“Some teachers genuinely seem to believe that the politically correct nonsense that the kids should not be punished. Others are simpleminded and have allowed themselves to be brainwashed until they believe this.Most,I suspect, are simply worn down by years watching standards slide while being told there was they could,or should, do about it.”

“PE teachers are usually very good with the kids because they don't muck about.”

“As with so many child-related problems, I blame the parents. Many, I’m afraid, are simply too lazy, too stupid or too uncaring to cook properly; it’s much easier to shovel sugary, salty ‘convenience food’ into your kids from an early age. Food habits are built early in life and a poor start is impossible, or at least extremely difficult, to correct, once an addiction has set in.”

“As he drones on, I examine one of the books. It has that pleasantsmell of newly-printed paper and, like all modern textbooks, is amasterpiece of political correctness. It is chock-full of brightpictures of children from ethnic minority backgrounds doing scienceexperiments and photographs of every kind of phenomena. Even theteachers are in wheelchairs. Any wrongdoing is illustrated by a whiteboy; here is one, foolishly sticking his fork into an electrical socketand being electrocuted. Here’s another, drinking from a test tube.What I cannot find, to my mounting horror as I flip through thebook, are any questions.Oh, bloody hell!Why are all modern textbooks in every subject full ofphotographs but devoid of questions?I also notice that, actually, it doesn’t quite seem to cover thesyllabus to which we have recently changed after the head ofdepartment assured us that it was ‘the easiest one yet’.”

“What role models do kids have nowadays?Some ridiculously overpaid footballer prone to childish tantrums?The morons in the Big Brother house,perhaps? Or maybe the various gun-toting rappers who regularly delight us with their expletive-ridden vocabulary and eccentric attitude to women?”

“Far too many incidents are simply brushed under the carpet, as it is much easier to hold meetings and presentations than support those teachers below them who are trying to improve discipline.”

“Let's get one thing straight:when gangs of youth throw stones at passing cars,shout abuse at innocent people going about their daily business or beat up random passers-by,they are not doing it 'because there is nothing to do' they are doing it because it's fun and in modern day, punishment-free Britain, there is no reason for them not to.”