Are children being taught to be 'Good'?

[Khandro]

By which I mean, the importance of manners, being kind to others and animals, having self-respect and decorum, benevolence etc. .... well, you know what I mean. All emphasis now seems to be on 'being clever' and passing exams, where does behaviour fit in to the school or home curriculum?

[Khandro]

Jake, your post implies that you don't know what "good" is. Doesn't that answer the question?

[annie0000]

I did read an article that basically said that teaching our children to be "good" compliant citizens was the opposite of what the country needs. we apparently need people who like to live on the edge and are prepared to challenge the status quo and become the entrepreneurs of the future.

Still think I will be expecting my kids to do what they are asked!!!!

[keyplus90]

To teach children about being good parents have to be good themselves. But for few people being tough or acting tough by using "f" words is the way forward. Then what can you expect.

School starts at the age of 5 and people used to give kids good things to learn before that age. Now nursery starts at 3 so parents have taken liberty of two more years. But still in the first three years when a child is totally dependent on parents, most of the parents are never there.

According to an old saying, mother’s lap is the best nursery for a child. But what would you expect from a child where father is not known and mother herself has problems when it comes to attitude.

[Khandro]

annie; Who wrote such an article, and where? I don't think being "good" has necessarily got anything to do with being compliant. Many non-compliant people have been extremely good - Saints even!

[jake-the-peg]

Nope

But yours shows you haven't taken the time to read it properly - I defined my concept of "good" quite clearly in it as conforming to social norms.

Presumably that differs from yours and so you've read that as being that I "don't undersand what Good is"

I think that annie has it dead right - you are looking for children to be good compliant citizens who don't rock the boat!

I'm glad everyone's not like that or we'd still be back in the 18th century tugging our forelocks and only property owners would have the vote !

And certainly not women!

What do you think of suffragettes smashing windows?

were they "Good"?

[Khandro]

"you are looking for children to be good compliant citizens who don't rock the boat!" - Perhaps you haven't read my last post, (or maybe even my first!). Compliancy doesn't enter into it, I'm talking about manners and being kind and considerate to others etc. In fact so many good people are non-compliant, the list is endless, I could start with say, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

[sith123]

well said khandro!

[Truthabounds]

Most parents want their children to be good citizens — upright, free from deviation. Therefore, if they are wise, they do not turn a blind eye to serious faults but lovingly help their children to work on these and overcome them. But of course, there are always those who feel that children should have freedom of expression. In other words, do just as they want without hindrance from “outsiders”.

For example, a report in The Times of London states: “Some parents refuse to accept the authority of the teacher over their child and when attempts are made to discipline their child they complain.” Frequently, when their children are disciplined at school, parents turn up there not just to threaten the teachers but to attack them.

A study of 237 prison inmates in the United States examined what makes children grow up to be violent adults. It found that “87 percent of the inmates who said their parents kicked and punched them as children were violent criminals,” (from the January 1990 issue of Science Digest.) Seeing one parent beat the other had a similar effect on children. But spanking children in itself did not seem to cause them to become violent adults
Indeed, discipline plays a vital role in forming and straightening out a child’s mind and character.

No wonder, then, that Proverbs 13:24 says: “The one holding back his rod is hating his son, but the one loving him is he that does look for him with discipline.” In this context, the rod of discipline represents a means of correction, whatever form it may take. By administering loving discipline, a parent seeks to correct faults that if they were to become deeply rooted, would cause the child much misery in adult life. Truly, withholding such discipline amounts to hate; administering it is an act of love.

A loving parent also helps the child to understand the reasons behind the rules. Discipline thus involves not only the giving of commands and the meting out of punishment but, more important, the imparting of understanding. The Bible notes: “An understanding son is observing the law.”—Proverbs 28:7.

We have seen from the recent riots in London, Bristol and other major cities, that children imitate their elders. When children 7 years old and younger, are taking part in such mindless violence – we can ask – “What is this world coming to?”

[NOX]

The whole exam culture of 'you have to achieve or you are not worthy' is one of the reasons that we home educated all of our kids. It's far more important to raise children to understand that being kind considerate and doing the right thing is always more important than some exam or bowing to the pressure of what other people think about you. I am personally all for encouraging good manners etc but that does not mean blind obedience to the norm or that people need to always ' fit in' with what society think they ought to do or be. I hope my children are nice people above and beyond anything and that they live their lives in a way that makes them and other people happy.

[Old_Geezer]

IMO those whose parents take an interest in their child's education are likely to be much the same group who take an interest in how their child behaves. Not an exact match, obviously, but I suspect a large overlap.