Friday, April 27, 2007
signs of the times???
I used to love the fact that I could say that my small school and my small town and my kids just don't really have all of the safety and morality issues faced by larger cities and schools.
Today I have been enlightened.
To the point of feeling physically ill.
In a matter of 2 hours I have had 3 different-totally seperate conversations with 4 different people that pointed me towards what is really going on with jr. high and high school kids. It actually creeps me out how all of this came to my attention....all at once....and none of the 3 conversations and people discussing them had anything to do with each other. Very eerie.
I can't even blog about it all because I am choosing to keep this blog under an R-rating. If I told you then I would have to give it an X-rating.
I am in tears and asking myself all kinds of questions.
When did parents stop demanding respect and responsibility from their children? Why do these people demand that their children go to church on Sunday but then let their kids spit and stomp all over any Christ-like-anything? When did parents start sticking up for their kids when they.....let's just say....break the law or sexually harass another person.....while they point their fingers at the people offended?
When did my school stop demanding respect and responsibility from it's students? When did they decide that if parents don't care....then there is nothing we can do to stop this? When did the kids stop fearing the consequences brought on by their actions in school and instead the teachers and administrators started to fear (or be wusses about) what the kids and parents would say if they actually did administer consequences for bad behavior? When did school policy become all rhetoric with no guts for anything? When did coaches and teachers start looking the other way when the respect/responsibility (and even illegal) issues were from a promising young or star athlete? When did the authorities start asking the "good kids" what it was that they did to bring on the negative attention from the ones at fault?
When did kids start thinking it was okay to just be throwing around f-bombs and other language in public? In front of children and grandmas? When did it become "funny" to damage the property of others? When did it become "cool" to brag about the things they are getting away with? When did they stop caring about what anyone in authority has to say or do? When did the consequences for their actions became relative? When did kids start to think that they can just get away with harassing others. In public? And when did the "good guys" become afraid and stop standing and speaking up for each other?
I no longer feel "safe". I no longer feel like administration at the school is looking out for the best interest of my children.
And my heart breaks. Because I love my town and I love my school.
I no longer trust either.
Today I have been enlightened.
To the point of feeling physically ill.
In a matter of 2 hours I have had 3 different-totally seperate conversations with 4 different people that pointed me towards what is really going on with jr. high and high school kids. It actually creeps me out how all of this came to my attention....all at once....and none of the 3 conversations and people discussing them had anything to do with each other. Very eerie.
I can't even blog about it all because I am choosing to keep this blog under an R-rating. If I told you then I would have to give it an X-rating.
I am in tears and asking myself all kinds of questions.
When did parents stop demanding respect and responsibility from their children? Why do these people demand that their children go to church on Sunday but then let their kids spit and stomp all over any Christ-like-anything? When did parents start sticking up for their kids when they.....let's just say....break the law or sexually harass another person.....while they point their fingers at the people offended?
When did my school stop demanding respect and responsibility from it's students? When did they decide that if parents don't care....then there is nothing we can do to stop this? When did the kids stop fearing the consequences brought on by their actions in school and instead the teachers and administrators started to fear (or be wusses about) what the kids and parents would say if they actually did administer consequences for bad behavior? When did school policy become all rhetoric with no guts for anything? When did coaches and teachers start looking the other way when the respect/responsibility (and even illegal) issues were from a promising young or star athlete? When did the authorities start asking the "good kids" what it was that they did to bring on the negative attention from the ones at fault?
When did kids start thinking it was okay to just be throwing around f-bombs and other language in public? In front of children and grandmas? When did it become "funny" to damage the property of others? When did it become "cool" to brag about the things they are getting away with? When did they stop caring about what anyone in authority has to say or do? When did the consequences for their actions became relative? When did kids start to think that they can just get away with harassing others. In public? And when did the "good guys" become afraid and stop standing and speaking up for each other?
I no longer feel "safe". I no longer feel like administration at the school is looking out for the best interest of my children.
And my heart breaks. Because I love my town and I love my school.
I no longer trust either.
5 Comments:
I want to know when and why parents stop demanding respect from their children, also. It is so sad, that even in a small town, now, we have to fear for our safety and our children's safety. Hang in there!
I know the feeling, Robin. I sometimes don't feel that things are hadled properly at school either. As my husband found out the hard way, you can't take it in your own hands either. Kids these days don't think they have to respect others, and that is just fine. I have always tried to insill in my children that you don't have to like somone, but they do deserve respect as a human being. Back in my teenage days, if I would've gotten a smack from my parent, I would've thought I deserved it. Now days, kids would turn their own parents in for assualt. I do feel more safe here in Durant, than I would in a big city with a big school, but times are changing. That is proven over and over by the threats and goings on at schools all over the country. They all say, they never would've thought it could happen at their school. As a parent, I know I love to hear someone say that they have been with one of my kids and they have been polite, or repectful in some way. There are many adults that aren't that way, so how can we expect their children to be. It is sad.
Maybe in such a small town things get blown out of porportion and exagerated because everyone thinks everything is their business. Most of the time the facts of things are so distorted they dont even resemble the truth and I know this because my kid is involved in many of the so called "controversies" in Durant. The one thing I will agree with is the school does not know how to handle issues effectively or fairly! Samantha
Sam~
I hope you'll note that I was not pointing fingers at any one situation or person(s).
I had heard some bad news that day and it got me posing questions in my head that I vented here on this post. These were all "generally speaking" and not aimed at any one group, any one teacher or administrator, any one parent, or any one child or controversy.
So please don't think that this post was aimed at blowing any specific situation out of proportion.
Just wanted to make sure that was clear
Robn-
Yeah, I got that, dont worry. But it just seems like so many things get so blown out of porportion here, it drives me crazy! But I have basically decided that's how it is in a small town, but the fact is I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I think I just have too much time on my hands lately! Sam
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