Proverbs Chapter 13: 24 He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
Humilitas First focuses on leadership and legitimate defense. This post is more about leadership or lack of authentic leadership. A major part of authentic leadership is about doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason and in the right way.
A 17 year old male who is six foot six inches tall and weighs 270 pounds threw a much smaller female teacher to the ground then he continually viciously beat her. She was rendered unconscious by his violent actions. Why would he do that? Purportedly he was “upset with the victim because she took his Nintendo Switch away during class.” Here is a link to one of the articles.
I did a search trying to learn more about his parents. I was able to find his mother is an occupational therapist. No mention of a father. Based upon my 26 year experience in Law Enforcement that is a major red flag.
Many years ago as a Sergeant I recall being dispatched to the report of a ten year old who was out of control and striking a teacher. Upon arrival I had occasion to speak with a few of the teachers. What I was told is that teachers were not permitted to go hands on with a student. Rather they were to call for a restraint team where members were specially trained in the act of physically restraining violent students. Really? There is no way I’m letting a child repeatedly strike me while I call for and patiently await a restraint team. That is madness. That kind of permissiveness does no good service for little Johnny who is essentially being taught that there is no immediate accountability for his wicked actions. No, little Johnny is going to get restrained or stopped immediately. I’d get fired the first time a ten year old thinks I’m his punching bag.
One of the teachers or teacher aides asked me what could be done? I probably began explaining how the juvenile legal system works which was clearly not satisfying that teacher. So I bluntly told them what they needed to do to fix this problem. I said: You need to hire a very large male principal and equip him with a very large paddle! What you need is a restoration of corporal punishment! They all got a good chuckle out of that one. It was as if I’d just said something hilarious.
This wisdom goes all the way back in God’s Word to Proverbs. He who spares the rod hates his son. He hates – his – son (or his daughter). Most of our modern education system adamantly disagrees with God’s Wisdom.
Romans 1: 21* for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23* and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
Specifically where did the rejection of corporal punishment in schools begin? My suspicion is it began with Dr. Benjamin Spock who in 1946 wrote The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. That’s funny because common sense literally comes from God. Read the 28th Chapter of the book of Deuteronomy verses 15 and 28. You’ll see that those who obey God’s Commandments receive a blessing while those who disobey God’s Commandments receive a curse. One of the curses is 28 The LORD will smite you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind. In other words you lose your common sense. Those who are confused, blind, or crazy lack common sense. One famous quote attributed to Dr. Spock is:
“I don’t think physical punishment is necessary or particularly effective.”
There are plenty of other like minded quotations from Dr. Spock. I’m 55 years old and when I went to public elementary school back in 1973 we had a very large male principal who wielded a large paddle. It took one time for me to behold this right, just, and good consequence and I had a renewed desire to do good and avoid doing bad things at that public elementary school.
So what else happened in the public school system that has set the stage for all of the violence we see holding sway these last twenty five years? In 1962 the United States Supreme Court declared there could be no official prayer in public schools. Nature abhors a vacuum so if you evict God something will come in and fill that space. Today we have no shortage of madness, blindness, and confusion of mind being taught in our public schools. That is why my wife and I have chosen to home school.
Those who fancy themselves sophisticated and educated while rejecting God and His Commandments lose their common sense and become incapable of understanding how their bad agenda’s and teachings are actually a form of hatred of the children they purport to love. I can tell you growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s on more than one occasion I observed students who acted disrespectfully being tuned up by teachers. We did not have to worry about school shootings nor did anyone dare lay a hand on a teacher and certainly not on a woman. Now obviously you’re free to believe whatever you want to believe. This is just one coach’s beliefs. But ask yourself this question: Where are we leading our children when things like this and worse are happening in our public schools from sea to shining sea?
Three questions all authentic leaders ought to frequently ask themselves:
- Where am I leading my people?
- Can I – SHOULD I?
- Why now?
Teachers have a grave moral responsibility (a duty) to properly care for and educate their students. Their students are their people. I could run down some other rabbit holes based upon both my beliefs and my professional training. For instance it is my belief based on experience that one of the reasons (obviously there are others) young men turn to a gang is because they have often been raised by a single permissive parent and they crave someone to care enough to make some demands upon them. A gang provides very clear albeit a brutal disciplinary structure. Children need and they crave discipline. Permissive parenting indulges children with their impulse control problems. Not all children are the same and they will need varying degrees of external discipline imposed with encouragement towards self-discipline as the ultimate goal. Is this not common sense?
Another rabbit hole is based upon my professional training. I had an advanced gang school and was taught just how desperate young gang members are for a loving father who actually cares about them. The detectives putting on this school were from the Chicago area. They had discovered they could take a hard core gang member who would otherwise not cooperate or confess to their part in a crime and by pretending to care and essentially acting like a good father that young man so desperate for the love of a father would break down and cry and provide a full confession. How sad is that?
We have deep seated problems in our school systems as we do in our country and the world. It is this coaches solemn belief these problems begin going away when enough people repent and renew our commitment to doing things God’s way. The reason things are going so badly for us is because we have: “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.” May God give us the grace to accept and live the Truth.