Opinion

Two sides to childrens' respect for authority

Monday, August 11, 2003

Recently there was a story in the paper about a group of junior high students who were in the process of suing their music teacher because of his intimidating language in class. Presumably, they had the backing of their parents and, even more surprising, had found a lawyer who would represent them in court in such a trivial suit.

Years ago, in Plainview, though we had few lawyers, they practiced their craft with a good bit of common sense. Once my dad and a local painter got into a dispute over a paint job, which, because of unexpected problems, ended up costing dad double the original quote, and he refused to pay. When the painter went to John Blezek, a Plainview attorney, to start suit against Dad, Mr. Blezek called both men into his office, explained that bringing the matter to court would result in hard feelings between the two that might never be resolved, and any damages that the painter might collect would be largely eaten up in attorney fees and court costs.

His suggestion was that the two split the disputed amount. They did, remained friends, and continued to do business with one another for years afterward. Mr. Blezek's fee for his services---- exactly $0.

Of course I do not know the extent of the abuse that this teacher had heaped upon his class of young musicians. I realize that things have changed.

Several years ago, in McCook, parents got the girls' basketball coach fired because "he yelled at the players and made them cry when they made a mistake in practice." Even so, I am amazed that things have changed so much from my days as a student in the Plainview School system.

From early on my sister and I heard from our parents that if we got into trouble at school we could expect to receive further punishment when we got home. They stressed that attendance at school was a privilege and a duty. They paid taxes to make this privilege possible. The teachers were their representatives and were charged with providing us with an education, which included instilling moral values (the same values we learned at home). School was our "work," and the teachers were our bosses while at "work," and like any other duly constituted authority, they were to be treated with respect. This attitude did not just prevail in our family. It was the generally accepted view in the community.

From early on I remember hearing stories about the switch the high school principal kept in his office, and how he had used it on particularly recalcitrant boys. Mrs. Chase, who was the principal of the grade and junior high school did not keep a switch, but her stern lectures brought the naughtiest boys to tears, along with promises of improved behavior. One time a classmate, George Cleveland, got into some trouble in class and to escape the teacher's wrath ducked into the boys rest room, thinking that there he would be safe from the women teachers.

He was wrong. Mrs. Chase charged into the Rest Room after him and emerged with George squirming from the hold that Mrs. Chase had on his ear. George had a lengthy chat with Mrs. Chase and was devastated as he recalled the incident later that day. He said that Mrs. Chase's lecture had been bad enough, but he knew that he would receive a severe whipping at home when his folks learned of his troubles at school.

Thus it was in Plainview, to paraphrase Mrs. Clinton's book title, "Our entire village took responsibility for raising the child."

If a youngster got out of line at school, or downtown on the street, or in one of the stores, there was a good chance that his folks would hear about it by the time he got home. The error of his ways would be pointed out and, if necessary, appropriate punishment would be meted out. The prevailing attitude was that all authority figures, the teachers, the ministers, and most adults were always concerned with our well-being, and were always right.

Sometimes that viewpoint was wrong, horribly wrong.

One time there was a minister in Plainview, a bachelor, who had a problem. When junior high and high school girls walked past the rectory, he would stand in the window or doorway and expose himself to them. If adults, or boys were in the group he would never appear. His home was between downtown and the school and for a time there was quite a parade past his home during the noon hour. One day a group of four or five High School girls stopped at the bakery during the noon hour. They were making chitchat with the clerks when one of the girls glanced at the clock and said, "Come on girls, its almost time for the show to begin!" With that the girls giggled and hurried out the door for school -- past the minister's house, of course. The whole affair was a big joke for them.

Somehow the stories about the minister and his antics got back to Mrs. Chase, who was very upset. She called the girls together and verbally blistered them for spreading false rumors about people, saying that some girls were lying, and their lies might damage a good person's reputation and ruin his career. The girls said that she never considered the possibility that the stories might be true. She did not mention the minister's name or just which stories she was talking about, but in a small school that was the hot topic of conversation and everyone knew.

I don't know that Mrs. Chase ever did acknowledge that the minister did anything wrong, but when a ninth grade girl, Gladys Demmer, reported an incident to her dad, Wayne, Wayne went to the church council, demanding that they act upon the matter at once or he would resolve the situation -- with his hunting rifle.

They quickly made their investigation and the sick minister was quietly removed, reportedly to the State Hospital in Norfolk for evaluation and treatment. He did not return to Plainview.

Again -- during World War II, the longtime principal of our high school, B.E. Trump, resigned his position as Scoutmaster of Troop No. 146. He was replaced, as Scoutmaster, by another "Man of God" in town. B.E. always had a very relaxed manner in his leadership of the troop.

The new man had a more "hands on" approach to his office. As a Senior Patrol Leader in the troop I was called in (alone) for consultation about the direction the troop should take. As we were making our plans, in the basement of the church, the minister made advances on me that I knew were wrong, and were distinctly distasteful to me. As soon as I could do so I left the church basement, and scouting forever.

Though I told some of the other Scouts of the incident, I never did tell any other adults, besides my parents. My folks agreed with my decision to leave the troop, and the Scout movement seemed to get along very well without me.

However, that summer, at a Camporee, along the river near Fremont, another Scout in our troop had a similar problem with the Scoutmaster. Even though it was late at night Bob Prange and another boy left the camp, walked to Fremont and hitch hiked back to Plainview. When Bob's mother, a single mom, learned what had happened she was furious and demanded action from the church council.

She had the backing of some of the members, but not all. Some of the church leaders simply did not believe that the pastor could have been involved in such a scandal. The incident almost split the church in half. Poor Bob! I certainly believed him, yet the people who needed to believe him, and could have done something about the incident, did not.

Still, word must have gotten back to the district church leaders, as it wasn't long before that "Man of God" was quietly removed from his parish, from the Scout troop, and from Plainview. But he did stay in the ministry. Whether there were further incidents at his new post I do not know. So I guess I'm ambivalent. On the one hand I long to see the respect that we showed our elders in that time of the '30s and '40s, and I decry the tendency of today's youths to defy authority, and even bring down innocent persons on a whim.

On the other hand I can see that there is wickedness in the world and our children, and other vulnerable victims, need to be protected against that evil, which sometimes is manifested in important people in important positions. Perhaps the most we can hope for is to just walk that fine line between the two extremes.

We must: Be constantly vigilant, Be wise, and pray!

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: