Friday July 29, 2011
By RASLAN SHARIF
Today’s children do not seem to have much respect for authority, maybe it’s because we have left their upbringing to the school, television, Internet and games consoles.
We hold many memories of our school days, and we never tire of telling these tales to family and friends.
At least some of us do, as I completely understand that there might be a few people out there who would want to keep their memories of school far, far away from recollection.
However, I believe that for many of us, our time at school were some of the best years of our lives and, more often than not, we hark back to those carefree years full of play and laughter.
No doubt, the good times were often rudely interrupted by those inconvenient and awfully long periods of boredom that I was told amounted to education.
But let’s not let that spoil the fun, shall we?
I went to several schools as my civil servant father had to make “tours of duty” in several towns across the country over the course of his working career.
I attended schools in Alor Star, Klang, Seremban and Petaling Jaya.
In between, I also received two years of primary education in the US.
School there was fun in many ways.
There were double recesses (yes, twice), nice teachers, good food at the cafeteria, and lessons in the first and second grade that were a breeze for me.
Not so nice were the fights that broke out at times among some pupils, among other things.
Once, when I was in the second grade, this kid – I think his name was Marcus, if I remember correctly – demanded money from me, with the “friendly” advice that a refusal on my part would result in his older brother in the fifth grade making my acquaintance after school.
Survival instincts honed over millions of years of human evolution immediately kicked in, and I gave him the quarter that he asked for.
He asked for money again the next week, and again my survival instincts got the better of me – I told him no.
I was hungry and I was damn well going to use the money I had to buy food at the cafeteria.
Marcus was pissed and I spent the rest of my time at school that day with a full stomach and the dreadful feeling that the rest of the day was not going to be very pleasant.
Later, as I made my way out of school, I braced myself for the inevitable.
I was about to meet Marcus, and his fifth-grade brother from Hell.
But they never showed up.
And Marcus never bothered me again.
I was lucky.
There were one or two other similar episodes throughout my school days but none as bad as the case of Marcus.
This was primarily (no pun intended) because the environment in Malaysian primary and secondary schools was a lot milder.
At least, that was the case back when I was in school.
Now that I am a father of two primary school-going children, I can’t help but compare what it was like during my time and what I think it is these days.
The most obvious thing for me is that discipline isn’t what it used to be.
Yes, we don’t cane schoolchildren anymore and we now do things in a more “touchy-feely” manner.
But, as far as I’m concerned, respect for authority is just not there.
I’ve seen little children blissfully ignoring the instructions of teachers; forget about prefects and class monitors.
Remember how silent we were during assembly?
Many children at my kids’ school don’t really give two hoots about whatever’s being said and who’s saying it.
Remember about being orderly as we moved to and from our classes?
There’s pushing and shoving up and down the stairs now, if not more of the sort of behaviour that puts personal safety at risk.
Remember how we gave due deference to our teachers when they were in class, keeping our mouths shut and at least pretending to pay attention?
Kids these days think nothing of talking at the back while the teachers teach in front, with some even walking about, or in and out of class.
Maybe it’s a sign of the times, and maybe I’m getting old.
Maybe it’s also an indication that parents, and that includes me, don’t pay enough attention to their children like they used to.
Many of us seem to have left much of the upbringing of our children to the school, and we assume that all will be fine.
And when they are at home, we leave the upbringing of our children to the television, the Internet and the game consoles.
Is it any wonder then that some of them don’t seem to care?
> Raslan Sharif’s school days were not always eventful.
By RASLAN SHARIF
Today’s children do not seem to have much respect for authority, maybe it’s because we have left their upbringing to the school, television, Internet and games consoles.
We hold many memories of our school days, and we never tire of telling these tales to family and friends.
At least some of us do, as I completely understand that there might be a few people out there who would want to keep their memories of school far, far away from recollection.
However, I believe that for many of us, our time at school were some of the best years of our lives and, more often than not, we hark back to those carefree years full of play and laughter.
No doubt, the good times were often rudely interrupted by those inconvenient and awfully long periods of boredom that I was told amounted to education.
But let’s not let that spoil the fun, shall we?
I went to several schools as my civil servant father had to make “tours of duty” in several towns across the country over the course of his working career.
I attended schools in Alor Star, Klang, Seremban and Petaling Jaya.
In between, I also received two years of primary education in the US.
School there was fun in many ways.
There were double recesses (yes, twice), nice teachers, good food at the cafeteria, and lessons in the first and second grade that were a breeze for me.
Not so nice were the fights that broke out at times among some pupils, among other things.
Once, when I was in the second grade, this kid – I think his name was Marcus, if I remember correctly – demanded money from me, with the “friendly” advice that a refusal on my part would result in his older brother in the fifth grade making my acquaintance after school.
Survival instincts honed over millions of years of human evolution immediately kicked in, and I gave him the quarter that he asked for.
He asked for money again the next week, and again my survival instincts got the better of me – I told him no.
I was hungry and I was damn well going to use the money I had to buy food at the cafeteria.
Marcus was pissed and I spent the rest of my time at school that day with a full stomach and the dreadful feeling that the rest of the day was not going to be very pleasant.
Later, as I made my way out of school, I braced myself for the inevitable.
I was about to meet Marcus, and his fifth-grade brother from Hell.
But they never showed up.
And Marcus never bothered me again.
I was lucky.
There were one or two other similar episodes throughout my school days but none as bad as the case of Marcus.
This was primarily (no pun intended) because the environment in Malaysian primary and secondary schools was a lot milder.
At least, that was the case back when I was in school.
Now that I am a father of two primary school-going children, I can’t help but compare what it was like during my time and what I think it is these days.
The most obvious thing for me is that discipline isn’t what it used to be.
Yes, we don’t cane schoolchildren anymore and we now do things in a more “touchy-feely” manner.
But, as far as I’m concerned, respect for authority is just not there.
I’ve seen little children blissfully ignoring the instructions of teachers; forget about prefects and class monitors.
Remember how silent we were during assembly?
Many children at my kids’ school don’t really give two hoots about whatever’s being said and who’s saying it.
Remember about being orderly as we moved to and from our classes?
There’s pushing and shoving up and down the stairs now, if not more of the sort of behaviour that puts personal safety at risk.
Remember how we gave due deference to our teachers when they were in class, keeping our mouths shut and at least pretending to pay attention?
Kids these days think nothing of talking at the back while the teachers teach in front, with some even walking about, or in and out of class.
Maybe it’s a sign of the times, and maybe I’m getting old.
Maybe it’s also an indication that parents, and that includes me, don’t pay enough attention to their children like they used to.
Many of us seem to have left much of the upbringing of our children to the school, and we assume that all will be fine.
And when they are at home, we leave the upbringing of our children to the television, the Internet and the game consoles.
Is it any wonder then that some of them don’t seem to care?
> Raslan Sharif’s school days were not always eventful.
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