How Things Have Changed

"The figures, from an investigation by Sky News, show 329 pupils were charged with a criminal offence after having weapons confiscated. 

A stun gun, an axe and a cut-throat razor were among the weapons they were carrying"

It's terrifying. Who takes an axe or stun gun to school???

I remember my Grandad giving me a lock knife when I was about 9. My mum went nuts, but after being re-assured that I wouldn't stab myself with it (or anyone else!) and an obligatory lesson in how to use a knife, it was at the time like a right of passage for a young lad.

I wouldn't have dreamed taking it to school, but remember arriving at secondary school in 1980, and some kids did carry knives, although few and far between, and it was more of a macho boast than anything sinister. I'm not aware of anyone getting caught, and certainly never anyone getting threatened with a knife.

Now unfortunately, you see a group of youths walking towards you, hoodies up, and media stereotypes pop into your head and you do feel threatened. Are they carrying weapons, and too immature to understand the consequences?

But to balance it, until recently, we've been repeatedly sending our youngsters to very hostile war zones, who have shown that the slovenly hoodie wearing youth can be an unfair label, and have done a lot to make us proud of the younger generation.

After the post war period, maybe the world is now a more violent place than it was 20, 30 years ago, and in an age of instant news, communication and travel, society is simply reflecting it

As an 8 year old I was given a Johnny 7 one mans army for Christmas all the kids had to have one, if you had one now it would be worth a few quid, but if you played with it in the street today, the chances are you'd end up playing dead for real....

I want one!

Now seems a scarily prophetic post in light of what happened to the school teacher Anne Maguire... People say we are normally about 10 years behind America, lets hope in this case it is isolated.

Can you imagine kids having to walk through metal detectors and having onsite school security Or maybe this already happens in some areas?

Sure i read sometime ago some inner City schools already have them - such a tragedy. Cant imagine what would drive a 15 year old to stab a teacher.

How things change

Dont we sound like our parents!?

Unfortunately the kids these days have far too many rights, lack of guidelines about what is right and wrong in most instances.

When faced with somebody that does remember the good old days and tries to instill a little discipline, they don't know any other way to react than by using violence.

I imagine that this teacher was 'old school' 

Bring back the cane I say!

Hmmm well I did have the cane twice!! One was for 6 strokes and the other was for 2 strokes, the 6 stroker they put a leather strap across my tongue to prevent me biting it. If I had done what I had been accused of I may well accepted it as punishment, but even 45 years on I still resent the fact that an adult had the legal authority to beat a kid without justification.