es that there will be a structure to the learning environment. There will be rules which everyone must follow for effective interaction. These rules and the structure of the class and school will need to be taught or trained into the students. The structure will enable everyone at the school to build a common heritage or school culture and enhance learning. Students and teachers will know what types of behavior are acceptable and expected. Teaching of this set of rules will enable students to gain a measure of self-control and respect for others and themselves.
Parents have abrogated their job of socializing youngsters. Civilized behavior is a prerequisite for effective learning (Benshoff et al., 1994, p. 28). The reasons for children not coming to school ready to learn are multiple. In the 1950s most families were still intact units. Today about half of all marriages end in divorce. This impacts the children and forces many into full-time child-care situations. When both parents are still married, often both parents are working and the children are either in day-care or left unsupervised after school. Thirty years ago only one child in five was in day-care (Clinton, 1996, p. 224). There are 10 million children in day-care in the United States under the age of five. Twenty-two million more children between five and fourteen are also in substitute care when they are not in school (Clinton, 1996, p. 224). The number of infants under one year of age in day-care has risen to above fifty percent (Clinton, 1996, p. 224). Parents are no longer raising their own children.
When the child's parents are at home the television is often used to entertain the children because the parents are too tired or busy to interact, talk, and parent their children. The use of television as a baby-sitter and entertainment has also caused more problems for the school systems. Research is mixed, but their does seem to be a correlation b...