Discipline or Discrimination?

The reality of life is the everything is not always fair. Does this justify the reasons that teachers, parents, and other figures of authority in America are commonly biased towards good children rather than ones that misbehave? Are there real motives or is it just another form of disguised discrimination? There are usually two results of favoritism; it either makes a person or breaks a person. This issue is most common in America, where children have more freedom to speak their mind and to act however they feel.

A common reason that adults say they pick on certain children is because they know that the child can do better and has potential. The adult believes they are trying to ensure a better future for the youngster who has not yet committed to their future. The elder may be applying more attention to someone who may not always want it or appreciate it. This causes the child to reject that person and tune them out because they seem annoying and nagging. It can also trigger the child to have even more negative feelings and further their misbehavior. They will begin to act out more or will feel discriminated against. Those feeling can lead to destroying relationships with authority that are vital for the youngster to have to live a functional life in the work force and personal relationships.

The other viewpoint is that of the children that are well behaved. They may feel obligated to claim superiority over misbehaving peers and cause more pain to the already troubled children. The well behaved kids may also feel ignored when all of the attention is focused on the others. They may feel their accomplishments are being ignored and strive for more attention. They will feed off the idea that acting out gets attention and begin to misbehave like the other children. Their belief is that they will achieve equal attention, even if it is negative.

Children in America are most likely to behave with such rebellion, because the United States provides the most freedom than any other country to its people. Kids are free to do as they wish, with no legal punishment involved unless they break a law. Parents also have restrictions on their punishment to their children, because they can easily be charged with crimes of child abuse.

The real question is the motive behind why the authoritative figure is condoning the child. If they simply dislike the child but make excuses to cover their actions toward that child it is all simply a plot to inflict the misery upon them. This could be an underlying issue for mental and physical child abuse and favoritism throughout the world. It also helps create a strong division between the generations of today which, in turn, will cause families to less often see eye to eye.

The key to fixing a behavior problem is to fully understand the child. It is best to look at their background of mental health, physical health, and learning abilities. Yelling, screaming, hitting, or insulting does not solve anything but creates negative feelings between people. Using patience and understanding is the best policy at first and if more punishment is necessary, so be it. Favoritism should never be shown, even if it is felt. Feelings of favoritism only provide something to use against someone in order to justify that their child is being discriminated against.

There will always be children that behave and misbehave, but perhaps the adults in the world can help reduce the negative feelings between the youth of today and authority. Young people in America need to know that they can trust an adult and confide in them. If they do not have that trust then they will depend on their own knowledge and may lead dysfunctional lives not having proper guidance. If they are treated wrongly because of their misbehavior, they will believe that the world is against them and will continue to worsen their behavior in their struggle. The way that authority in America treats kids today can change the future of our country, for better or for worse.