I make no complaints, just observations

The full-stop (period) has long disappeared in students' write-ups. Capitalisation is the worse hit. It is no longer the norm for sentences to begin in capital letters. And there is so much disregard for proper nouns. To sum it up: hand-writing is in a sorry state! This seems to bebe a global trend though. Last year one of the foremost universities in the UK proposed typed answers to exams as a result of this escalating phenomenon (cf: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/09/cambridge-conisders-typed-exams-as-handwriting-worsens; https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10833696/Pupils-losing-marks-in-exams-due-to-poor-handwriting.html) Whatever happened to writing exercise book that we grew up to know as 2D!

Responsibility has taken flight in schools and many of today's schools will have nothing to do with spanking. Occasional instances of its extremity are often cited as the basis. Advocacy against abuse is also cited. What is the divide between genuine spanking and abuse? Nobody seems to know in absolute terms. What the American society and many homes in Europe have turned into tells of the debilitating consequences of the neglect of the rod of instruction, be it spanking or reprimands.

Students who are supposed to be smart drag their legs on the floor and nobody seems to be bothered. Well, as long as they are brilliant, no attention is paid to their moral depravity. Contemporary education is synonymous to academic success, excluding inculcating life core values. May I ask: does anybody still bother to check pupils' nails in schools? Lessons missed at home are lost in schools too? And who is concerned when school boys are dressed in such a way that denigrate manhood? Who instructs school girls on how to sit? Are they taught that there is a girl-like manner to sit? I have a student that I have to constantly remind that she is a girl! One sits or stands in front of school girls and you have a screen to stare at! It can be that pathetic! A school girl was asked to put on her socks. You needed to see the way she went about it. She lifted up her legs in the same manner a boy would put his trousers on, and I was like Oh, my God! In fact, it was this scenario that inspired this piece. This can be tested further. Ask any school girl to pick up something on the floor and watch to see how they will go about it. Suffice it to say that it's the same with school boys.

How to go about these changes seems to be a herculean task, but we surely must start somewhere. More importantly is the question: who will take up the responsibility?


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