Discipline vs Punishment

This is a bit late in completion as I'm very poorly but anyway it needs to done.
The great thing about words is people not only argue about the appropriateness of them but often about the exact means as there are many in English that a very similar but not completely the same.

 Miss Kitty makes a very good point.

A punishment is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular action or behaviour that is deemed undesirable or unacceptable. Of itself it doesn't include guidance, being essentially  reactive - you break a window, you receive legal sanctions for criminal damage such as a fine or community order.
To discipline implies active steps around teaching and training appropriate conduct, attitude and behaviour but when a rule is broken, a sanction is applied to deter the person from repeating.  This can and for me does include forfeits, lines and spanking.

Real equality starts by recognizing we ARE different

It seems to me people have a problem with being a male because rather than acknowledging as a few still do boys and girls are for the most part different, complementary  and that is fine, we prefer to judge from a feminine baseline.
The very strengths that built our civilization are seemingly not fit for purpose in the post feminist world.
At least one Feminist does recognize the one missing thing from the gender revolution has been 60 years of male debate about our roles, how we express our gender and how we can better raise a greater more equal society that values men and women.
The absence of which is leading boys and men with no idea of what is expected of them as males.

Bonding

Bonds are the most deepest level of connection between two or more people being more than the mere verbalization of their feelings, they have a very tactile feeling being expressed as much physically through hugs and warm embraces as anything else.
For me, this was mainly associated with playing soccer with boys where at least then I did feel onside, very much one of the boys. 

Comic memories

After last weeks ouchie experiences my mind drifted back a bit to when it was my Gran was still about and not least comics cos she always bought me a comic every week I'd go visit here or if I couldn't they would be saved up until I could.
I didn't generally go much for superman hero type comics but more regular girl or mixed gender ones although I did read the cartoon strips in newspapers .
I also did buy cartoon books usually a yearly annual that collected the whole series on better quality paper and in hindsight it had to be said some of them did have spanking depicted in them because in that era it was just a social norm as it was for us too.

We'd just laugh our socks off at this whole situation envying Superman for his heat resistant can take anything behind.
I also at one time had a annual that had a multi page strip series about the a well to do mother struggling to control her teen daughter using the then contemporary pop psychology of just ignoring episodes as they were 'phases' you'd go through and grown out of which I suspect was a thinly disguised dig at Doctor Spock's child rearing guidance and his followers where she just tears up that guidance and takes her across her lap for a hairbrushing!
Actually this week I've been pretty good, helping out, not making messes and have managed to walk the furthest I've done for years without getting out of breath that helps with weekends as the meals tend to be bigger and more loaded with fats and that although this weekend I had some community magazines to deliver on foot plus a card for Mommy.
I'll just slowly work my way through the easter egg and chocolate concentrating on being good I think.

Uniformed Wednesday

At one place someone asking about what this thing about uniforms is about feeling at few people seem to go off on a bit of a tangent about that may of been connected with their schooling to the point it's all they ever talk about.

I kinda get that which is why I haven't been about much other than that site I mentioned once I was a at briefly because to me it was really more about being this forever a child legally an adult, having those feelings and perusing as a free running part of it those interests, hobbies and actual 'play' that come from it.

To me things such having more child-like play clothes and wearing a school uniform are just more about changing the outer wrapper detaching in terms of actual image anything more 'adult' from the adult boy of ten I am rather than being an end in itself because it's not role playing it's just dressing more as I am all of the time.

It isn't that I don't like the rules and structure that go with it, but for me it's more that works better for being in my head all the time very much that child and so being handled more that way makes more sense.

Low expectations

One of the biggest challenges with me has been breaking the cycle of low expectations leading to low achievement because in my respects I had been written off by medical prognosis as educationally sub normal  and that any sign of learning was seen so miraculous that little attempt was made to really direct it.
It wasn't really helped by specialized schooling provision being very much less academic, not even at the time required to follow the same sort of curriculum but altered  to take account of your particular needs.
Indeed I recall a period at one such school where I was shocked that we seemed to be at least two to three years behind my last school being more like Junior 1 and so to be honest I was glad to get out to mainstream education where I did do quite a lot better for a low level of support.
Part of that was while respecting my  disabilities and being prepared to assist, I was expected from day one to work to the same standard as any other child, to do any homework and like the others when not smacked in class for it.
As well the work did follow national guidance for our age including examination preparation and taking which that other school by default didn't and in that way actually it was more like my Junior school being a follow on.
It just felt the specialist provision really was just parking me, meeting the requirement to 'be in education' but not developing me.

Weekly reflection

This week as the weather has been  better for getting about so I've managed to get out an actually walk a bit further than normal getting close to what I was capable of several years back so that's been great this week.

It's so great to start to wake up to the dawn chorus now that it's getting a bit bit bright and for longer because it sounds so peaceful and when I'm out walking often I stop and listen out for them spotting them in the trees or just overhead near the fields.

It's strange but all of this actually leads to me feeling less stressed and from that much less likely to lash out at people when it just all becomes too much emotionally and when it comes to stimulation too which is a great help not just to me but Mom too.

As I'm typing this out today it's her day - what the natives here call "Mothering Sunday" - so I got her a card and present while I was in town late last week while I was out exchanging a gift voucher toward a present for my birthday.

I think I'm doing good now. 

Just as this blog is about to go to press, it's been announced Professor Steven Hawking has died who like me is a quadriplegic.

He's been battling Motor Neurone disease since being diagnosed with it at university   being a electric wheelchair user but although he required considerable personal support, he went on to complete a lot of research into the Cosmos to acclaim from his peers and can be credited with helping to popularize science and break down the idea that disabled people cannot contribute to society.

He was an inspiration to me and countless others of our generation.