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I taught a student who could worry the warts off of a frog. He was harmless enough, but he would glom onto someone and natter and pick at them constantly. He would pick up their books and look through them, talk about their clothes and whatever else came into his mind. It was like having an itch that couldn't be scratched.
I know the kids he nattered at wanted to slap him into next week. They didn't because they knew they would bear the brunt of the punishment. If they said "he picked up my book" or whatever, that would seem like a minor offense to be smacked over.
If he was ever caught by a teacher who knew what he was up to, he would get all big-eyed and innocent looking. He would mournfully say "I'm sorry." He didn't mean a word of it.
One day he came into class nattering at another student. I was moving to head him off, when the student slammed his book on the desk and glared at the offender. I heard the inevitable,"I'm sorry."
The other student looked at him and yelled, "SORRY DOESN'T HELP!"
That's what I feel like yelling at people who apologize or pretend to these days. They aren't sorry. They are just sorry that they were caught or something went wrong.
I don't want to hear it anymore. They knew what they were doing was wrong. They could and should have stopped, but they didn't. The damage they wrought was in some cases immeasurable.
I want them to SHUT UP and listen. I want them punished severely for doing what they did while knowingly violating laws or common sense.
Just SHUT UP because "SORRY DOESN'T HELP."
(I realize there are some people who do things and are truly contrite. They do try to avoid repeating their mistakes and try to help fix what they did if possible. I am not talking about them. I know somebody will raise this point.)
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