during the last few weeks I’ve had moments of surprize, amazement, being stupified, felt appalling, every word that comes up when observing my pupils’ language. Now, it isn’t that I am not used to the type of language my pupils use the way they use it.
But… Well……Somehow I have got this feeling as if they don’t care what they’re actually saying. I doubt whether they fully understand what they are shouting, screaming, taunting and scolding. It really is unbelievable. And worse: they just don’t care. Somehow that kind of knowing that they simply just can’t say what they’re thinking of of are thinking about, lacks. The moment I tell them that free speech also means having and showing responsability, they gaze at me, and raise their shoulders. “We live in a free country and we are allowed to speak out what we think”.
Yes, we do live in a free country and we do have the liberty of free speech. Thank God for that! However it doesn’t mean that we can ignore the feelings of the rest of the world. I teach my pupils that every word that they speak has consequences, in the way of probably offending someone near to you.
Believe me or not: they just don’t seem to care! They just don’t mind that someone might be hurt by words or actions. Somehow, they seem to lack conscience.
I’m certainly not the kind of woman who thinks that everything was better in the old days. No way…. I think that some events and some things were worse than the present world. But…. I think that our pupils need a bit of discipline in free speech before they don’t understand anymore what the verb “to insult” means.
heel mooi geschreven
mooi , en ja moelijk ….je kan hun proberen het hun bij te brengen, maar thuis zou respect in woord en daad dan ook moeten worden voorgeleeft….
I know what you mean, I am grownup but sometimes I feel the same when I am at the school of my kids. Is this a failure in their aducation or the way they have been brought up?