A Generation That Has Never Heard the Word No

Ellen Boring

Prof. Sabino Iovino

History of American Education

11 September 2013

Reaction to "A Generation That Has Never Heard the Word 'No'"

In this article, author Betsy Hart discusses "today's youth" (as they were in 2001) and the way that their parents have raised them. Hart expresses that she believes "today's 'get-down-on-the-floor, consult-the-child" is ineffective. She cites the fact that more children than ever are being diagnosed with ADHD as evidence that behavior problems are more rampant than ever. Hart believes that the cause of these issues in "today's" (2001's) youth stem from parents who are too indulgent. She believes that children are spoiled and that parents are afraid to say "no" because they are more interested in being a friend to their children than a real parental figure. Parents need to gain their children's respect before their children will behave, she says.

I would tend to agree with Hart in placing much of the blame on the parents. Parents who choose to be excessively permissive with their children cause behavioral problems that will continue in school. I would also place a small amount of blame on teachers who don't care enough to practice good "parenting" in the classroom. For the problem children that the article focuses on, sometimes school is the only part of their lives that has structure, and teachers are the only figures in their lives who demand respect. However, as a student I have had several teachers who were just as permissive as the clueless parents, allowing behavior problems to slowly take over their classrooms and distract massively from the subject matter. I believe that teachers should be prepared to provide a sense of continuity of punishment so that students get used to "no" whether they hear it at home or not.

To improve this situation as a teacher, I hope I will be able to provide this for my students. I believe students need a strong sense of stability in the way a classroom works, especially for punishments and rewards. The more consistent a parent or teacher is when following through on predetermined actions, the more the children will respect them as a leader and a role model.