By Don Heinzman
ECM Editorial Contributor
A lack of self-discipline in todayís children is causing teachers to leave the classrooms, creating too many unsuccessful and unhappy children and frustrating parents.

Half of the new teachers are leaving the profession after five years because they are tired of disciplining students.

Too many parents, experts say, are giving into their kidsí desires at an early age and are unwilling or unable to say no particularly when they are at an early age.

The number of youngsters who come to school without self-discipline has become so alarming that state education parent and school administrator groups have started a "Say Yes to No" campaign.

This campaign is based on structured community conversations focused on the book "No", written by Dr. David Walsh, who is a founder and president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, based in Minneapolis. The full title of Dr. Walshís book is "No. Why Kids of all Ages Need to Hear it and Ways Parents Can Say It."

Dr. Walsh says todayís children live in a "yes" culture where the values encouraged by the mass media are to have "more, easy, fast and fun."

"Who tells the story defines the culture," says Dr. Walsh. Sixty-five percent of homes have television sets in their bedrooms and 25 percent of babies under two have a TV screen in their bedroom.
An expert on the influence of the media in raising children, Dr. Walsh says the primary goal of having more television sets than people is to sell things and "deliver eyeballs to advertisers."

According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, With an average of 44.5 hours of screen time a week, children are exposed to over one million "yes" messages a year. Such a bombardment of media messages makes it harder for parents to raise their children.

While not a new message, Dr. Walsh is preaching that the underlying force for a kidís success is self-discipline, which he says is twice the predictor of future success than intelligence.

The ability of kids to say "no" to themselves is the key to their success. That ability to say "no" comes when parents set limits and consequences and follow through on them.

Dr. Walshís message has struck a nerve among parent, teacher and teacher administrator groups, not just in Minnesota but in 14 other states.

The message has become so powerful that the Elementary and Secondary Principals Associations have sent a kit to every principal in Minnesota. The campaign was launched this month in Duluth, Rochester and Elk River. The Boy Scouts of America are joining the campaign and plan to have workshops explaining it.

The goal is to have a conversation centered on Dr. Walshís book in every community in Minnesota. For more information go to www.SayYestoNo.org.

The battle cry of the movement is "No is not the destination. It is the road to Yes."

Top of Page

Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475

E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com