Another School Year is Done

Well today is my kids' last day of school! DD just finished her final bit of Science for the year, and so she is done. DS gets out at noon today, and then he is done for the year! This brings up another question for me.

What has happened with the raising of children over the past couple of decades where the kids are no longer allowed to carry their backpacks/bookbags on the last day of school? I do not ever remember being so destructive as to consider taking eggs or shaving cream or anything else to school to play pranks on the last day of school, and I don't remember any of my friends doing it either...we weren't allowed to consider taking such items to school, unless they were to be used for an educational purpose. But these days on the last day of school, I won't let my children walk home alone, or play outside for the first hour or so after school lets out, because although the kids can't take this stuff to school, they tend to hide it around the neighborhood to use after school.

DD says that there are kids who want to celebrate being out of school by vandalizing. What happened to just being loud and obnoxious, in a non-destructive way? Why have parents allowed their children to act in this manner in the first place. I know that if I had tried any of the stunts I have seen the past few years, my bottom would have been so sore I could not sit for a week. Which brings me to another issue.

Parents are so concerned about hurting the child, or damaging their psyche, that they do not spank their children in a loving way anymore. As a matter of fact, no matter how you spank a child today it is considered child abuse! Some children learn best through their bottom ends. I have one like that, I have another to whom that type of punishment does not work, and he needs a different technique, which assists much better in behavior modification. However, I know that if either one of my children ever attempted the vandalism activities that have caused schools to banish back packs on the last day of school, neither of them would see the light of day, aside from through the windows of their bedrooms for quite awhile!

I am just disgusted that the school is having to enforce this ridiculous procedure, even though the last day of school is a total joke to begin with, and I would have no problem with my children skipping the last week every year! All learning actually stopped sometime last week in ny DS's class, so why didn't school just end at that point? I don't see any reason for having a 4 day week of parties and fluff just to meet the state mandated number of school days. THe state mandates the number of school days, but does not mandate enough curriculum to fill them. Whats wrong with that picture?

OK I've ranted on about this long enough! What do you all think?