Commenting on the opinion piece: The problem with kids these days? Take a look in the mirror

You’ve nailed it! A copy of this should be handed to all parents at school Parent Information Sessions. – Phil Lawrence, retired teacher

What a great article but unfortunately the parents who should read it won’t, and some that do won’t realise it’s about them.

I’ve been teaching for 30+ years and I’m getting very close to quitting. Although I work in a junior school and violence isn’t the main problem, I have the constant issue of parents who think it’s my job to discipline their children. And when I report back to them that their child had hurt another child or had been so disruptive in class taking away the other kids’ right to learn, they consistently blame someone else.

I feel sorry for the next generation of teachers as you said in your article, the children are over-entitled and everything is all about them. Parents are forever in the principal’s office, accusing the teachers of being too strict on their children.

The other issue I find is the number of children whose parents want us to make them happy to walk into school. For one child in my class I put a lot of strategies in place and this child became much more settled in the morning. When I mentioned this to her mother, she confessed that she went out to the car and cried because her child wasn’t missing her any more. They then took the child away a day after the long weekend for three days, and when the child returned, so did these behaviours.

The attitude and actions of parents create the attitude and actions of their child. – Name supplied

Well said. That is so true. Thank you for speaking up. – Carole Moss

I wholeheartedly agree with this article by Ali Clarke. Having heard the problems a close friend had over the years with students and parents in middle primary (for heaven’s sake), it is a problem of parenting skills, or lack thereof.

She taught in a private school where the parents thought they owned the teachers. In my opinion, much worse, was the response of senior staff not defending her but acquiescing to the parents. It was not an expensive school by any means.

Her senior staff should have told parents they had every faith in her teaching ability. They should have given her support to address the issues of several of the students with learning difficulties where the parents were in denial.

Since moving to relief teaching roles in public schools she has not been out of work for years and is regularly offered contracts because of her high level of skill in the classroom despite being told by the private school she was, perhaps, too old to continue in the classroom situation. – Louise Drummond

Spot on, Ali. Whenever you see youth crime and violence in our society, you know the parents are likely at fault. They are doing a dreadful job of parenting, and these parents should be brought forward to explain why their children are the way they are.

No doubt the parents of the parents are truly to blame. They didn’t raise their kids well, and it is magnified as time goes by. It is a complicated problem, but fixing it can start with us being more respectful ourselves. – Robin Sands

Ali, you are spot on. I have just finished reading three books by Gabbie Stroud, a former teacher who became very disenchanted with the whole education system. The books are called Teacher, Dear Parents and The Things that Matter Most. I would recommend all parents, grandparents or carers of children to read them. – Rosalyn Bolton