Identity Crisis

A slight deter, but not really. There’s something important observed over time:
Some time back, when I was substitute teaching, I was watching a talent contest. It was quite good. Singers. Actors. Plays. Music. And more. What I treat, I thought, for the class’ teacher to be out for the day so I could (or any other substitute) watch.
One of the great things about substitute teaching is the opportunity to work in a variety of schools, in a variety of grades, learn from other teachers’ lessons, and learn about children and teens of all walks. Sometimes, you have opportunities to talk with parents. Discuss topics with other teachers. And all the while, you can learn about yourself, improve upon your understanding of classroom management, and at times, bring in some of your own ideas as when the primary teachers’ lessons are completed.
On this particular day, one of the talent contestants did something extremely inappropriate, which I won’t go into here. I almost laughed, but realized my class was around, but also how serious such a display. I looked around. There was a hush in the crowd. The other teachers were looking at each other. I gathered that the student’s teacher would soon come out and send that student to the office. But nothing happened. Then, the student acted very proud and some of the audience and other students began clapping and cheering. Later, I shared with a friend that things would certainly take a turn for the worse in this district. And they have.
The foundations of this country were freedom with responsibility. While I was growing up, I knew where the line was, and if I didn’t, I quickly found out. At school, I knew who were the adults. Yes, we got into trouble from time to time, but that’s part of growing up. We behaved around our parents. We behaved in class. We behaved around other adults in the neighborhood, mostly, but if a neighbor shared with our parents something we did wrong, we got punished at home. These were good lessons. They prepared us for growing up, for attending college, and for work in the adult world. For we were to grow up responsible that we would be good examples for our own future children.
We learned to think for ourselves with responsibility. Thinking for yourself also requires parenting. Thinking for yourself, in various walks of life, requires the adults to hold to proper behaviors, hold to standards of understanding, and in this way, the youth grow up with healthy identities. One of the reasons young people are trying to “find” themselves, don’t know who they are, and have many difficulties is not having a foundation we enjoyed while growing up. I was encouraged, but I was also punished when I didn’t listen to myself, listening to the wrong friends. As a society, we are forgetting this important lesson. We are losing touch with the lesson our past generations knew and taught.
Again, when I mention thinking for yourself, this does not entirely mean thinking outside the box. We should question, but what we understand, we do not let go. We are respectful of others, but in order to respect others, we also have to respect ourselves. And this means holding onto what we intuitively know.

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