In today's society, everyone is afraid they'll get slapped with a lawsuit or even get arrested for disciplining a minor in any way.
That wasn't the case in traditional Chamorro culture. As a matter of fact....
1. Any adult was expected to discipline a child, if they saw the child doing something wrong. The adult didn't even have to know the child, much less be a relative, teacher or some other public authority.
2. When a stranger disciplined a child, the parents of the child thanked him or her for it.
3. If an adult saw a child misbehaving and didn't do anything about it, the parent scolded the adult for it! "You saw my child doing something wrong, something that brought shame to our family, and you let it happen!"
4. If you were the child, and went home to complain to your parents that so-and-so disciplined you, you got disciplined again for having gotten into trouble in the first place! So the thing to do, when a teacher, priest or even stranger disciplined you, was to keep quiet about it when you got home!
In olden times, everyone was a policeman!
Back then : What did my child do wrong this time?
Today : What did the teacher do wrong this time?
Ai adei!
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