What Is It With Kids Today?

This is a question that many people ask nowadays - why are children like they are, what makes them tick, why do they misbehave so much? More and more, at increasingly earlier ages, children are unable to control themselves in public (or private, but I am speaking from a public point of view).

Of course, some children can't help it - they suffer from some type of disability that affects the way they act. But what if the child has no discernible disabilities and yet still acts in such as way that he/she spends most of his/her time in the principal's office?

I had a conversation about this subject with a friend just the other day. He maintains that it has to do with poor home life. Through my work at school, it is obvious who has been trained in self-control at home, because it carries over to their everyday life at school. It is also all-too-painfully obvious that there are those who have NOT been trained at home, because teachers and the child's fellow students have to deal with inappropriate behaviors on a daily basis. It is so sad to see children with potential not be able to handle being in a classroom situation due to not being able to control their emotions.

Why is this happening? I don't think the answer is as simple as "bad home life", although it certainly plays a major role for most children. It's a combination of factors, such as what's in the food we eat, outside influences such as TV, movies, and the Internet, the ever-growing single-parent homes, medication, etc., etc. The fact is, no ONE thing is responsible and in some cases that makes it a lot harder to diagnose the problem and figure out a solution. Hopefully, through public awareness and people working hard to make a difference, a "cure" (for lack of a better word) will be found that will help our children, because, to quote a phrase, "they are our future".

Lest you think that all is bleak with our children, I can tell you that there are MANY wonderful children out there! Some of them are so darned cute! They are warm, loving, funny children who sidle up to give you a hug (when you most need one) or give the right answer in class when you don't always expect them to, or just wave and act glad to see you! These children are our future as well!

Having said all this, let me say that I LOVE my job! The pay is awful, but I absolutely LOVE working with children! Wish I had gone in this direction when we moved here 10 years ago. Had I only known...

Senior Citizens and Big Cars

Well, I started to call this blog "old people and big cars" but thought that sounded too disrespectful. Heaven knows, when I get into my 70's and 80's, I don't want anyone to call ME "old person". But I digress.

Yesterday, my husband, daughter, and I traveled to Richmond for my cousin's daughter's wedding. We had plans to come back the same day thanks to my needing to be at church on Sunday and chickens that had to be put to bed, etc. Of course, we got started later than I'd have liked, but we still started at a fairly decent time barring accidents or construction.

Our route takes us down several 2-lane roads. I dislike and despise going the interstate route, so we go down Rt. 122 to Rt. 460 at Bedford, then Rt. 24 over to Rt. 60, which at this time was perfect as it put us right where we needed to be in Richmond. Right after turning onto 122, I get behind a car....a BIG car with a guy in a fedora and a white-haired lady sitting next to him. No biggie at first, but then I noticed we NEVER went faster than around 40, maybe 45. "Maybe he'll speed up when we get past Burnt Chimney", I thought, but noooooo....if anything, he went slower! For those of you familiar with this road, you know there aren't many places to pass. Of course, when we got to where we could pass, he sped up. I was fuming (I'm a type-A driver). Also, every time there was an opportunity to pass legally, there were cars coming from the other direction, making it too dangerous to try. By the time we finally reached Rt. 460, a blessedly 4-lane road, I was almost at stroke level. Fortunately for the other guy, he kept going down Rt. 122, thus sparing me from doing bad things with my fingers....not that I would have :-)

I thought that was the last of the slow drivers - but, you guessed it, NOOOOOOO! We got behind one on the way back from Richmond - another big car with an older guy driving. Fortunately, he turned off before I reached my earlier almost-stroke level.

We have gone this way to Richmond many times, but never have I had so much trouble with slow drivers! I am not an extremely fast driver, but I DO like to drive the speed limit. There should be tickets given out for slower than normal driving as this is just as dangerous as driving too fast! DMV should then give all people who've been given a ticket for driving under the speed limit a test, and if they fail it (in other words, they think there are no speed limits faster than 45 or they say "but my car won't go that fast"), then YANK their licenses! They shouldn't be allowed out on the streets!

Enough ranting for today - I hope this satisfies my followers who've been telling me to post something!