Rich's Random Thoughts

Rich's Random Thoughts

By Rich Briggs
The Weekly Recorder
April 4, 2008

*Part of what I do as an educator, in addition to all of the other responsibilities I have taken on, is cover Saturday morning detention. I am on a schedule and cover it on an occasional basis. If my count is correct, this past Saturday was the fifth detention I have covered. It is three hours, 8 – 11, in the morning, which means those who are on the roster, and who bother to show up, lose three hours of their Saturdays because of any infraction they committed. It can be something as small as being late to class to cursing or talking, depending on the teacher and what s/he considers something worthy of a detention.

However, I have noticed, and this goes back to my days in school, that we have an alarming trend going on today. The number of boys (young men) who are on the roster for detention is at a troubling rate and I am wondering why. Of course, I have my theories and opinion on this matter. There are those who will say “Boys will be boys.” Well, in my book, that just isn’t good enough. As I have mentioned several times in past columns, I had a price to pay if I got out of line, and that was from my dad. Simply put, detention would have been the kiss of death in my home.

Not only are we experiencing a growing number of boys in detention, some of them are repeaters, meaning they are consistently in detention. This is of grave concern to me, being a man, because these boys are supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow, or at least productive citizens in our future society, yet they are causing themselves, and others, trouble and paying that price by being in detention.

I am finishing my sixth year as an educator and the other trend I am finding is that, in most cases, girls and young ladies are much more active in school activities than are boys. About the only club where boys far outnumber girls is the Rod and Gun Club. I sponsor our prom and I have worked with a far greater number of girls than I have boys. As a matter of fact, this is the first year where I have had a small number of boys to work with, which is a good.

The only other activity where I see boys participating is sports, which is both obvious and natural. The drawback to this is that many of these boys find themselves on the eligibility list, which means they have problems with their grades, and some are in danger of becoming ineligible to participate in athletics. Some have legitimate problems in class, others are just plain lazy and do not do the work required for a proper, and earned, grade. In other words, getting good grades is not cool.

While I embrace working with the girls in a variety of activities, I would like to see more boys involved, and in less trouble. But I believe the problem goes further than this. When I hear a parent say “I don’t know what to do with him,” then I know society has a problem. Our children need discipline, even if it is of the physical nature, including spankings, and even some severely tough love. The do gooders in our society look down on discipline and tell us we have to reason with our kids. Poppycock!

The reason our children are always in trouble, and running afoul of the law, is because there is not a father around, or a lousy father is around but doesn’t do anything about it. Sometimes the father is worse than the child. What example do they follow? When I started in education, I told the students that I didn’t care whether or not they liked me, but I told them they were going to respect me. If they respected me, I would respect them. I did not see a problem with that then, nor do I now. This is part of what we are lacking in society. I will also go on record that I do not have any (more) problems with any of my students. They know I do not, and will not, take any of their garbage.

One of my co-workers and I had a conversation a couple of years back. He said something very profound, and very true. We are losing a generation of boys because most of them have no direction in life and have no idea what the expectations are. I am tougher on the boys than I am on the girls because I know what is going to be expected of them in society. Because my approach is not considered “cool,” some boys tend to avoid me. They would rather be around what they perceive to be the “cool” teachers. They we read about them in the newspaper after they graduate, being in trouble with the law.

Again, I call upon those who are shouldered with the responsibility of raising their children. I refuse to hear that your child does no wrong, yet he finds himself in trouble all the time. Take control and tell your child what will and won’t be tolerated. If there is no father around, it is highly recommended finding a strong male role model for a boy who is sorely in need of some direction. Someone with strong morals and values and will be a strong leader of the boy. Our society looks down on men, for whatever reason, yet men are the disciplinarians and those who should be the examples of what a boy should aspire to be. I know there are terrible men, and fathers, out there, but the good guys far outnumber the bad. These boys need male role models, or some of them may spend the rest of their lives in jail cells or, worse yet, end up dead.

*I was going to touch on politics, again, this week; but I think you all are probably just as sick of the political cycle and machine as I am. I am going to switch gears and talk about another part of my childhood that is now gone. When I was growing up in the 1970s, a daredevil icon was stealing the show on television, namely ABC’s Wide World of Sports, by the name of Evel Knievel.

Born Robert Craig Knievel, Evel attempted death defying stunts that mere mortals would, and could, only dream of doing. He would jump motorcycles over cars, busses, pools filled with sharks, and even the fountain at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Perhaps his most famous claim to fame came when he rode a Skycycle, a rocket powered motorcycle, over, then into, the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. His parachute deployed just before he left the launching ramp, and the cycle ended up drifting back into the canyon after it had actually cleared the chasm.

Knievel died late last year and I found out about it almost by accident. I was watching ESPN’s Sportcenter one evening and a tribute to Knievel was being played while he was narrating his own montage. It was then that I figured out another part of my childhood was gone. It made me reflect on how things were when I was growing up and how fortunate I was to be a child of the 1970s.

I grew up with Matchbox cars and Hot Wheels, a Big Wheel, Tonka trucks and other vehicles, a G.I. Joe action figure, a sandbox, and my Huffy bicycle. All were prized possessions and I can say that I still have several of my Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. Another set of items I owned was an Evel Knievel action figure, a Knievel motorcycle, and the wind up launcher that sent the cycle free to attempt stunts that my friends and I made up.

As we get older, we reflect on what we grew up with and, as each part of our childhood fades into memory, we develop a greater appreciation of the time in which we came of age. As another part of my childhood was lost, I became somewhat melancholy and appreciated what Knievel did to make my childhood just a bit better. He was not a hero to me, but an icon and a daredevil, something that a boy dreams of being as he continues along his journey into manhood. Something greater than we can possibly be, but we nonetheless aspire to. Thank you, Evel Knievel, for the memories. Rest in peace.