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We live in a place between the spirit and the material, the animal and the spiritual.
A battle within us, that takes place for all of our lives.
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Children live in this world also, but they are less in control of their "reactions" and situations than adults.
When infants are hungry, need changing, are hurt, they cry, the reaction is not in their control.
As they age, they become more in control and express the "reactions" in different outlets.
The outlets are learned primarily by observing and replicating the reactions of others around them, parents and siblings.
The actions of others at infant/toddler ages will influence the reaction process for the rest of the child's life.
It is this reactive process, that is learned by the child, as it ages from not having any control over reactions to having some control, which causes children to react the way that they do when an event happens.
The teacher must now, in some cases, try to undo the ingrained reactive process, while at the same time, "steering" the child to reason from uncontrolled reactions, crying for example.
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Parents are not perfect, teachers are not perfect, nobody is (except Jesus).
So we are placing parents, teachers, and students in a "personality blender", where there are people and events that are out of control.
The schools try their best to keep the students and events safely under control.
But when the number of students increases, per teacher, the individual student suffers the consequences.
The time needed to "steer" the student lessens, the time to teach control lessens, and oh yes, they still are required to educate them at the same time, math, etc.
The influences of the other students is not in control as it should be for a good teaching environment.
And the influence of the parent, especially if it is contrary to what the teacher says, can be detrimental.
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When you get to high school, add many other "modern" influences, as well as physical changes.
Now let's throw into the mix government, money, taxes, voting, religion, etc.
The high school student is left behind, and the bullied student is left with few options.
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Respect must be learned, when the parent shows no respect for others, the reactions are learned from that parent.
My father, whom I love, used a willow whip on me, to teach respect, I had to break the branch off myself and give it to him.
I think that in the old days if you were not respectful (to the king) you might end up dead, it is still that way to some degree.
But children don't always know that, we have to teach them not to play with dangerous things, power tools say.
Being a bully is dangerous, asking for trouble, and eventually they find it.
It sometimes costs them their own life or the life of others.
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It is the animal side that is the bully, ego, selfish, brutish, the "natural" man.
It is the spiritual side that is respectful, loving, and sensitive to the needs of others, to love and be loved.
To some degree, the spirit of love and respect, must be taught, to the animal.
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How can we expect the schools to bear this burden, when the public won't finance the schools to the degree that is needed to accomplish this?
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