Free-range Children

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Both of them, believe it or not.

It's a lot easier to cope with it when you know they are ok before you know they were abducted.

Did you go all "Man on Fire" afterwards?

I make a lot of jokes but that would make my blood boil.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Locke

Did you go all "Man on Fire" afterwards?

I make a lot of jokes but that would make my blood boil.

Thanks to my son's pure brilliance (at age 8 mind you) they had the guy in custody two hours after he let them go. No chance.

It's not something I talk about very much, because of the judgemental nature of humans. I can't remember if I've mentioned it here in the past, but it seemed pertinent to the thread.

Very lucky and I don't think either of the kids realize that 95% of the time stranger abducted kids aren't here to tell there stories.

[HelloHockeyFans]

My mother was always a HUGE worrier when I was a youngster (and actually still is, it's her nature to worry), while my father was the type to say, "let him learn from his mistakes... let him fall, pick himself back up and learn to be more careful when scaling the playground to the very top..."

So, I had a pretty balanced upbringing in terms of being coddled and what not... but I think my father was pretty good in convincing my mother to ease up and not be so protective.

She walked me to school up to about Grade 2 and let me walk to and from school alone after that with the condition that I was with other kids. We only lived about 10 minutes from the school, so throughout elementary school, I'd walk to school with the same kids, come home for lunch with all my friends where my mom would have a huge lunch prepared for all 4-5 kids, and I'd walk home from school as well with the same kids. Allowed me that independence every one is talking about in this thread while alleviating her worries... a bit.

I definitely understand parents who drive their kids to and from school though, and can see it from their point of view... should they play it safe and be perhaps a tad over-protective? Or run the risk -- however small it might be -- that something might happen and beat themselves up about it afterwards?

[wpgflamesfan]

Originally Posted by Antithesis

Thanks for the kudos. Regarding this point, you'd be surprised. My stepfather instructs in a so-called 'career program' at SAIT and you'd be surprised how many parents wish to talk to him about stuff like absences, marks, 'issues', etc. We're talking about people who are adults in the literal sense here, and also people trying to impress to end up with a job in their field upon graduation.

flamesfever, I'm with you 100% - you're right - that's what SHOULD happen but it's not what does happen. Every year I'd estimate that as a staff we suggest to 20 parents that their child is 'held back'. Between 10 and 20% agree. For some of them, by the time they get to us, it might not matter a lot (like say, the kids I teach who can't read, or add two numbers together) but for many of them it DOES make sense - they are capable, they just didn't learn what they needed to. It's like there's this perception that I am out to harm someone's child, which couldn't be further from the truth. I understand it's hard to do something that your kids don't want you to, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done ... and they'll make new friends (if not stay with the same current group) ... in fact ... given the situation they are in, it might be better for them to find new friends.

wow that is truly sad that people of that age still have there parents fighting their battles for them. It's also kind of comforting to know that these are the people you will be competing with for jobs

[flamesfever]

Antithesis, I appreciate your posts. It gives one hope to see younger members in the teaching field pointing out flaws in the system. Perhaps in years to come you'll have the authority to make positive changes.

The lack of basic skills even carries through to the University level. A professor friend of mine, teaching third year genetics, gave his students an essay to write. And when they came back, the grammar was so atrocious that he told them they would all fail his class if they didn't improve their writing skills. He then got a colleague of his in the English department to give them a crash course in Grammar. As a result, they improved enormously and he received a special citation from the University.