Thomas Sowell - Tough Teachers

Tough teachers have become too politically incorrect for government schools. One more reason to empower parents with educational vouchers. More videos and information on issues of liberty is available at www.LibertyPen.com

[@andrewpearson1903]

"The net result is that Johnny can't read and can't think, but often has the presumptuousness that deep thinkers call 'maturity.' " Ladies and gentlemen, I've been nailed.

[@kirkbowyer3249]

BETTER TO KNOW ONES WEAKNESSES THAN TO LIVE IN ARROGANT IGNORANCE

[@richliebman958]

Muhammed Ali is NOT the greatest...Thomas Sowell IS. With his genius at communicating difficult concepts to the general population as well as his unparalleled insights into the very heart of issues, this man is a GIANT❗️ Thank you for enriching us all 👍

[@augustasongs1]

@frootjooce Do you know a country better if so let me know maybe we should go there,

[@mehleenjai9518]

Why can't they both be great? Ali remains an inspiration. A man who had the courage to stand up for what he believed, despite the savere repercussions. He was charismatic and elegant in his craft. So no need for divisive rhetorics. They're both LEGENDS.

[@LS-td3no]

@@mehleenjai9518 I agree...Mohamed Ali was great because he had to live up to his pompousness. He set the bar high for himself, bragged how great he was, and pushed for it in the ring. He did become the best in one sport. It took a lot of how him too. He ended up paying the price. I don' have a problem for him being against the war. It was a very muddled, confusing time for that war.

[@mehleenjai9518]

@@LS-td3no I agree with most of what you’re saying... I guess my point is we should all be measured in both our criticisms and our praises. Ali was one of the greatest man to ever walk this earth, he was a fascinating individual who continues to inspire new generations. When people speak about boxing, and people with strong characters, Ali will always be highlighted. We don’t all have to love him but we must respect his accomplishments.

[@levi5459]

mehleenjai9518: How is saying that somebody isn’t the greatest of all time implying in anyway that they weren’t still great? How is it being divisive?? Good grief.. I’ll bet when you see somebody get a little bit smaller scoop of ice cream on their ice cream cone then the next guy in line you just drop to your knees and weep.. lol

[@DIVAD291]

i still remember the first time i realised that tough teachers were amazing. i had less than 30% in math class and because of that i had to go to summer school. it was only 2 weeks but he literally had half of the students go complain at the first break we had from class. after the first week we had literally covered everything we were supposed to and we were moving on to next years content "for fun", i hated him with a passion to the point that i actually considered punching him but i had more than a 90% average on a class that i failed miserably before. anyways in the second week i started hating him less and less until the point where i started actually liking him. to this day this guy is the best teacher i ever had.

[@RM-fs8ub]

Sounds like a teacher I once had. Only now, looking back do I realise how much I needed someone who would treat me with firmness and with a particular toughness to get me thru because she believed in me.

[@LS-td3no]

@@RM-fs8ub Yep. I love these stories...

[@dennisbrown4216]

I has a similar teacher that would just throw you out and did not give a bit of slack for asking for extensions or how to make up work. If you interrupted him or tried to make the class lose focus instant kick out. Though he was a real asshole but he would serve detentions and anyone who could solve a obscure riddle he would let us go 10 minutes early. But looking back and seeing what adult life is. When you have a job or a project and money is on the line no one wants excuses or delays. You wil be replaced and deadlines do matter. Now looking back that kind of teacher you only like when you become their age and understand that not making deadlines have real life consequences. More importantly that better to learn lessons of that nature when you are in your teens that you can bounce back from then in your 30s and make a life changing career killing mistake.

[@mholden02]

My third grade teacher was named Mr. Grace. He was a Christian Brother and what you would call "Old School." He carried in his brief case a black strap and if any student would get out of line he would strap their hand in front of the class - but he never once raised his voice to anyone. His strap was infamous. Everyone knew not be a clown in his class. He demanded excellence - even in the third grade. He would teach both third grade and fourth grade curriculum in a single year. He always dressed in black pants a white short sleeved shirt and tie - every day. Of all my teachers through school he's the only one I admired - even to this day. He wouldn't be allowed to teach this day in age - his style to traditional and strict. And yet he's the only one I felt affinity towards. He was like a second father. Deeply moral and responsible. I respected this man of deep character and his professionalism in teaching. It's sad what a clown show schools have become. And I often wonder what my life would be like if ALL my teachers would have been like this man.

[@millerforester3184]

Right!

[@patrickryan1515]

Re: "It's sad what a clown show schools have become. " There's currently a cable sitcom that glorifies idiots teaching our children. The show is not funny and makes me wonder if it isn't by design put on the air to further demoralize our youth (i.e., that it isn't part of a socialist agenda). GOD help this world - Please.

[@monsterhunter445]

So we should hit children because by golly I was hit in school.. children are human beings and person's just as much as an adult. They may not know as much as an adult. But I believe children should not be coerced like that unless you want a society of sheep. Plus in my case it would just make me more rebellious. There is a reason why whipping blacks during slavery didn't just make them want to be slaves sure it probably put a few of them in fear but as more and more grew angry from it. Same could apply to any context.

[@mholden02]

@@monsterhunter445 No, I wasn't advocating hitting children. I think you missed the point.

[@wanlitan7406]

@@monsterhunter445 Sure, get rid of whipping, but still, as Matthew said, teachers should be strict and tough.

[@MultiAlanR]

We had a teacher in secondary school that a lot of my friends hated. She was tough, but she spent her lunch times doing extra work for students that wanted it. The people I knew that hated her actually didn't like the fact that she had standards. She taught English and History, two subjects I love today. She was exactly the teacher i needed.

[@lukez4133]

Ms. Hannah?

[@mattheweaton1420]

My first semester of college, I took a physics course from a demanding professor. 30% of the class failed, including me, and most of the rest didn't do much better. I retook the course, got an A, and went on to graduate with a 3.6 GPA. Tough teaching brings out the best in students. If you are comfortable, then you aren't growing as a person.

[@skipperx5116]

You are absolutely correct. High school math came easy for me, too easy. I didn't have to study much. When I got to college, my study habits caused me to fail differential calculus ( the only F I ever received) I was an engineering major and failing math is unforgivable in the school of engineering

[@geraldpolmateer3255]

When I taught high school the state of CA adopted the program I developed in its entirety. I had gone to one of the top schools in the world which was founded by a man who had never been to college. I developed my program after that school, a vocational school in the U.S., and some schools in Finland. The school I taught at had a 2/3 dropout rate when I came. I can think of only two students who dropped out of school during my time of teaching. My students won every competition they entered. Today the graduation rate is 11% above the national average. I was noted as one of those tough teachers. After the first year of teaching it was like feeding corn to the chickens. The biggest problem I had was with parents who complained that I made my students work too hard but I never heard that from students. About 90% of my students were born in Mexico.

[@richarddavis1163]

Good for you and those students. We need people like you desperately. I have a 6th grade education, but I have always thought critically and that one trait saved me from the need for a public school education in the first place. No formal education to speak of, yet I tested at an eighth year college vocabulary level at the age if eighteen. I believe that this is the direct result of not attending any school after the age of ten and the desire to know the facts about a thing, and not what can be said about the thing.

[@dumyjobby]

thank you very much for your service. we need more than ever teacher like you. thank you again. i remember my tough teachers with so much appreciation now that i understand what positive influence they have been for me and i'm sure your students do the same

[@trees915]

I hope you didn't teach writing!

[@ajc5479]

You didn't explain how you were a "tough" teacher. BTW, when you heard complaints from the parents, you were actually hearing from the pupils..... "People who are able to do something well can do that thing for a living, while people who are not able to do anything that well make a living by teaching."

[@agoniaXdunya]

@@ajc5479 do you intend to insult all teachers?

[@DieFlabbergast]

I'll never forget Miss Schmeltzer, who was our teacher in the B class in the last year of Primary School in a small town in Lancashire, England. This was in the days of the old 11-Plus exam, when pupils were separated into the top one-third of academically promising children, who would go on to grammar school, and the bottom two-thirds of less-promising pupils, who would go to a so-called "secondary modern" (an odd name, but there you are) school. Miss Schmeltzer was an exchange teacher from Germany, and I would say she was a graduate of the General Rommel School of Teaching, which probably makes the General Patton school look like wimps. She put the fear of God into us, but by God she got results! Ninety percent of the class that year passed the 11-plus exam, as opposed to the usual level of around 30% (this was the B Form, remember, not the swots in the A Form). Miss Schmeltzer will be long gone now, but if there is an afterlife, I'd like to thank her for what she did.

[@barrowmeoct04]

Tough teachers anecdote: My siblings and I, born in the UK, were taken to Guyana (on separate occasions) when we were very little. Very tough disciplinary school system over there at the time during the 70's. An example was that I received a caning in front of the class for misbehaviour. The most rebellious students would receive a caning on Monday mornings during assembly in front of the whole school. By today's standards that was very harsh. Anyway I was only 7 when we returned to the UK. But two of my older siblings went straight to the top of their English and Math classes in their respective schools here in the UK, and were outperforming most students in the other subjects. I even experienced the difference in discipline between two schools I attended. The first school, from ages 11 to 13 was quite discipline focused, and I did really well in that school. The last school I attended from ages 14-16, you could get away with murder. By the time final exams came, I just didn't care, and failed all exams. Discipline matters. By the time I was in those latter years, parents had divorced so I guess that complicated matters further. Mother was too busy working to be able to focus on ensuring I kept up, so I fell through the cracks and the lack of school discipline made it all the more easy to just drop off the edge.

[@carlonevs2137]

ditto.

[@ZHSamuels]

Thomas Sowell is a genius.

[@millerforester3184]

In 1957, when I went to High School, I took Algebra 1. One day I didn't know my homework lesson, and my teacher let me have it in front of the entire class (they were probably wondering if they were next). I was embarrassed and mortified. I vowed that she would not do that to me again, so I made nothing but As in 2 years of Algebra, and 2 years of Geometry. I loved doing something that I could prove was right. That has served me well. She is the only teacher who I asked to sign my Annuals. Her name was Grace Alton.

[@gerryjames9720]

Forgive my weakness, but I find myself moved to despair by this. I pray, I go to work (and work with this generation), I come home to people who believe that this prevailing culture is just fine, and I go to bed hoping that my existence somehow made a difference. And as I see my mortality approaching (I’m 60 years old), I wonder if I’ll leave behind a world that is better for my having been here. I thank God for the strength of character of men like Thomas Sewell (and so many others) who are strong when I feel so weak. Oops, sorry, Thomas Sowell. The madness here started and I hit send without first following up on the wretched spell check.

[@Blaze936]

It would be nice for every aspiring teacher to watch this short video before landing their first job.

[@allchemmolebus3196]

I understand your point, but if a teacher today did any of this they'd be fired.

[@politicallycorrectredskin796]

Not possible until political action is taken. Most or all public schools these days have at least one of what I can only describe as a Marxist PO that the entire staff is terrified of. Step out of line even slightly and you'll probably be fired for not conforming to all the political agendas. I was a teacher for precisely two months as a naive, young man. I had this confused notion that schools should be about teaching the kids how to think. But of course the idea is to teach them what to think these days, not how to think. It's indoctrination, not education. So, silly me, I became upset by this arrangement and complained about it to the principal, who happened to be married to the PO. I got looks from the pair of them that would have churned a bucket of milk, all the other teachers then stopped talking to me as if on some magical cue and I was fired shortly after. That's the reality of teaching now. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody. You will not get away with discipline, reason or even being subject-oriented. You will carry out your billion globalist days of worship of various kinds. You will preach about how anything originating in Europe is bad and how all the brown people are the innocent victims of that evil. You will preach socialism, intersectionalism and feminism and no critical thinking or questions will be allowed, from either your students or from you. I have never been more relieved to be fired.

[@alexhu7939]

Vincent Cuttolo PO = political officer?

[@davidjohnsen3245]

It seems to me that it's all about balance. If you work someone too hard and are too hard on them then they will just burn out, but if you're too easy on someone then you're not helping them to better themselves. You know, be strict and hard on them but also be kind and supportive.

[@politicallycorrectredskin796]

True, but most people are also capable of a lot more than is generally asked of them. It is not wrong to push people a little. From my experiences working in mental health, I have decided that what the rules are is much less important than those rules being rigorously enforced. They should be fair, obviously, but the worst thing is a rule not everyone follows the same way. Children are very acute when it comes to instances of injustice in their environment. If they start viewing you or their regime as hypocritical, you've lost them. Let's take smacking children on the fingers with a cane. As long as all the children know exactly why it happens and how long it will last, it is not harmful, even if it hurts. It is only harmful when taken to extremes or is enforced unevenly. Even if viewed as "abusive", a rule like that actually makes children feel safer as long as it is predictable. It's the same way with the mentally impaired and dogs. Organisms all tend to learn the same basic way, and discipline definitely has its place in that. Once burnt, twice shy and all that. All things children need to learn while small. So I think it is much better with a simple, strict system enforced fairly than a lax, more complex system enforced arbitrarily. If you confuse children you've also lost them. Usually for good.

[@xchen3079]

A child won't burn out. And now the problem is far too soft. When it is close to middle, then let's talk about balance.

[@BROKEPINKY]

THANK YOU, THOMAS SOWELL!!! THANK YOU!!!

[@batman421]

I too had a teacher that looked me in the eye and caused a chill to go down my spine by her words. It woke me up and sent me on a path of great success. I will forever be indebted to her for her honesty and hold a loving memory in my heart.

[@jas9239]

Well said..when I was in school, my grades weren’t just to please my parents and myself, they were also to please my teachers and show them the respect they deserved by putting in the effort required for their classes

[@skipperx5116]

Thomas Sowells grasp on reality goes far beyond anything I have ever imagined. I wish I knew about him when I was going to school.

[@chicagorhtours]

I remember this Thomas Sowell essay about "tough teachers" - I was a public school teacher for 2 years in Brooklyn NYC in the mid 1980s. I like to think I as a pretty touch teacher, but times had indeed changed. It was very, very hard for me to maintain discipline - our math workshop with 2 teachers and an assistant worked OK, not bad, but the traditional teacher standing up at the Blackboard with 20-30 twelve to thirteen year old boys and girls really bothering each other (that's if all the student came) it was usually chaos - like Welcome Back Kotter, but not as funny. My students got sugared up and were very hyper - our students didn't get formal gym class - the few great basketball players were on a team, the regular student just go a recess that was like prison in "The Yard". I drove today outside my Hyde Park U Chicago neighborhood, the same one where the Great Thomas Sowell learned a lot of his Chicago School of Economics and I drove by some Chicago Public Schools that were called "The Worst in the Nation" in early 1980s by Reagan's Secretary of Education William Bennett. Our current BLM Mayor was a Chicago Teachers Union lobbyist, I think he taught public school for 2 years at most, he just passed all his students whether they did any work or learned anything at all, not like Thomas Sowell's tough teacher Mrs. Simon. These students I saw today looked terrible, no dress code, hair very wild, they seemed not to have any purpose or direction. Our Chicago Public Schools reactive over 8 billion a year, translates in to > $25,000 per student. There are a few high performing elite public schools - for families that care and get involved. The rest.... Seems like educational meltdown, babysitting. The Chicago Teachers Union, Illinois teachers Unions have pretty much killed all school choice, charter schools etc. I'd like to get involved on some level as maybe a tutor - I have elite BA in History/economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Stern New York University then rated the #1 MBA program in the USA, I taught business writing, business public speaking to MBA students - I was a good teacher, but I don't have a teacher's certification to teach in a Chicago public school or Catholic School. Sigh. Our civilization isn't looking very good outside my window here in Hyde Park S Side of Chicago by the University of Chicago. Dr. Thomas Sowell and his followers, do you have any contacts here in the U Chicago area that helped make this great man Dr. Thomas Sowell. Regards J Ellis Left Behind in Chicago

[@the8u9]

My fourth grade teacher Mr. Bales was famous in the school as the scariest man on campus. He was extremely strict, highly regimented, gave me my first ever F in my entire life and taught me the most important lesson I have ever learned. To read directions. I failed that test because I didn't carefully read the directions and I never forgot that lesson from that day forward. I was his top student but he still chewed me out, punished me the same as everyone else and instead of resenting him for it, I respected him and became a better human being. He will forever be one of the two teachers that I will never forget until I die.

[@sv-xi6oq]

“Even the sweetest and most sanctimonious talk only conceals an unnecessary cruelty that will undermine him for years afterward.” Perfect.

[@tommythomason6187]

That was articulated so well. Sometimes, growing up, the parents, teachers, or coaches that intimidated you and made you mad, made you a heck of a lot better. At my high school, back in the early 1970s, we feared those coaches. They were VERY tough on us at foitball practice but they toughened us up, physically, emotionally, and mentally. We learned to not quit, but to gut it up when things get rough. We learned to come back from losses, to play hurt, to defeat adversity. We weren't a good football team, but there never was a time we took the field that we thought we were going to lose a game. And, to a man, the men that played on that high school team, and often resented those coaches back then, would give anything to shake those coaches' hands today. Mentors like that push us to the point that we learn we are made of tougher, better stuff than we thought we were. It wasn't about football, in retrospect, these were Life Lessons taking place on that field on those hot afternoons in 1972/73.

[@RickyJr46]

Precious gems of truth by Dr. Sowell, clear and without flaws. They will stand the test of time. Mr. Selmer was my 9th grade English teacher at Herbert Hoover Junior High in San Francisco. He was an old fashioned disciplinarian in a suit and tie, very out of vogue by 1971, and at first most of us hated him. But by semester's end, our opinions had changed entirely. We grew to love him! Mr. Selmer later said his strictness was equipping us for success in life. His spelling tests were fearsome: 50 words, to be written in ink. Each must be written correctly the first time, no write-overs. Dot the "i", cross the "t", use the proper case of each letter. It had to be perfect. No exceptions. His grading system? None wrong was an A, one wrong a B, two a C, three a D, miss four or more an F. Enough said! Thank you Mr. Selmer for being a great teacher!

[@billmelater6470]

My favorite teacher of all time was my Western Civ teacher during my Freshman year of High School. He was an older guy but he had plenty of energy and passion. He was a very funny guy and very engaging but damn it, you knew the line in his class and you did. not. cross. it. He made that clear in the first 5 minutes of class and if you didn't care, he didn't care. There was no such thing as late work. You had your due dates, you needed nothing else. He kept an old metal trash can specifically to have something to walk by and drop from chest height next to the desks of sleeping students. Wouldn't skip a beat in his lecture. Just kept talking, walked to the back and WHAM! scared the piss out of the student then only took a moment to ask them to put it back in the corner as he continued on.

In high school, I had one teacher in physics and another in chemistry. The classrooms where located right next to each other. When my class change subject from chemistry to physics, it also changed from A to C students. In some classes, the students were not much evolved from kindergarten. The difference? The chemistry teacher was a former major in the Swedish army...

[@hag12100]

As I'm progressing through college I had to deal with some poor teachers, great teachers, and tough teachers. I'm still in college. The bottom line is that students have to motivate themselves to get to and find ways of dealing with class.

[@kofiofosu9051]

These teachings by TS are the most valuable I get from any living thinker. I’m speechless. Just when I think I’m losing my mind and that my disdain of current madness is my own character deficit, Dr. Sowell comes to the rescue.

[@georgecortes197]

Listening to this essay reminds me of a high school teacher who really put me in my place. That one moment of embarrassment had saved me from a dark road and I attribute most of my success towards it. We need tougher teachers not the opposite.

[@sneakertoes1]

I always wanted my students to say of me, “she was tough, but she was fair.”

[@1969cmp]

One of the best teachers I had smacked me on the behind on two separate occasions and it cured me of a particular habit that was a form of bullying. He also understood my learning difficulties but he knew I had a strength and adopted a subject for the whole class, geography. It was the only subject in primary school that I excelled.

[@jensen5668]

After quite some time of reading his material, watching his videos, and just getting a general idea of who he is, what his ideologies are not to mention his incredible intellectual abilities. If nothing else I want to say this man is on top of his game! Thomas Sowell has more to offer this world then it's ready to take on! LolI I'd like to say thank you for all that he has, is, and continues to contribute! I truly feel fortunate to have access to his work!

[@yamahaU3]

“You can be any colour of the rainbow and she would still give you hell." LOL

[@Hermetic_]

@3:16: "Dedicated people have not fanished from the human race, but..." As cliche as my comment may sound this hits me more than anything else. My experience is that the "man of the mind" as described in Atlas Shrugged has been slowly disappearing because he is not wanted in our society. After listening to this, seems reasonable to argue that he has disappeared because good teachers have disappeared. What has happened? Who's John Galt?

[@pedromontilva9975]

The difficulties makes you strong

[@TheSpiritOfTheTimes]

The emphasis in education is obviously not about the sternness/permissiveness debate, but about encouragement. A great teacher is someone who gets the child to himself make the realization that he wants to pursue knowledge and understanding.

[@notjasonbrynn]

I've always found that my best teachers are nice people. Developing a relationship with your teacher that you respect helps you to learn. You need empathy and toughness. One without the other doesn't work. Stop trying to polarise people

[@thelaw3536]

You may be able to optimize teaching with empathy, however you will not get anywhere by not being tough. At that point you rely on the students natural talent and character; something poorly lacking in public schools.

[@Gweidemann]

Thank you so much for this inspirational and illuminating commentary and video. I'm 68 and old enough to remember when Teachers taught we students prayer and the Bible in the Public Educational system. We also were taught the recite the Pledge of Allegiance "...to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, for one nation under God, indivisible, for liberty and justice for all." • After prayer and the Bible were allowed to be banned by the unelected minority rule, in '62/'63 with the taxpayer's very unfortunately going along with such treason as this, what should now be required reading for all Americans • "America:To Pray or Not to Pray" by David Barton reveals the actual consequences of such treachery, with verifiable historical facts via numerous graphs and reliable data. If only Americans weren't so despicably ignorant, and gutlessly complacent in the face of such insidious brainwashing and unholy lies.

[@albertthewriter7558]

God bless you

[@heyheyhe0011]

USA, you've become too much of a poosie. taking a look back teachers who made it tough on you, were the one you thank now.

[@dfrost3417]

heyheyhe0011 ok MR Korea

[@gregflores8959]

heyheyhe0011 So true, so very true! My once great nation will soon change its name to The United Pussies of Vagina Land, sorry but the wimps will outbreed the tough,..and we will be conquered, probably without a fight too.

[@CadillacJak]

leftists are destroying America

[@trees915]

@@gregflores8959 The USA has been invaded for decades by a third world mentality and a bunch of sociopaths entering its southern borders! They are destroying everything in their path with the support of those "Pussies!"

[@downeybill]

RIGHT ON!

[@davidking4779]

Tough love is in short supply today and greatly undervalued.

[@p.g.b.5324]

EXCELENTE! Gracias!! We have the somes problems in Uruguay. This is the "new normality" in this Postmodernism era. Thanks for this videos.

[@markmiller3713]

There's a difference of course between a teacher/professor who is "tough', and one who is an asshole or a bitch. I've had good teachers/professors and mediocre teachers/professors. The good teachers/professors are the ones who who have clear expectations of themselves and their students, who are consistent, fair, know their material, can communicate it well, and carry through with consequences, but at the same time are cordial, courteous, and uplifting. One of my favorite professors I had as an undergraduate was an economics professor who upon giving us a term paper assignment said, "All papers are due to me by [whatever date and time]. Papers submitted after that time will be cheerfully accepted, and immediately thrown in the garbage." She was tough, but fair. Students who are simply "passed along" for the sake of pleasing useless parents aren't being helped at all.

[@akeithing1841]

and here we are. we shall do something now

[@anthonydecarvalho652]

Exactly! This is why i took early retirement from coaching and teaching.

[@Darrell1019]

Amen and thank you for posting!

[@anonymissdeb]

Brilliant. True. And while it is not necessary to have it "tough" to propel a person, what is great about Mr. Sowell is the fact that he considers the FACTS and imparts them in a wonderfully cohesive way that makes a person remember how to think for themselves again. And really, thinking for oneself can be an education in itself, maybe that's his point.

[@garylangley4502]

I was a high school math teacher in an alternative school. These kids had problems and were behind on their classes. They would say that they couldn't solve a problem, and expect me to solve it for them. I would have them open their notebook and turn to the lesson. I would then ask, "What's the first step?" and go through the solution with them. One thing I would not do is let them give up on themselves. It worked.

[@richarddavis1163]

All points well expressed. I wish that someone had taught Patton that the Sherman tank was completely wrong for the task ahead and that upon realizing his error, that he had made arrangements for tanks suitable for the effort. This would have saved many lives. Bad students make for bad teachers.

[@StarWarsomania]

Richard Davis And did anybody know in time to design, produce, and ship across an ocean a completely different line of tanks? Or was this something that only became apparent AFTER we started engaging German troops?

[@angrypredator2704]

My middle school English and Social Studies teacher was a retired Army Major and ex-Vietnam Veteran... nobody screwed around his class!

[@grantstevensbreak]

Education is not a right. Other than that, this is brilliant!

[@JohnS-gf4sz]

My first grade teacher was that for me. Thank u mr. m

[@IukaOldFarts]

Patton said we fought the wrong enemy in WWII.

[@brendandubalos2149]

He was right. Should have let Britain and Germany fight it out and let Stalin and Japan clean up the CCP.

[@IukaOldFarts]

@@brendandubalos2149 he was referring to the USSR, whom we supported via lend lease and within years became a far greater enemy than the German kinsmen

[@brendandubalos2149]

@@IukaOldFarts I know. Hitler and the Nazis were controlled opposition.

[@IukaOldFarts]

@@brendandubalos2149 Patton thought no such thing.

[@brendandubalos2149]

@@IukaOldFarts I know, I'm just pointing it out. The Nazis were socialists and expansionists as well.

[@adamesd3699]

Not necessarily. It depends on multiple factors.

[@MrLaughingHeart]

I have done nothing productive in a stress-less environment.

[@karasu-chan]

god bless ya Mr. Sowell!

[@williamhagen2792]

Right again.

[@rogeralsop3479]

Most of my teachers had been in the Forces - they were pretty tough.

[@phukit5456]

The real problem is Lawyers. CASE CLOSED!!

[@christopherboatmun8262]

When I first became a teacher, I wanted my young students to like me, so I was nice and worthless and got walked on. It did not take long to realize how selfish my behavior was, and that I needed to become a tough effective teacher. Eventually, I came to feel comfortable with and believe in my authority. When I learned how to toughen up and demand order, I was able to teach effectively, and a lot of the kids liked me.

[@TheLoobis]

This is such a good video.

[@vagabond197979]

Hands down I have learned the most from my "toughest" teachers. I have seen one of my best professors, who challenged her students, have her contract not renewed because lazy students complained too much to their mommies and daddies. It pisses me off to this day.

[@MrUndersolo]

And this is why I kick ass and tell my college students that they are not my friends when they think they deserve a passing grade on mediocre work and show poor etiquette.

[@damelalana]

I’m 141,500 on the views counter : )) Xx. ‘Words of care stings the ear’ the same reason good medicine is consistently bitter. Xx

[@SY-jq4yw]

Teachers without a sense of responsibility toward students belong to the union for their selfish laziness and comforts. It is not a job, it is a commitment for the future of our society and nation.

[@jamesjoseph1249]

It's the same with parents. A parent's job is to raise an adult...not a child. This might mean that a child "hates you", but the adult will be equipped for success because you prepared him.

[@mrniceguy7168]

Jaime Escalante, who taught his Mexican American students so well that it was presumed they were cheating on exams, also faced the same issues with teachers unions for being the first to arrive and the last to leave.

[@kayakmanonthego]

Now here is a man who knows how to tell the bloody truth.

[@kingbenjamin22]

Absolutely brilliant!

[@countchoc90]

how can people dislike any of these videos?

[@michaelcasey5155]

Sowell and Williams...both great men.

[@josephmcdonald9933]

I had a ton of tough teachers, thank God.

[@brianrajala7671]

Right on!

[@DamianFinch12]

Sadly, the school that Marva Collins founder, that Dr. Sowell is referring to in his article, has since closed down due to a lack of fiances and enrollments.

[@superdeluxesmell]

What about the minor fact that teachers were kicking the lard out of students for hundreds of years and most of those students never achieved anything of note in their lives. Beware the nostalgia of self indulgent old men.

[@Coffeeandasmoke]

Outstanding.

[@weav8060]

awesome, thanks

[@loszhor]

Having at least one teacher that is tough is essential. They don't have to be abrasive but at least not let you get away with crap or excuses. I knew the teachers that would give me the third degree just didn't want me to end up a bum. The shame is that when I got to college some professors think being abrasive can make up for mediocre teaching. :/

[@dianeroberts8459]

Love a hole lot of Thomas Sowell❤

[@christophernavarro6121]

Well said.

[@stumac869]

Children attending public school need at least one exceptional teacher to achieve anything later in life, I had two, one in maths and physics. Having flunked in school I had to reeducate myself in my early twenties and I excelled in maths and physics and now hold a degree in Engineering. I've since achieved far better than average in both career and earnings and I put it all down to those two teachers without whom I would have probably failed in life. The real advantage of private education in my opinion is that you are far more likely to be taught by quality teacher(s). The teachers are of a quality because of choice and the free market, if they produce poor results then they wouldn't be in the job for long as nobody would pay for their service. School / teaching is a service like any other and without competition or proper oversight (public system) it will produce mediocre or poor results. Public schools need to adopt the same approach as private but won't because it's not in the interest of the teachers or the bodies that fund them. They simply want to protect their own interest and failing schools generally means more money for them so why bother to improve. I would argue that public schools in present form (USA/UK) artificially keep the quality of teaching / education low due to the lack of competition. However nothing will change until individual parents have the right to choose what's best for little Johnny but that will be fought vigorously by the education establishment because it's not in their interest.

[@fzqlcs]

@lysol5555 Life itself is a tough teacher. The truth is often tough to hear. The key is not to discourage toughness but prepare children to cope with it. Self-esteem is a result of achievement, it is not a commodity that can be purchased or bestowed. It is not teaching when the truth is held hostage to spare potentially diminished self-esteem. A true teacher is required to be tough.

[@franzimmerman2174]

even parents can get in trouble today if they try to be tough and teachers have no chance

[@phantomcharger]

Thanks for posting this. I can tell you, I wish more teachers had pushed, but they just collect their pay and “get by” Teaching what’s “on the test” should be considered poor teaching. And self serving at the cost of the kids education at best.

[@davidking4779]

Every horse doesn't run faster under the whip, but most do.

[@deansapp4635]

My 4th grade teacher Mr Murray would throw a chalk board eraser at you if you screwed up. He never missed . He was black and i and white. One of my best teachers ever. This was 1970

[@Salmoncrusher]

Sowell is probably the greatest thinker of our time. Despite standing in the shadow of Friedman, Sowell is much more profound and prolific, and also much less ideological.

[@ruthgonzalez1991]

He is point on. Love this.

[@megadrummer2]

Once again Mr. Sowell is right on the mark. Thank you sir, for your gracious and inspiring thoughts on so many topics. Now as for the dumbells that can't seem to comment inteligently on a video clip, what is wrong with you? You are serving no purpose whatsoever by talking about things that have nothing to do with the video. You want to talk about Arabs? Go to an Arab video, ok? Again, what is wrong with you?

[@fafalino]

Powerful 👏

[@satellite964]

Asian and Indian teachers disciplines their students properly, and we are glad.

[@thomashuffcutt9414]

Nice Bonobos intro. The teachers of today are soft and gentle. Is it better?

[@daPlumber702]

Strict and good are not the same thing, though strict may be a part of being good or not.

[@ruthlessreid9172]

Mr. Greene was my favorite didn't bow to the norms. Gentlemen had to stand by their desk until last lady left room.

[@whyey]

Not today! But must be!!!

[@kmg501]

Oh why oh why couldn't we have a man like Thomas Sowell for our president. *sigh*

[@danieljakubik3428]

Excellent!

[@semperintrepidus16]

My best HS teachers were my JROTC instructors, both retired elite military veterans, a LTC from the 101st Airborne Division and a Special Forces Master Sergeant. These men treated their students not as entitled children, but as entry-level future leaders. They were tough.

[@MatthewCVR]

Now days teachers pick and choose who they discipline. They don't focus on academics only the popularity of students.

[@r.l.2517]

The word "ghetto" kills me; I guess the word neighborhood didn't exist in that neighborhood.