strange question about children in "The South" (Columbia: transplants, public school)

[g-man430]

Welcome to the south. If you don't like our lifestyle then move back to where you came from.

[jpoole52]

I'm sure there was a much nicer way of going about saying that g-man.

[GVLbikeNboard]

Kids here are no different than anywhere else. You have the polite, well-behaved ones, bad ones, etc.

Also: In public schools I don't think it's legal to use any form of physical punishment. I've never seen it from 1st to 12th grade (graduated 2006). It may, however, be used in private schools. I guess when you agree to their rules you agree to "traditional forms of discipline", which I find completely ridiculous. I've never been a bad kid...never in trouble other than talking too much in third grade, but if a teacher pulled out a paddle on me I'd be very tempted to hit back. That kind of punishment does nothing but make kids angrier and their behavior either doesn't change or gets worse.

[christopherinsc26]

I know when I went to woodmont M y parents could had signed for me to get the paddle if they wanted too. But then again that school is a hell hole anyways.

[mrstewart]

Kids are well behaved and respectful if they are taught the importance of it. It has nothing to do with North or South.

[AcadianIrish]

I think I have a better understanding of what my husband's interviewer was saying. The Post from Art123 was very helpful. I read it to my husband and he said that is exactly the vibe he was getting. He felt like the interview started with a "disclaimer" of some sort.
Depending on who you are and how you look at it.......that isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes they can be doing you a big favour by being forthcoming in explaining by accepting this job what type of environment you would be in.

I can see how this made Art123 uncomfortable especially if you are agnostic. We are a Catholic/Christian family so references about faith, family, etc really don't bother me, in fact we would enjoy being around people with similar morals, values and beliefs. This is one of the reasons we are focussing on Greenville.
This really becomes a problem to me if people who are calling themselves Christians are really nothing more than hypocrits. Some people who consider themselves Christians still hold some very strange views and beliefs and I know they are everywhere. Racism and "holier than thou" attitudes have no place in the bible. In fact......the bible teaches a lot about humility and love your neighbour. People sometimes end up "losing" the message of the bible in their "defense" of it. What's that saying about pointing your finger? Be careful because you have 3 other ones pointing back at you.

I know there are hypocrits everywhere, I'm not so naive as to believe there is a perfect place on earth. There are however, places that I would be more comfortable raising my kids. A city that stands up for Christian values is appealling to us. I respect everyone's right to live the way they choose to live....but that also means.....Christians should also have the right to live in an enviornment where people are not taking away the rights of Christians. It goes both ways. As Pope John Paul once said........."Freedom is the choice to do what one OUGHT."
I couldn't agree more. I just want the right/freedom to do what I ought and be in an environment that respects that.

Being a Canadian, you'll have to excuse some of my questions and apologize in advance if they sound ignorant to some of you. I know about slavery and the South's role in it......in the PAST. I guess my main concern after this interview was, Is Greenville what I thought it was?

My take on Greenville was/is:
-beautiful place, great climate
-great sense of pride and loads of history
-family/faith based community
-believes in all teachings of the bible and is not afraid to stand up for Christian rights in this secular world.
-becoming a fast growing city with more culture then some other southern states.
-Runs the city in line with Christian values and wants all newcomers to feel welcome but they want you to know, don't come here to try to "change our values" and impose the "anything goes" mentality.

Would this perspective still be accurate??

[Art123]

I think you will fit right in and enjoy Greenville. I feel that I fit in, for the most part. I did not mean to insinuate that Greenville is a bad place because there are some people here with views not congruent with mine - plus a few bigots (they are everywhere). I guess those interviewers were doing me a favor in a way by putting things out there from the start. However, I have worked in other places with bosses with completely different political views than me where we have fit together very well professionally. These things just seem to be a little bit of a hotter potato here with some people, especially given the current political climate in the U.S.
I personally have had more of a culture shock moving here than I expected. I came from a very mixed-race neighborhood where things were different and a Hispanic family moving in down the street was commonplace and not as much of a topic of discussion as it is here (although for some people it was an issue no doubt). The poverty rate here is also much higher, which leads to some larger problems for the area as a whole. For the most part people here are very friendly - although as g-man's post indicates there is still a palpable amount of suspicion of newcomers, a fear of too much change too fast, I think. On the one hand Greenville is putting out a great big welcome sign to the world, but on the other hand there is a fear of losing what makes this place special.

[GVLbikeNboard]

I'd say your perspective is spot on. Find a state in which more people wear the state flag on shirts, hats, shoes, bags, jewelry, etc than SC and I'll be surprised. There's no shame in being proud of this state!

And while I consider myself agnostic, the bible holds words that ALL of us can understand and live by whether we're Christian or not.

[jmarquise]

you have got to watch out for some of the christians here in NC. I told someone I had met that I was raised catholic and she said, "I am so sorry your parents chose to raise you into a cult." I'm not kidding! I got a kick out of it!

[AcadianIrish]

haha, I'm already prepared for that "cult" statement as it's a view held by some Protestants in other regions as well. Not all Protestants feel that way, but I am aware that some do. I believe it's a lack of understanding of what the true teachings of the Catholic Church teach.....but I won't get into that topic on this thread.
Since there are more Protestant denominations in the area of Greenville than Catholics, I'm sure I will hear it more often. I know my faith and don't follow it blindly so I would be like you and think it was rather amusing if/when it's said to me.

Surprisingly, I would much rather defend my faith and beliefs to some one who is truly worried about my salvation than deal with some of the "secular" statements I hear that are downright offensive to God or live in a "Godless" society.

I have responded to people who have made that statement to me before like this....
"I'm sorry you feel that way. I wish you would study more about the TRUE teachings of the church. If you still feel that way, I can't persuade you by arguing. I'll pray for you....and you pray for me......and when we die if both or one of us is wrong......let's ask God to be meriful "for they know not what they do". Let's start praying for unity instead of division. If your intention was only to please him, I would hope we will be judged according to our situation, level of intelligent, etc.
We are all human and can make mistakes. God knows what is in our hearts. Thankfully, he is a just God.