THE strike by Darwen school teachers in Darwen, Lancashire as a protest against violent and unruly pupils is only a small taste of the culmination of nearly 50 years of surrender to falling values and standards in all levels of our society and culture.

Even the most basic state schools used to offer a good learning environment, where all the male teachers were addressed as “Sir” and females as “Miss” and the whole class stood when the teacher entered the room.

As an aid to overall discipline, any serious misbehaviour would result in some form of meaningful (and sometimes painful) punishment and, even worse, a report to parents, who generally supported such sanctions by further reprisals at home.

Fast forward to the current state of our celebrity-obsessed and fractured culture, where many parents fail to properly discipline their children and indeed challenge any sphere of authority who may dare to chastise behaviour that should be considered unacceptable in a decent society.

Martin Smith, Main Street, Elvington, York.