Is it bad that I agree with this?

[Alex]

What happened to Free to Be You and Me?

What happened to parents being a moderating influence on the stupidity of youth? Almost everything you mention can only be done with the acquiescence of the parents.

Maybe that's why it is worse now (if it is). In the past you could tease but that wasn't going to get the kid a new wardrobe (or a nose job) and eventually most learned to ignore it. Now teasing actually works (since so many parents find it hard to say no to their children) and the smart child knows it pays to play up the drama of teasing.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

What happened to parents being a moderating influence on the stupidity of youth? Almost everything you mention can only be done with the acquiescence of the parents.

Maybe that's why it is worse now (if it is). In the past you could tease but that wasn't going to get the kid a new wardrobe (or a nose job) and eventually most learned to ignore it. Now teasing actually works (since so many parents find it hard to say no to their children) and the smart child knows it pays to play up the drama of teasing.

Were it up to her, by sister would have shown up to school every day dressed like Madonna. Didn't happen. I never got my hypercolor shirts or rebbok pumps.

Yeah, it meant that through the bulk of my adolescence, I was somewhat of a social outcast, though never to an extreme. I had friends, just not really in with "the cool crowd". But is that such a bad thing?

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Originally Posted by katiesue

What happened to Free to Be You and Me?

The excessive 1980s? Heh.

"It's alright to cry, crying takes the sadness out of you. It's alright to cry. It might make you feel better."

[Gemini Cricket]

This is funny to think on but if I had myself adjusted each time something about me was teased in grade school, I'd be a guy with bleached skin, rounded ears, small nose, with a lip reduction who was also pretending to be straight... In short, I'd be Michael Jackson.

[Gemini Cricket]

See, they thought we were Vulcan, but in actuality we are hottie Elves from Lord of the Rings...

[Prudence]

My perception is that teasing of that nature used to be considered bad behavior which might merit punishment, but that now it is those who are being teased who are considered at fault for not making appropriate alterations in their appearance.

[Alex]

Who considers teasing appropriate? I would argue it has gone way too far to the other end with kids forced to sits through hours of programs on why teasing is bad and wrong and harmful to self esteem.

Heck, even when I was in school this was already starting with whole assemblies talking about the horrors of being mean to each other. We all just thought the adults were being awfully stupid and continued calling each other names and teasing anybody we didn't like. Posters adorned the school striving for zero put-downs and once a week in home room (in middle school) we had to write an anonymous note where we said something nice about another person in that room and that note would be given to them. These were called "warm fuzzies." We though them equally stupid and the nice things we ended up writing were things like "It is nice that you're not dead" and "You're less stupid than the teacher."

[Not Afraid]

I think what we need to give children is an arsenal of appropriate retorts. I sure wish I had them when I was a kid. Sometimes I wish I had ore of them now.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

I think what we need to give children is an arsenal of appropriate retorts. I sure wish I had them when I was a kid. Sometimes I wish I had ore of them now.

"With a prompter in every cellar window whispering comebacks, shy people would have the last laugh."

[katiesue]

I agree with a lot of what Alex said. My daughters school has some lamo progam called the "Pillars of Citizenship". You're supposed to give other kids little pieces of paper when they do somethig that exemplifies one of the "pillars". And every week someone from each class (and of course each kid gets a turn) gets voted citizen of the week or something like that. Lame.

On the other hand there are gradeschool and jr. high kids who are committing suicide because they are teased so badly.

And yes a ton of it is the parents. I've stopped mine from going out the door in certain things she wanted to wear that wern't appropriate for school, just this morning in fact. But I see tons of other kids every day wearing short short skirts, platform sandals and belly shirts. And wearing make up. In short streetwalking regalia. When we were in school they'd send you home. Now the parents would throw a hissy making it very difficult for administrators and teachers to enforece the rules.