Teachers Quit? Lack of Respect 

"If a teacher cant tell a student where to sit..you dont have a school or a society"....This will be remembered when our society is broken.

Sir, I've been teaching for 17 years... I have been talking to my wife about quitting... I just can't do it anymore for the exact same reasons you have mentioned. I, personally have not failed my students, the parents have.

Parents don't know how to be parents. They want to be their child friend not their parents. My parents always told my brother and me if you get in-trouble at school you were in trouble when you get home.

If this course continues as it is today, who in their right mind would want to teach? What then? No teachers to teach these kids anymore. If parents are raising thugs as kids, let them stay home and home school their own brats. We need to step it all back 50 years. Things were a heck of a lot better then. Foolishness on the part of a child, just wasn't tolerated. If parents want their child to be educated, do not send your disrespectful, rude, unmotivated, undisciplined heathens to school when THEY have not done their jobs as parents. The school cannot fix poor parenting, nor should they! I wouldn't last a day. God bless you Chris for hanging in there all those years.

I work in a prison, you just described my job. How sad is that?

Ok. I've watched this and your other video "Why teachers quit: student behavior" and here's my thought. I've been a teacher's aide for over 15 years and I'm determined that this year will be my last because, among other reasons, student behavior has gotten out control. A lot of teachers I know are quitting or retiring early because of it. You can brush it off and say that people who go into education need to just deal with it and "let it roll like water off a duck's back" but the majority of people who have any sense of decency or self respect can't put up with this kind of abuse day after day after day -- year after year after year. The stress and the physical and mental issues related to the stress are just too much. What will happen is that eventually you won't have enough people to be teachers. What then??? Sooner or later this is an issue that society will be forced to address.

I had an old Superintendent tell me this: "All students are entitled to a free public education, but they are not entitled to disrupt the educational process." Sometimes, it's called addition by subtraction. It is not about suspending a kid because that is what they want. Sometimes, it is about removing the problem so the others can learn. Even a dog knows what to do with a cancerous leg; it chews it off and walks away.

Sick of disrespectful parents and their disrespectful kids!

It is the parents responsibility to raise their kids to respect others -- but for a couple of generations now the responsibility for raising kids has been pushed to daycare and the schools (and prison in many areas). It is not their job, so nobody is teaching the kids respect or even basic civility because the parents have none themselves. It is VERY different out in the country though -- at least where we are. The only teachers we've had leave are those that retire or move to another area. Many of the children here have the same teachers that their parents had.

So true, my wife, my brother and his wife were teachers, and I have heard the same from them. It is really sad situation for our society.

We here in Asia, students must clean their own class, sweeping the floor, cleaning up the board, throwing out the trash, and make sure all the chairs and the tables are on the right position. Let alone cuss the teacher or punch the teacher lol. You will be thrown away from the school plus you will be greeted by belt here and there at home. Asian parents take discipline very very very very seriously

Taught 33 yrs. Thank you for using the "change your seat" example. The lack of respect was one reason for leaving.

Majority of the time for teachers..it's not the kids, it's the parents.

I've been watching a lot of videos on quitting teaching lately because I'm considering it. Yours is the truest voice so far. I think many teachers who quit are afraid to say publicly that part of the reason is being disrespected by students and parents. Wish I had you as an administrator to let me do my job as well. This was the tipping point - feeling distrusted by administration made it unbearable to deal with the lack of respect from students and parents. I was told how to do my job by people who knew nothing about my subject, and was reprimanded harshly for trying to stand up for systematic changes that would benefit the students.

I’m an educator. And I don’t want to take this crap anymore. Teachers don’t get paid enough to wear so many hats.

In my first and only year of teaching, someone attempted to bribe me, I was intimidated by administration, groped by a drunk mom, harassed over the phone and email, falsely accused of sexual harassment, and students and even other teachers spread rumors defaming my character. This was only in a span of 9 months because school was shut down in March. I came in to work every day scared of what would happen next. It started affecting my physical and mental health. I had back pain and was falling asleep while at my desk. I came to work angry and left angrier. I have experience substitute teaching in impoverished inner city schools, and the academic and behavioral problems I witnessed simply made sense. Of course they were scared, frustrated, and hopeless -- their lives were spiritually and materially empty because of poverty, abuse, neglect, etc. But this full-time position was in a wealthy community with a reputation and pride in their schools. These were people that had everything laid out for a privileged, fulfilling life, yet they acted nastier than those with real problems. It took a long time to sort out how I could love and trust people again after knowing what people are capable of. I resigned, moved, and started my own business. I am much happier now and my health has improved.

I was at a high school soccer match, listening to the parents cussing out the referee. Later, I told my wife, who works in a private school front office, that the biggest problem in most kids lives are their parents. Her response to that was, "Every teacher in our school would agree with you." The kid, by themselves, are not the problem.

I definitely believe the respect towards authority over the generations has greatly declined and we see it clearly in the classroom. Respect for authority starts at home then goes outside the home towards others in authority.

The state education system in the UK is broken too. Teachers are not trusted to be creative, autonomous professionals who are capable of providing a suitable education for their particular group of students. It is now a corporate, scientific, 'factory' paradigm that completely ignores what it is to be a human being. I taught for over 20 years and left the profession because I could see and feel the damage it was doing on educational, social, psychological and emotional levels. In a word the system is toxic to human well-being. Students are expressing their emotional distress through their behaviour and teachers are stressed, anxious and depressed. Many are simply walking, which I applaud. I have retrained as a psychotherapist.

Today is Valentine's. I spent $50 to ensure my students had a snack from me today. Soon as the students entered they started telling me about a fake TikTok account one of the students made in my name saying I abuse my daughter. They made one of a collegue saying she cheats on her husband. The disrespect is out of control.

This video is exactly spot on. I became an elementary music teacher later in life (late 30s) and when I started I was amazed at how student behavior had gone south, especially coming from an upbringing of attending strict Catholic schools as a kid. But after about 2 and a half years I found what works for the students. I worked for 22 years and retired, not because of student behavior, but because my district took all the music rooms away and made us do "music on a cart" and go from room to room. I couldn't deal with it and since I was old enough, I retired. It is very difficult for new teachers now---I retired only a year ago and my school already had 3 teachers who took my job quit (or be fired).

When my son got suspended, I still had to work to earn money. But I Was Determined It Would Not Be A Vacation For Him. He went to to his grandparents and my USMC Drill Sergeant dad put him to work raking leaves, digging ditches in hard pan soil with a shovel, etc. with my blessing and appreciation. I let administration and teachers know he was disciplined and made to work not play during his suspension.

You talk the one thing that’s missing in education, COMMON SENSE! I’m a retired TA, and I can relate to a lot of the things you mentioned, especially disrespect from all levels! It is very difficult to teach when the students won’t listen, and the administration won’t support the teacher. Thanks for sharing this video!

Exactly, Chris. Parents are not being parents anymore. They want to be their kid’s friend and some disrespect the teachers because they are educated: seriously. People in this world....

When teachers at least have the support from other faculty and staff, then it goes well. If they are humiliated by other staff, and this said staff is more on the kids' side, the teacher is bound to quit, and look for a job where he/she feels more appreciated.

I have been a substitute teacher for two years, grades pre-K to 12. I just recently obtained a teacher certification in my state but I have not become a full-time teacher yet. I graduated from high school in the 90s, when respect was still a huge part of every day life. The biggest culture shock for me since getting into this field was the utter lack of respect for students have for teachers now. It literally blew my mind. I have already been assaulted three times. One of the injuries was so severe that I have been under the care of three doctors - at my expense - for a year and a half now.

You pretty much nailed it! I had a school counselor ask me which one of my assignment were important, so a student that had not been in school the entire year could just do them and pass my class, because they are a senior and the needed to graduate. That is part of the problem also! All of my assignment are important and have a meaning. I told them that they were being disrespectful and they looked at me like I was the one being disrespectful for not wanting to go along with their academic fraud. It's crazy out here! If you have a child that is in kindergarten right now, good luck because you are going to need it.

Also, I love what you said about micromanaging and not making every teacher a clone! I wish every administrator and district leader could see this!!!

You must've been a great Principal! You give me hope as a teacher. Thank you for your service👍

I lasted about a month as a substitute teacher in the late 1990s. The difference between 1997 when I was a substitute teacher and 1977 when I was the age of the students I was now teaching was astonishing. In 1997 there was zero respect for school property, their fellow classmates, teachers, support staff, you name it. He were are 23 years later and its gotten exponentially worse. I'm glad I walked away with my sanity.

I grew up in a small desert town in California. We averaged 100 kids per graduating class. Parents were strict, teachers were strict, and administrators basically stayed out of the way. This was in the 60s and 70s and we were blessed with a good education. Winners out numbered Losers by about a 10 to 1 margin. Many years later, I taught middle school for about 8 years when I first graduated from college. I was a strict SOB. Parents and students loved the expectations and boundaries; administrators were constantly on my case. I finally bounced, but it was a great, great experience.

I was a high school teacher for 23 years and an Asst Prin and then a Principal for another 13 years. You were so right about micromanaging teachers with those nonsense evaluation tools. If a teacher is successful, let them do it the way they want. I also thought discipline was important so if kids misbehaved, the kids had consequences, and I didn’t care what the parents said. Let them yell at me, but the kid still has their consequence!

Accepting your own effective teaching style was difficult my first few years. My host teacher during my student teaching was in her late 50's, and a VERY motherly figure to the students. That worked for her--from classroom management, to building relationships, etc. But I was a skinny 26 year old guy. That was not going to work for me in a million years, yet she pushed that style on me because that is what worked for her, and because I was only taking over he class for a few months, then she would take it back again (I guess she wanted continuity of some kind, but I wasn't her). I didn't adopt that style, of course, but it did trip me up at the beginning. Later, in my first couple of years, I slowly realized that most of the advice I got about ANYTHING was simply that particular teacher telling me to use their style of teaching, to adopt their personality style, etc. It wasn't until my fifth year where I just ignored everyone and did my own thing. Then things started to click. It doesn't ALWAYS click, of course, but trying to be someone else is impossible, and trying to be a dozen someone elses is insanity. (One instructional coach literally told me to develop a different personality with the kids, and it was ok if that wasn't who I was. Really the worst advice I've ever had in my life from anyone. I really wish I would have told her to develop a different personality to interact with ME, because the one she was using wasn't very helpful.)

When I was going to school back in the 60s, I don’t remember any students ever cussing out teachers. It probably happened, but it was rare enough that I personally never once saw it.

You teachers that are still teaching should stop rewarding society's bad behavior. You should all quit so society can learn a lesson.

Just retired at age 60 from university teaching after 28 years. You've hit everything on the nail. We're getting those disrespectful & nasty students. The teaching climate has gotten way too sour. No wonder why there are so many newly minted college graduates without jobs; most quit after just under one year because they resist supervision.

This is how it is in Ireland too,our societies HAVE fallen apart. Too many parents want to be buddies with their kids,and play a very clever game of ensuring that ultimate responsibility falls on the teacher ...while doing nothing themselves

Great job! You gave some excellent examples of why teachers quit and become frustrated with teaching. I’ve been teaching 29 years and I can’t believe the changes I’ve seen and experienced.

Thank you for keeping it real. Middle school is a beast! This is a great video for young folk who are going to school to become teachers. Substitute teaching and student teaching give you the wrong misconception because you tend to blame the teacher when you find an unruly class or misbehaved students. When in reality, it's not the teacher, but the students who are to blame for their own behavior. They simply don't respect adults in any capacity anymore.

I work as a substitute teacher and I enjoy my job. The extra money helps. I went to school in the 90’s and the things I see going on in school today would have at least got you detention or suspended back in my day. Today it’s just accepted and when a student misbehaves or disrespects a teacher you have to have a “hallway huddle” with an admin, the student and the teacher to address the student’s “concerns” and figure out how to better accommodate the student. It’s a bunch of bologna! If I did any of that garbage when I was in school my Mom would be called to come get me and I would have been sent home with a pink slip!

It's scary how our social conditions are these days. Teachers pretty much need a body cam to wear to protect themselves against false accusations! Part of the problem is the design of the school buildings. They are like prisons, which creates an institutional mentality. And the problems that go hand in hand with that, like childhood depression , media and public figure influence, overuse of computer media instead of healthy human interaction, poor nutritional habits ...these are only some of the causes of all you're talking about. We can't reverse this mess quickly enough before our society and quality of education goes completely down the toilet . So how do we work with this? Granted, good teachers deserve to be paid well for their hard work , but strikes for more pay and benefits isn't going to solve the deeper problems .

As a female teacher who is small the kids disrespect is a bigger problem because I have been punched, kicked, spat at, bit, etc. I know two female teacher who have had bones broken by preschool aged children. I have great classroom management- I have always received great feedback, I'm trained in trauma-informed care and de-escalation. It doesn't work even when you love the kids and do everything right. You still get hurt.

Student behaviour is a problem, but unrealistic expectations from government and management are the greatest problem. I have now left teaching after 14 years. I look forward to having a 'normal' job.

I am so so ready to be in your shoes. I will be able to sit back, reflect, and say some of the things I ordinarily would not say. This video says it all. Respect is not so common any longer in education, sadly.

Great video, and all points were perfectly articulated! What you described is exactly the same in the UK as well. I quit after 3 and a half years, and now do private tutoring, which in many ways is better, but you still get precisely the same consumer mentality from a lot of parents.

So true! It's so hard to tolerate disrespect from so many sources, especially parents!

The reason kids disrespect teachers is because their parents don't!

Hi and thanks for this video. I'm really so very grateful to you and to others that have begun to speak out here on RU-vid. I'm going to start to watch what appears to be a whole genre of videos on this topic, and in watching them and responding as I'm doing here, it's really making me feel better and not so alone and depressed like I did in my last months of my last year's teaching - which was just terrible. I allowed them, the administration, some fellow teachers, but mainly some parents and their outrageously disrespectful students to put a horrible end to my teaching career.

You hit the nail on the head! Thank you for the refreshing honesty.

In California teachers have to deal with "Restorative Justice" which only enables disruptive student behaviors, which includes destruction of personal and school property, physical assaults, vulgar language, etc with no consequences. Administrators will often blame the teachers for "having poor classroom management skills."

That’s exactly it. I can’t even have my students follow their seating chart. I can’t have students following the classroom contract, which I show every morning. Now imagine how teaching goes. It feels so futile.

Here in the Philippines we also have an uncaring administration and broken system of education, specially in the aspect of student discipline. I can't remember a single day that I was not disrespected, cursed, or have my belongings broken in the school. Instead of doing anything about it, they will always tell you "if you can't handle the system then just leave, you'll be replaced by those who are willing" as an excuse for inaction or lack of consequence for negative actions. Stress from all people whether it be pupils, co-teachers, parents or administrators. I think I might give in soon, I never have the luxury of free choice like other living life with being stressed and disrespected.😢😫😰😭

The threat of a whooping was enough to keep me from acting up in school. And I probably wouldn’t do that with my future kids but there will be consequences.

How about the endless meetings instead of giving teachers time to get work done. It's absurd.

One thing to consider about students misbehaving is that now, more than ever, couples cannot afford to have a stay at home presence in the household. The cost of living and stagnant wages absolutely contribute to this. Having parents in a stable place and able to discipline and help their students outside of school is an essential thing that is being met less and less.

It is the freaking same everywhere in the world! I speak Spanish, English and Norwegian, currently living in Norway. I am a teacher here. Kids complain about everything to the principal, and they are heard. There is no respect, our salaries are starting to not be enough, the end of the month is gruesome here too. When they name other countries, they are just pitting us against each other, so we feel worse than. I am so frustrated right now that I am looking for other ways to make a living with my education other than working in a school (I do love teaching, hate working for the government).

You're dead right about teaching at a public school and I'm around kids at my job (at a major theme park not in education) and they're like locusts, taking certain things without paying for it, abusing the system and more.

You are absolutely right on. The disrespect in the classroom as young as 6 yrs old, no child left behind where kids that know nothing get passed up to a higher grade despite the teachers request to keep them at that grade level, parents have final say. Wtf? I could go on and on. Parents blame teachers for their kids disrespect. Unbelievable, if I treated my teachers like they do today, my parents would drag me out by my ears.🤣😂🤣😂 seriously, this is bad.

Unrealistic expectations from everyone not excluding students.

I went to a parochial school, a Catholic school. There was no nonsense for my 13 years, which included kindergarten. You either towed the line or you were in big trouble. We had strict discipline, and I am so thankful for it!

Love EVERY word of this. Every example you have given is true and not at all exaggerated (even in the elementary level).

I hope new teachers are watching this video, very insightful.

You are awesome! I am thirty year teacher being told to change my successful ways to conform to some new stupid way of teaching that doesn’t work for me! But I refuse to let anyone run me out!

Certified for 3 months now ... already looking for and considering a way out. Everything you said is true. I had admin chew me out for a kid that runs out of class everyday but on today, i forgot to call the office to report it. Hm. Maybe because i have 20 OTHER students? This is BS

It’s like Clint Eastwood said in the movie Dirty Harry “a man’s got to know his limitations.” I guess what I’m trying to say is, I could never be a teacher. But I have great respect for those who do. Thank you.

Thank you-I just had a parent conference yesterday, I was ready to quit.

You are a hero for speaking out. I just resigned after teaching 7 years of high school science. My channel continues to document the entire saga.

I’ve only met one person in my entire life that was from a single mom home that wasn’t disrespectful, undisciplined, and full of themselves. And that’s Cus his mom was a cop. He is too today.

It is scarier to think what the next generation is going to be like when these kids today have children of their own. Many won’t be educated through high school and they will probably do a worse job as a whole in raising their kids. I think it will come down to privatizing primary education and school districts will run out of teachers and money and costs for other things in cities and states increase. No more school taxes, just send your kid to a private school and pay for it. Those schools will have more effective teachers, be able to discipline kids in their own way, and actually fail students and hold them back. I wanted to become a teacher at one time, but was talked out of it 10 years ago because of the problems listed in this video. It sounds worse now.

Who are the 11 losers that can’t appreciate this mans testimony

One year, we had students who refused to take the statewide tests. The would bubble in the student information and then just sit or sleep. Some parents didn’t support the testing and refused to support the school, some didn’t care, and some were to busy to be bothered. They went through all 3 years like that and then were that way in High School for 4 years. They were the same with classwork, homework and regular testing. Every year teachers tried other approaches (all 7 years), teachers with 30+ years that were great motivators failed. Every year you get a few, but 300, crazymaking!

You described everything I am going through to the tooth. Society needs to start blaming it on themselves. They wanted this type of junk in schools, so they should pipe down. I really appreciate this video because it elucidates the problem in public schools.

It’s already that bad even in rural Iowa schools. I’m done. It’s absolutely no joy. I’m 48 and going into retail management. Special education is even more of a joke.

I remember I worked for a public school once the principals...there was three of them...were all about micromanagement. Too many administrators...

I stopped teaching knowledge & facts from books and focused on bringing these a-holes up and lecture them on manners and good behaviour during class instead. I stopped preparing for my lessons because it always ended up with a discussion and arguing on not having to do anything during class or hand in assignments. A colleague of mine had given up entirely because they never got quiet, so he showed them movies and series as a way to teach English....sad, he got fired of course, really sad, how the passion and light within just extinguishes, you almost lose hope

I agree with you on lack of respect being a big thing that gets teachers down. To some extent, I agree with you that teachers should be able to navigate adverse student behavior. However if that behavior is ingrained in them (especially if it travels across classes and even to both novice and veteran teachers) then I think the issue is not whether the teacher can handle it but why it exists.

I agree with what you're saying about a lot of the issues being rooted in society, however, let me add this: respect needs to be mutual. I can remember a few instances of teachers mocking students in ways that would likely cause the teacher to be fired now, including one instance of fairly overt racism. On other occasions, the same teacher would openly belittle a student who had learning difficulties, and may actually be living with a degree of intellectual disability.

As a retired teacher, I can say that some teachers who absolutely do all the right things are having a terrible time! I will never forget a colleague saying that the stress of the job is "debilitating."

I left my teaching job. Administrator was trying to bully me into doing things her way. It was contrary to all the research on language learning. She had no experience in language teaching. My kids were learning a lot and enjoying it. But the administrator kept harassing me, so I resigned. It was a little bit scary leaving a job without having a new one, but I finally found a job teaching English language development with a charter school. It is an easier job with small groups of students instead of a whole class and it is closer to my home. I didn't really want to change schools but administration was abusive and I do not want to deal with a crazy control freak administrator.

A ton of teachers in the UK and US are flocking to China because pay is great here and pressure is much lighter, including student behavior so much better. Students actually want to be there, and teachers are very respected. Our family paid off $55k in school loan debt while here! Contact me if you're interested in teaching in China. I can give advice and connect you with great places to work

The root of the problem to the education system is not money although some is needed, the root of the problem is the American culture. Individualism, everyone thinks they have individual rights. Like you said nobody wants to listen to authority or be told what to do. It’s because of the American culture, people are raised in a culture of they can do whatever they want. The American culture needs to change.

You sound like one good guy! Wish more people in education were like you. I've been working in education for 30 years, but took the last 15 years off and only worked on the periphery -- subbing, tutoring, other things -- and then I went back last year. To make a long story short, I'm not going back next year.

And I think so much of it is also a lack of respect for education in our society writ large. “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” -- Isaac Asimov And it is only getting worse....

Sounds like a cool principal.

One time, as a substitute teacher, I gave a referral after 4 hours of nonstop interruptions and disruptiveness from this one student. The counselor came back and asked if I wanted to call their parents. Now I just write sub notes at the end of the day. 😒😒

A lot of parents don't even care about their kids emotional well being. Most parents just buy stuff and cellphones only to keep their kids quiet. These same parents prefer to spend more time on social media or watching TV than, eat dinner on the table with their kids. Administrators bribes kids so they can have "control". It is just sad

I think with elementary grades it’s easier to place blame on the teacher because the expectation of students is different. In middle and high school kids have to take an even more active role in their learning so it’s ridiculous to think that a teacher can be solely responsible for someone capable of studying independently. Sad.

"If a teacher cant tell a student where to sit..." Then your school is done. replace all the teachers with army drill instructors.

So true! I didn't realize this as a teenager but as a parent and grandparent I realize this now! Thanks for sharing Mr Nichols, I started watching your videos after I watched your sweet, beautiful wife Tammy,and I really enjoyed it. She has blessed me and others and now you as we'll. I still watch her cooking videos and her bible studies! Love her, God,and these videos! ❤️😉🙏

There is no respect because there are no consequences for disrespect.

How do you handle unreasonable, and unrealistic demands by parents?

Why can’t my principals be like you?

Yeah my brother stop teaching!!

I had the chalk dust on my hands for over three decades in the public high school classroom. I have been retired for 20 years. I experienced the transition from teaching as a respected if underpaid profession to something of a whipping boy for the current “culture wars.” As was mentioned in the video, this is most often experienced directly through the decline in parental support, although it is far broader than that, being merely one aspect of what Robert Hughes called our “culture of complaint.” When I started teaching, parents and those they elected to manage the district didn’t try to tell teachers how to do their job. This, of course, has undergone a profound sea-change. Little in the news today pertains to the teaching and learning that are theoretically the purpose of the school. It appears to be a growing concern with those aspects of the lives of children that would be more appropriately handled by sociologists and psychologists, not teachers. In any case, it’s not the world of education I started in, although the most disturbing elements of today’s school as a lightning rod for the waves of offense and complaint that grip our society were beginning to be evident by the time I retired. What is left, except to ask “quo vadis?”

It’s disgusting 🤮!! God help this generation!!

One time I had to sub for an elementary school (I had previously subbed their 2nd grade bilingual) and it was 6th grade bilingual in the morning and 6th grade English in the afternoon. The afternoon kids came in running, tripping people over. I sent everyone outside to line up quietly. They came back in and did the same thing. More than half the class kept been loud and 7 students asked if they could go work in the hallway. I said no but they went outside anyway. I called the people at the office. As I was calling, other students yelled at me to just tell them to be quiet. I had already told them to be quiet 5 times. When the people from the main office came, the students who had insisted on working in the hallway (even though I said no) said I had granted them permission. I wrote down the name of the school and for sure, I will no longer accept job offers from them, no matter what... Edit: Also, I told them I needed to go outside and take a deep breath. They said "take your time and don't come back". What makes them think I want to come back anyway? You said they don't like teachers. They don't have to like us, but they do need to respect us.

last year i was subbing at a high school, all semester (spring) i had a female student that was disrespectful, wouldn't follow simple rules. The principal did NOTHING when the girl was reported.

Society is tearing apart at the seams. I don’t want to preach but there aren’t any traffic problems on Sunday morning.

Yes it’s a society issue 👍🏽

I don’t think it’s always that the parents have a lack of respect as well as their student children. All authority figures, including parents have been stripped of the right to discipline. When I was a kid, teachers could and did smack you with a ruler or yardstick and you didn’t dare go home and cry to your parents about it, lest you would have gotten a can of whoopass!! The cop who walked the beat in my neighborhood would either take the time to play in on a game of kickball with us OR pull you home by your earlobe for doing something you ought not be doing. Again, don’t opt for the latter or you are opting for another can of, you guessed it, whoopass! Now don’t get me wrong. In no way, shape or form, do I condone child abuse! However, corporal punishment is a necessity!! Argue with me all any one wants to, but it didn’t make me an abuser, a murderer, a thief, a pedophile or anything else that is all the “fault of their upbringing.” I DID give my kids some wake up calls where God gave them plenty of padding. Today my kids are a plant supervisor, a landscape designer, a real estate agent and a commercial pilot. I’m proud of them all and we are a very close family. Give authority back to parents, teachers and law enforcement. Maybe there will be less frustration among these people if they actually can exercise authority with discernment which in turn may decrease frustrated authorities from becoming unhinged. Just my thought. I could be wrong, but it worked in my family. None of us are writing books on how we were mistreated. God bless y’all. Proverbs 13:24 “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”