The Shredding of Tradition

[Eric Cheung]

Agreed, most of these qualify as common courtesy. And anything that keeps children from behaving like wild animals in public is a good thing.

Not if it involves abusive behavior. Many of these situations could be avoided if parents knew what were age-appropriate venues for their children. Also, firm but fair boundries that respect the intelligence of the kids while also explaining proportional consequences for misbehavior (that never involve hitting or verbal abuse) are good too.

But I've never understood the whole 'Suicide is a crime with failed suicides liable to be punished by the law' thing. WTF is that supposed to accomplish?

I agree. People should have the right to live or die the way they wish.

 

[Miss Chicken]

A couple of things from the list i really object to are

A child born out of wedlock is a bastard and despised as a product of sin. (an innocent child should be hated because of the behaviour of parents which is something the child had no control over?)

and

Matters between family members are domestic disputes and are not the concern of the law. (There are many times when domestic disputes should become the comncern of the law)

 

[trekkiedane]

* Housework is the responsibility of the female members of the family, and is not a concern for the adult males.
Partly still in use -but then the males of the same household are supposed to do all the outdoors jobs; mowing the lawn, bike- and car-repair painting (and other DIY-jobs in- as well as out-doors)
* Each family has a doctor who has long experience of the family and visits when his patient feels too ill to attend surgery.
It happens.
* A family consists of two parents and children.
So fourties
* Wives promise to obey husbands as part of their marriage vows.
I havent herd this outside of Hollywood films -ever!
* A child born out of wedlock is a bastard and despised as a product of sin. With the cost of raising the child to be born by the identified father, or else the mother.
Laws are in place to make sure the absent parent pays their dues -even if they don't actually help raise the child and their support is tax-deductible
* Pregnant women attempt to disguise their condition.
The opposite is true.
* The presumption that words that refer only to the male sex may include both sexes e.g. "No man is an island".
Where noone has gone before… - Persoonhood has never before herd any so beautiful update to a televised meme!
* A minute's silence has become a moment's silence.
Apparrently a minute is too long for the current lot of people. The horror of not having anything 'on air' for a full sixty seconds apparently is just too much for the broadcasters these days.
* Men are expected to wear a neck-tie at the office.
Again: so fourties
* Homosexuality is an illegal and despised activity.
I know more married gay people than single ones. -Heck, I know more married gay people than married straight people.
* Nudity is forbidden in the media and in public areas.
Media and beaches are exempt.

The rest have gone the way of the Dodo -and good riddance to most of 'em, I say!

Come to think of it: I believe my very first teacher was a Mrs. something-or-other, but she was the very last of her kind. (This was back in '72 I think)

Now, what exactly was the question?

 

[Canadave]

Come to think of it: I believe my very first teacher was a Mrs. something-or-other, but she was the very last of her kind. (This was back in '72 I think)

How did you address teachers, then?

 

[trekkiedane]

Come to think of it: I believe my very first teacher was a Mrs. something-or-other, but she was the very last of her kind. (This was back in '72 I think)

How did you address teachers, then?

By their names: Arne (math), Lisbet (Danish), Kirsten (English)…

I didn't read the whole of the thread before posting, but I have now and this is what struck my mind in the thread:

But man, I'm so glad to see most of these traditions go away. Most of the ones listed revolve around oppression based on gender, class, or age.

Indeed, a public servant is just that: a servant! -why should I even contemplate addressing them with such quaint terms as Sir or Madam?

I open doors for both women and men especially if they are carrying something or pushing a pram.

Of course, And I help 'little old ladies' (h8 the term, but in lack of anything more appropriate…) with their luggage, I hold the door to let people in -When my business is done there's absolutely no reason to stop people from doing theirs! -although a public 'rest room' usually is so small that the reverse is the better way to go.

 

[Canadave]

Come to think of it: I believe my very first teacher was a Mrs. something-or-other, but she was the very last of her kind. (This was back in '72 I think)

How did you address teachers, then?

By their names: Arne (math), Lisbet (Danish), Kirsten (English)…

Ah, that just seems odd to me. We always addressed our teachers as Mr.\Mrs.\Miss [Lastname]. About the most casual you'd usually get is calling them by their last initial; my grade four teacher was Mrs. T., for example.

 

[trekkiedane]

Teachers are supposed to be this mix of a parent (the educator) and a friend (the one that makes you understand what you are taught), so putting them on a pedestal i.e. making them 'persons of authority' would be counterprocuctive!
At lest that's how teachers saw it (and still do) back in those days.

 

[Canadave]

^ They're still someone of authority, though. I mean, it's their job to tell you what work you need to do, to let you know if you did good or bad, and to punish you if you break the rules. Putting kids on a first-name basis with the teacher just breaks that authority a little bit, I think.

 

[trekkiedane]

Actually the idea was (is) to teach children to question authority rather than blindingly following it.

Came about during the process where teaching changed from learning hymns by heart to learning to look up the data you needed instead.

And in that context it does make sense.

 

[Canadave]

^ I suppose. It just seems strange to my North American outlook.

 

[Goliath]

How did you address teachers, then?

By their names: Arne (math), Lisbet (Danish), Kirsten (English)…

Ah, that just seems odd to me. We always addressed our teachers as Mr.\Mrs.\Miss [Lastname]. About the most casual you'd usually get is calling them by their last initial; my grade four teacher was Mrs. T., for example.

Same here. It would never have occurred to me to address my teachers by their first names--not even the ones I despised.

The same applied to my professors as well, in university. And I make sure that even my graduate students address me as 'Doctor'.

 

[trekkiedane]

[Canadave]

Indeed, the Nordic way is quite different

But teachers had to endure a lot of name-calling from the right-wingers during the entire process, so it was a hard fought battle even here.

[Rangifer]: calling a teache by any other name than the one the presented themselves with would also be considered an insult here! "Why do you call me Mister when you know my name is Arne"?

 

[Canadave]

[Canadave]

Indeed, the Nordic way is quite different

So it would seem. From your brief descriptions, I think the overall approach to education is similar, but it is interesting seeing these little cultural differences.

 

[trekkiedane]

[Canadave]

Indeed, the Nordic way is quite different

So it would seem. From your brief descriptions, I think the overall approach to education is similar, but it is interesting seeing these little cultural differences.

Well, Danish businessmen were considered idiots for not wearing ties and for calling their contacts by their first names for a long time. I suppose they forgot to look up how the business culture was in the countries they wanted to do business with

 

[Miss Chicken]

What about a country like Iceland where everyone is known by their first name. The Icelandic President is Olafur Ragnar Grimmson. The proper way to address him is President Olafur as Grimmson is a patronym not a surname. Few Icelanders have surnames. To look up someone in an Icelandic phonebook you look under the first name of the person.

 

[Goliath]

[Rangifer]: calling a teache by any other name than the one the presented themselves with would also be considered an insult here! "Why do you call me Mister when you know my name is Arne"?

Now that is an interesting cultural difference.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Some of the traditions are good--especially the stuff about referring to people one does not know by title: I believe it is polite to use a title unless specifically given leave by the other person to use their given name (i.e if they introduce themselves to you by first name--otherwise go with the surname until told).

I would like to see divorce greatly reduced, but I think that site goes too far in its methods.

 

[Michael Chris]

I certainly always open doors for people, especially women. I also give up my seat for others. I address my teachers by their title and last name (unless they tell me otherwise). I call most men sir, and most women ma'am. It's just ways to show respect.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I don't think I have ever called a woman Ma'am in my entire life. I think I have only ever Sir very occasionally when I was younger. I never called my father or grandfather Sir.

 

[Michael Chris]

Really? Must be more of a local thing.