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Interesting listening...
I was fascinated by this feature on the Today Programme this morning. (It needs RealPlayer to play - otherwise go to the radio 4 website - www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today).
Presented by G Money, it’s the first of two reports this week looking into what’s happening in the black community in South London in the wake of the recent speight of shootings and knife attacks.
It’s really interesting, how often the “lack of respect” amongst the young is mentioned; how there’s a feeling that today’s parents aren’t willing or able to parent their children properly.
The difference between today’s generation and the generation that myself … you come from is just one word. Respect. We grew up with respect. We respected our elders, we respected our parents; if we [were] on the road and we [were] playing the fool, playing the idiot… and I saw anybody who looked remotely like they might know my mum or dad, I was off. In today’s time? They’re not interested in that - and this speaker, a black, male social worker went on to say how if you challenge kids now, you’ll get a mouthful of abuse and be threatened with violence.
The same speaker also said this:
Now, you’re walking with your child and your child misbehaves and it is deemed, but another member of the public that you’re slapping your child too hard, you’re going to be seeing social services knocking at your door, police stopping you in the street, and they want to charge you for abusing your child… They seem to be taking all the rights of authority away from parents; they’re not putting anything else in place – who’s disciplining them? This is why we have a generation of young people who are running wild.
I’m not advocating violence towards children – although I could happily take a two by four to some of the toerags I have to deal with! – but as a parent, and given my line of work, and how bloody careful you have to be all the time about what you do and what you say, I’m doubly aware of the sort of thing this guy is talking about. And the kids themselves are incredibly aware of all the restrictions we operate under as teachers. For instance, I brushed against a girl's shoulder in the corridor at school the other day and she made a huge deal about it. I'd already walked on - I mean, it happens at lesson changeover or break when there are a lot of people around, right - but this girl was moaning at her friends until well after I was out of earshot! But I digress.
What particularly interested me about the report was the fact that most of what was said doesn’t just apply to the black community. I bet a similar survey of young white kids and people in similar jobs and situations to the other speakers featured would produce the same results.
ETA: I live and work in a predominantly white area - I have maybe half a dozen non-white kids in my classes - but I can definitely say that, from what I've seen, the things these guys were saying about the black community in South London aren't just happening there; although of course the recent violence has escalated there to a terrible degree.
G Money said: Young people now no longer fear the parental authority that extended beyond the confines of the home they grew up in… The erosion of this respect has led to a lack of discipline amongst young people – and discipline is of crucial importance.
I’ve often wondered whether the problems talked about here – the lack of respect and discipline etc. – are real, or whether it’s just me, experiencing the generation gap from my advanced age(!). People of our parents’ and grandparents’ age complained about “the youth of today” in their day, so I guess it’s natural that I’d do the same. But most of the people featured in this report are younger than I am, by the sound of it, so it’s a relief to know it’s not just me feeling this way. That sense of relief is tempered, however, by the fact that these problems do actually exist outside of my head.
Tomorrow’s report is going to be about what can be done to rectify the situation. That should be an interesting one.
Presented by G Money, it’s the first of two reports this week looking into what’s happening in the black community in South London in the wake of the recent speight of shootings and knife attacks.
It’s really interesting, how often the “lack of respect” amongst the young is mentioned; how there’s a feeling that today’s parents aren’t willing or able to parent their children properly.
The difference between today’s generation and the generation that myself … you come from is just one word. Respect. We grew up with respect. We respected our elders, we respected our parents; if we [were] on the road and we [were] playing the fool, playing the idiot… and I saw anybody who looked remotely like they might know my mum or dad, I was off. In today’s time? They’re not interested in that - and this speaker, a black, male social worker went on to say how if you challenge kids now, you’ll get a mouthful of abuse and be threatened with violence.
The same speaker also said this:
Now, you’re walking with your child and your child misbehaves and it is deemed, but another member of the public that you’re slapping your child too hard, you’re going to be seeing social services knocking at your door, police stopping you in the street, and they want to charge you for abusing your child… They seem to be taking all the rights of authority away from parents; they’re not putting anything else in place – who’s disciplining them? This is why we have a generation of young people who are running wild.
I’m not advocating violence towards children – although I could happily take a two by four to some of the toerags I have to deal with! – but as a parent, and given my line of work, and how bloody careful you have to be all the time about what you do and what you say, I’m doubly aware of the sort of thing this guy is talking about. And the kids themselves are incredibly aware of all the restrictions we operate under as teachers. For instance, I brushed against a girl's shoulder in the corridor at school the other day and she made a huge deal about it. I'd already walked on - I mean, it happens at lesson changeover or break when there are a lot of people around, right - but this girl was moaning at her friends until well after I was out of earshot! But I digress.
What particularly interested me about the report was the fact that most of what was said doesn’t just apply to the black community. I bet a similar survey of young white kids and people in similar jobs and situations to the other speakers featured would produce the same results.
ETA: I live and work in a predominantly white area - I have maybe half a dozen non-white kids in my classes - but I can definitely say that, from what I've seen, the things these guys were saying about the black community in South London aren't just happening there; although of course the recent violence has escalated there to a terrible degree.
G Money said: Young people now no longer fear the parental authority that extended beyond the confines of the home they grew up in… The erosion of this respect has led to a lack of discipline amongst young people – and discipline is of crucial importance.
I’ve often wondered whether the problems talked about here – the lack of respect and discipline etc. – are real, or whether it’s just me, experiencing the generation gap from my advanced age(!). People of our parents’ and grandparents’ age complained about “the youth of today” in their day, so I guess it’s natural that I’d do the same. But most of the people featured in this report are younger than I am, by the sound of it, so it’s a relief to know it’s not just me feeling this way. That sense of relief is tempered, however, by the fact that these problems do actually exist outside of my head.
Tomorrow’s report is going to be about what can be done to rectify the situation. That should be an interesting one.