Spare the Rod ...?

You don't have to be a boss to be a bully. 

Power over people is not restricted to uncaring colleagues with a sadistic streak.  Teacher-bashing is a popular pastime for many 'apprentice adults' who find their lessons boring and reserve their respect only for those they have cause to fear.

Politicians talk about the fractured society. And surely what begins in the home as the neglect of standards or over-indulgence leaches into the wider society - to the nursery, the school, the college and the workplace.

Personal discipline is a burden when aggression is sufficient to grasp your own way.

It's no secret that many dedicated teachers quit a profession desperately in need of their continued inspiration.  Daily confrontations with young people in need of the skills necessary for useful,  fulfilling lives have left them frustrated - sometimes physically and mentally damaged.

Yet in a society obsessed with health and safety it's hard to understand why some of these classroom victims of violence seem not to have claimed sanctuary within its creeping legislation.

Strategies to stamp out bullying is an important part of a broad portfolio of workshops Focus for Change introduces for organisations determined to free staff of behaviour that seriously interferes with efficiency in the workplace www.focus4change.co.uk   Assured of confidentiality and armed with proven methods, concerned managers are able to tease out and deal with the underlying reasons that prompt inappropriate behaviour.

Evidence of bullying in adulthood strongly suggests its origins in the lack of discipline in childhood. Some studies insist that measured punishment for minor misdemeanours has a place both in the home and the classroom.  Tough love is part of the learning process which leaves children undamaged and better able to control the instincts that tempt unacceptable behaviour.

Would we, by using a few old-fashioned methods, become a more comfortable and balanced society, with mutual respect restored between generations and among workmates?