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Schools making sissies out of our kids
World Net Daily ^ | 2/13/04 | Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Posted on 02/13/2004 8:25:58 AM PST by Mikey

When I was a little girl about 5 or 6 years old, my mother instructed me in the proper response to anyone hitting me. She said, "Never, never hit anyone first; but, if they hit you first, hit them back immediately and twice as hard!" Today, at 57, I have had a stint on talk radio preachin', teachin', and naggin' for a span of about 30 years – and that is precisely the advice I have been giving children and suggesting to their parents that they do the same. I have even recommended martial arts for the timid as well as the edgy children because of the development of self-assurance and serious self-discipline.

Along comes the public-school system and undermines all of that. John Longenecker of Lakewood, Calif., sent me this letter: "You wanted reports on school malfeasances; here's one. Picked up my kids in Lakewood this afternoon, and my beautiful, loving children reported to me a new Bellflower School District policy that specified, among other things, that both children caught fighting will be disciplined and that the discipline could be a citation that could run as high as $800.

(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: bullying; discipline; drlaura; education; school; sissies
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To: Mikey
BTTT - read later...
21 posted on 02/13/2004 9:09:55 AM PST by EdReform (Support Free Republic - All donations are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your support!)
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To: fatidic
I agree that vouchers for private schools and homeschooling are the only way to counter the education mess and the power of the NEA.

It's going to be a tough, hard hill to climb. Most parents give in to the current system because of ignorance, ambivalence or because they just can't find the money, energy or time to fight it.
22 posted on 02/13/2004 9:10:23 AM PST by demnomo
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To: freeeee
"Krav Maga and similar martial arts should be sufficent for even the smallest child to adequately defend himself."

I've been taking Sombo for several years and I've been teaching it to my nephews and I ALWAYS stress this point; NEVER START A FIGHT, BUT IF YOU HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO FIGHT, END IT QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY.

23 posted on 02/13/2004 9:11:50 AM PST by Mikey
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To: zebra 2
Excellent.
24 posted on 02/13/2004 9:13:17 AM PST by Mikey
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To: Mikey
"Krav Maga and similar martial arts should be sufficent for even the smallest child to adequately defend himself."

** Whoops, forgot to remove the italic tag before.

I've been taking Sombo for several years and I've been teaching it to my nephews and I ALWAYS stress this point; NEVER START A FIGHT, BUT IF YOU HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO FIGHT, END IT QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY.

25 posted on 02/13/2004 9:19:48 AM PST by Mikey
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To: Mikey
This is the same policy that was in my son's HS. He came home all upset because a guy hit him in the hall and he was being threatened with 3 days suspension. My son didn't even have a chance to hit him back before it was broken up. I just said fine, and when you get suspended for 3 days I'm going to the principal and slug him and then say now you're suspended for 3 days.
26 posted on 02/13/2004 9:20:15 AM PST by tiki
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To: Mikey
So true. The same thing happened to me when I was in Jr. High School. There was a bully who daily would pick on me. You know the stuff: whacking me in my head, kicking me, tripping me, knocking all my books out of my arms (we didn't have book-bags back then), etc. The physical abuse went on for months until it escalated to a point that I feared going to school. When I asked my Dad what to do, he said I have to be a man. What? I was just 12 years old, and here's my father telling me I have to be a man? He said that for bullies like this, there is no such thing as a "fair fight", so if I'm ever picked on or threatened again, I should hit him first. Don't hold back. Hit as hard as I can.

I couldn't believe that my dad was telling me to do this, and frankly I became more frightened than ever before. Until the day the bully dragged me under the stairs at the back of the school hallway and told me he was going to kick my a__.

It was part adrenaline. Part listening to my dad's words. I hardly remember balling up my fist as I thrust my arm forward into his nose. I felt it squash from my blow and the blood immediately began to pour out. I'll never forget the look on his face--how wide his eyes were as he stared at me in disbelief. His two punk friends stood by his side and their mouths dropped as they both looked at the shocking sight of their hero bleeding like a pig.

With my fist still tight I looked at him and said your nose is bleeding...why don't you go into the restroom and clean off? He did. Just walked away--all 3 of them. Nobody ever touched me again.

That moment was a turning point my life.
27 posted on 02/13/2004 9:21:12 AM PST by King David (nobody is perfect... i am nobody...)
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To: freeeee
(I'd gladly choose jail over allowing my child to suffer physical abuse. The added benefit would be the example set to the child about standing up for oneself against anyone or anything.)

I totally agree with you guys. There are problems on more than 1 front on this issue. Parents have so few rights now in terms of discipline of their child. Bullies have always been around, but in past years at least if you went to the parent they may help. These days I think a lot of parents are waiting for other to teach their kid a lesson or two.
For example in my county in VA parents can go to jail for cursing while disciplining their child. I have a neighbor who went to court and spent 4 days in jail for cursing while he handed down a grounding to his 14 year old son.
Now that is crazy!!

Anyway, I would gladly have my butt in a sling to save my girls, but I'm hoping the Martial Arts training will help as well. The 1st couple rules they learn is to
1 avoid
2 if you can't talk your way out then try to walk
3. if you can not do any of the above THEN hurt them quick and then walk away LOL

28 posted on 02/13/2004 9:27:19 AM PST by GottaLuvAkitas1
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To: Mikey
Sombo is an excellent choice. I'm currently training in aikido .

NEVER START A FIGHT, BUT IF YOU HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO FIGHT, END IT QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY.

Words of wisdom that will serve one well throughout life.

29 posted on 02/13/2004 9:33:08 AM PST by freeeee ("Owning" property in the US just means you have one less landlord)
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To: Mikey
"Never, never hit anyone first; but, if they hit you first, hit them back immediately and twice as hard!"

Very similar to what my father taught my three brothers and I.

He told us, "Never throw the first punch. But, if someone else hits you, you'd better get the last punch. If you don't, I will."

My father was a big man with huge hands. You did not want to get the last hit from my father.

Becki

30 posted on 02/13/2004 11:45:58 AM PST by Becki (Pray continually for our leaders and our troops!)
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To: Mikey
Thanks for info on the communist manifesto's tenth plank. I believe John Dewey was one of the signers and his dream of a dumbed-down frothy public education system which alienates parents and teaches false values and false history is being realized.

Public education cannot be reformed. But with vouchers most parents can at last place their children in private schools, thereby thwarting the tenth plank's goal of a public education monopoly.
31 posted on 02/13/2004 6:49:07 PM PST by fatidic
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To: freeeee
"Sombo is an excellent choice."

Thank you and if I may say, so is aikido.

I've also been studying the discipline of Tai'chi for about 3 years and its helped me extremely well in teaching me both balance of body and of mind.

I recommend it to all.

32 posted on 02/13/2004 7:55:22 PM PST by Mikey
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To: King David
"That moment was a turning point my life."

Had you not stood up for yourself, you would've been a victim the rest of your life.

Unfortunately the "public" fool school system is churning out dumb down victims, all ready to take their place in the NEW WORLD ORDER .

33 posted on 02/13/2004 8:06:06 PM PST by Mikey
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To: Mikey
My mom told me never to start a fight, but always finish it. It works, too. Got into a fight once (out of school) and the kid never bothered me again.

We had to call him and ask if he was alright!
34 posted on 02/13/2004 8:18:48 PM PST by BabyRepub
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To: HELLRAISER II
I believe my first experience with someone hitting me ended with my dad telling me "If you come home tommorrow and you didn't kick this kid's butt, i'll be whipping yours when you get to the house." but unfortunately the P.C. Panzies are doing just what Dr. Laura say's. But there are those of us who still teach our children how to deal with bullies, you give them a black eye and bloody nose!

You know, that's great advice if your kid is obviously destined to be the Rock or Hulk Hogan. Self-defense is my bag, and one of the undeniable truths is that you just can't always beat the other guy's butt, no matter how hard you try. Sometimes the bully isn't a coward at all. Sometimes the bully is just big, strong, stupid, tough, and twisted enough like hurting others.

I had a cousin who was the bully I just described. I don't think he ever lost a fight in his whole life. At the time of his death (overdose) he was 6'8" and 350 pounds of meaness. A veteran of every penal system in Colorado from juvie on. As a child he used to revel, and I mean get giddy happy at the prospect of a kid standing up to him. His first stint in the big house was as child, after beating the other kid so bad that he needed plastic surgery to re-attach the lip that almost severed from repeated impacts against his teeth.

Last thing I'd EVER do is tell a kid to stand up to a bully unless there was no other recourse. This ain't 1950's television.

35 posted on 02/13/2004 8:24:51 PM PST by Melas
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To: Mikey
Schools Making Sissies Out Of Our Kids - Dr. Laura Schlessinger

When I was a little girl about 5 or 6 years old, my mother instructed me in the proper response to anyone hitting me. She said, "Never, never hit anyone first; but, if they hit you first, hit them back immediately and twice as hard!" Today, at 57, I have had a stint on talk radio preachin', teachin', and naggin' for a span of about 30 years - and that is precisely the advice I have been giving children and suggesting to their parents that they do the same. I have even recommended martial arts for the timid as well as the edgy children because of the development of self-assurance and serious self-discipline.

Along comes the public-school system and undermines all of that. John Longenecker of Lakewood, Calif., sent me this letter: "You wanted reports on school malfeasances; here's one. Picked up my kids in Lakewood this afternoon, and my beautiful, loving children reported to me a new Bellflower School District policy that specified, among other things, that both children caught fighting will be disciplined and that the discipline could be a citation that could run as high as $800.

"This is a new twist to a long-standing USD policy to punish both bully and victim, thereby punishing the victim twice. I object to teaching my children not to resist violence. I object to the school district's inability to discern who bullies whom. I object to their victimizing anyone's child twice. I object to empowering the bully to hold my child (and his academic record) hostage. I object to their unwillingness to share how this policy can be changed by parents (taxpayers).

"For the first time, I am referred by headquarters (the buck passed) down the chain of command to the principal - as if he has the power to hear and change policy."

In response to Mr. Longenecker's letter, I called the Bellflower School District headquarters (for clarification and corroboration) only to get the usual response when I call any public school or district headquarters: "Oh, sorry, I know nothing about that and the only person who does is in a meeting and can never be disturbed - that is our policy."

In response to my on-air "rant" about this issue, many parents from across the country wrote me with similar complaints - most having given up trying to influence the system: "I just shrugged it off at the time and threw my hands in the air and let it go. I think now that was a mistake (after her fifth-grade child was suspended for having been hit and not hitting back...it was enough that he was "in the fight"). It just seems to make life easier for your kid in public schools if you don't make too many waves. No excuse...I know. Thanks for the reality check."

Another parent, this one from San Diego, wrote about the four boys who ganged up and attacked her son and hurt him seriously. Her boy, based on what he was taught by the school district, did not raise a hand in his own defense, and neither did his group of friends who stood by. Some adult passing by rescued her son. "As it stands," she wrote, "the boys who attacked my son were just 'slapped on the wrist.'

"Victims have no rights whatsoever and are not allowed to defend themselves. They are treated almost as bad as the criminal. My son said that he was interrogated the following day by the school police. My son and his friends were commended for not fighting back. I can't believe that if you are being attacked you can't defend yourself, you just have to take it and pray you don't get hurt enough to kill you. What is this world coming to?"

Her boy is suffering from various stress disorders.

My request is that you parents vociferously defend yourselves and your children. Barbara Brink did just that and won! Her eighth-grade, black-belt son was attacked from behind at school. He didn't get to use his martial arts expertise because he was surprised from the back and pinned to the ground. He and the attacked were both suspended for three days for fighting.

"I became instantly ferociously angry and was at the school in less than five minutes to find my son in the principal's office very upset. The assistant principal told me that he had witnessed the attack, but had to suspend my boy anyway because he had 'participated in the fight.' Needless to say, the entire school heard my protests and I did not stop until the superintendent of the school district was on the phone. My argument was just like you expressed - 'How can you expel someone for defending themselves? Aren't you punishing the innocent?' To keep my son's increasingly enraged mother calm, the superintendent agreed to let him remain in school and the attacker was suspended for five days.

"I am proud of that day. I taught my son that someone in his life would stand for what was right and, more importantly, stand up and protect him. To this day, he stands for what is right and is, by the way, now graduating from a University in May with a computer engineering degree.

"Thank you, Dr. Laura, for fighting for all that is right."

One particular public-school teacher explained that teachers don't like to get involved at the "who dunnit" level because of litigation issues, not being backed up by the administration and the fact that teachers are desirous of teaching, not playing "prison guards."

I think there is one more issue here - that of the left-wing indoctrination of children to be subservient and not stand up to defend each other, much less themselves, from attack. You can readily see this philosophy being expounded on the national campaign trails by those who don't seem to have the clear vision of evil-versus-good and the moral obligation to stand between evil and the innocent; the tendency to define all violence as bad, such that when a country defends itself against suicide bombing of innocent children, it becomes morally equivalent in their minds to targeting a terrorist in his car; the argument that because America did not find a nuclear bomb in Saddam's closet the mass graves of innocent Iraqis don't qualify as sufficient motivation for defense from the outside.

This is, in my opinion, a concerted effort to morally enfeeble our children and that will not only weaken our country. It will make the world more available for evil to have a triumphant reign.

________________________________________

Good catch, Mikey!!!

Hope you don't mind my posting it in full....

FReegards,

- ConservativeStLouisGuy
36 posted on 02/16/2004 11:01:23 AM PST by ConservativeStLouisGuy (transplanted St Louisan living in Canada, eh!)
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To: Melas
There is alot of truth in what you say, sometimes the bigger they are the harder they hit. At 6'2" & 290 lbs I'm a prime example of someone you don't want to mess with, however the difference between me and your cousin is that i'm not a bully. As a matter of fact i'm the guy who would have taken a baseball bat to your cousin if he was to bad to handle one on one and it sounds like he would've deserved it. On the other hand I realize that everyone is not capable of this, but that doesn't mean they have to take it. Kids need to remember that there is strength in numbers, I can remember one time while horseplaying with my brothers and their best friend when we were young, they proved that by two of them grabbing my legs and the other one attacking my torso they could bring my big @ss to the ground and trust when I tell you that they had me whipped had they wanted to hurt me. I guess the moral of my story is don't get mad, get even.
37 posted on 02/17/2004 6:08:27 AM PST by HELLRAISER II (Give us another tax break Mr. President)
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To: Melas
Thats when you give your kid a roll of pennies, wrapped in electrical tape.
38 posted on 02/17/2004 6:18:02 AM PST by Little Ray (Why settle for a Lesser Evil? Vote Cthuhlu for President!)
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To: HELLRAISER II
LOL.

We were having problems with older boys picking on our first grade daughter on the bus. I called and called asking for help to deal with the problem. Most of the people I talked to were men, transportation director, principal etc, they blew me off telling me I was an overprotective mother.

After my failure to get the problem solved my husband called the transportation director and said " I'm 6'3" 280lbs, and don't mind spending time in jail for whuppin your ass if you don't get this problem solved on the bus my daughter rides"

That afternoon I got three phone calls from all those men, asking if her ride wasn't better, and to please call again if there were further problems. There weren't.

But we did land up homeschooling.

Becky
39 posted on 02/17/2004 6:30:30 AM PST by PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
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To: PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain
Just recently they had the incident where the 7 or 8 kids beat the heck out of some poor middle schooler and the bus driver did nothing. Not only would I have confronted the Bus Driver but I would've confronted the peacnik piece of $hit Principal that was ultimately responsible for this and let him know that the next time something like that happened to my child, he would learn what it was like to be a victim himself. Some may say, well they'll put you in jail over that, but I say it's his word against mine. Until of course I catch his chicken$hit sorry excuse for a human being out and about. It's amazing that people in power don't have any guts whatsoever.
40 posted on 02/17/2004 7:01:58 AM PST by HELLRAISER II (Give us another tax break Mr. President)
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