What gives you the right to speak to me like that?

It seems we no longer will accept being told what to do.

Let me set the scene.  We are in a classroom and a 15-year-old girl arrives late, sits down, pulls out her phone and starts texting.

The teacher tells her to put the phone away and reminds her that she is already late.

The student casually tells the teacher to start the class without her and that she will catch up when she’s finished texting.

The teacher again tells her to put the phone away … this time with a firm NOW!

Indignant, the student replies: “What gives you the right to speak to me like that?”

Classroom conflicts

This teacher, someone with more than 30 years experience in the classroom, tells me that that was the moment she decided enough was enough. She quit at the end of the week. It wasn’t that one incident. That was just the moment she realised she was fighting a losing battle.

Another headmaster told me that he retired after being confronted by a parent in the school carpark.

After several serious behavioural incidents, the headmaster had suspended the man’s son. Irate, the father arrived at the school wanting to fight the headmaster and demanding that his son be allowed back in the classroom.

Not once did the parent ask what his son had done.

We have evolved into a nation of people who don’t want to play by the rules. And even when we break the rules, we think that by saying sorry, and acting contrite, that we have done enough.

We don’t want to be told what to do, by anyone, at any time.

In lockdown, we party; we attend church services that have been banned; and, we try to cross closed borders.

When we get caught, like Nadia Bartel, we say we are sorry and plead for forgiveness. On Instagram she said: “I take full responsibility and I am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future.”

Let’s not even ask if police will investigate the images of her snorting a white substance, but in what world is it acceptable for her, and others, to party in the middle of a COVID pandemic lockdown. Obviously, rules don’t apply to Nadia Bartel. She is special. Just like the 15-year-old girl in the classroom. No one tells her what to do.

Survey confirms young are rule breakers

In the UK during the peak of the pandemic, a survey found that more than half of young adults didn’t stick to the rules.

According to the University College London study of 90,000 people, less than 50 percent of people under 30 complied with the rules.

So why does this young generation think it is okay to not play by the rules? I think it is because there are few real consequences for rule breakers. We have created an environment where everyone gets a second, third and fourth chance at redemption – especially if they are in the public eye.

Sportspeople, again and again, look pathetic as they shed tears and apologise for what they have done. Remember Paul Vaughan fighting back tears after hosting that infamous bbq in July. St George didn’t win another game after that incident. Paul Vaughan was sacked, but he was quickly signed by a rival rugby league club.

He knew what he was doing was wrong, but Vaughan, and the other 11 St George players didn’t think the rules applied to them. They were special.

I don’t think they are special at all. They are just like everyone else at the moment who thinks that the rules don’t apply to them.

It’s only going to get worse

When I was 20, almost 40 years ago, we challenged very little. The advice that was given to me on my first day at work went something like this. “Do everything that is asked of you! Don’t ever say no. You won’t be asked to do anything that is not for your benefit.”

Imagine. Giving that advice to a 20-year-old in 2021. They would laugh at you.

As part of the human race’s evolution, we seem to be challenging authority more and more with each generation. I can’t imagine how out of control we will be in another 50 years.