Today, one of our daughter's classmates is sitting in Juvenile Hall.
Why?
Either absurd stupidity or he deserves an Academy Award for portraying a sweet teen boy while actually deranged and mentally ill.
Either case, I'm pretty sure his life is ruined and his parents are both mortified and horrified.
In case you are the parents of a Facebooker, I'll let you in on a little secret.... school "Confessions" pages are all the rage.
You might want to see if your child has "confessed" or commented on the page. And, whether or not they have, you may want to use this opportunity to talk to them about appropriate internet usage.
Despite the plethora of school violence news coverage, this "sweet" guy (as D3 referred to him), posted a threat to kill everyone in the school.
"...but, he was just joking, Mom."
After Newton, Colorado, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood do teens really expect us to believe such a remark is a joke? Do they really expect us to respond with non-action?
Don't they listen? Don't they hear us?
We're not joking anymore.
I can't speak for teen girls, I've only raised boys. They truly have no concept that stupidity has consequences. If you and they are lucky, their bouts of dumb stay minor.
ReplyDeleteYou'd think with all the press these tragedies receive, they'd understand!
Deletein the 15 {short} years that i've been OUT of the public school system, it amazes me just how different it is from 1998. it's almost a little scary now. and it's not just with schools. people are getting careless and bolder in their actions.
ReplyDeletei am NOT looking forward to my 4 year old starting school in the next year. just sayin...
Well, don't fret too much about it being a just a public school thing. This is a private school. It's happening everywhere! :(
DeleteI remember walking with my son in an airport fairly recently and he uttered the explosive "b" word... we sushed him fast. Some words you don't say out loud, and facebook is talking out loud.
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY!!!
DeleteWe live in a town of 15,000. Two months ago a ninth-grader committed suicide in the bathroom at school. No warnings or signs. The obituary was full of the things he enjoyed and his interests outside of school. It's horrible that these kids think their life is so bad that there is no other choice. They really don't understand consequences anymore.
ReplyDeleteUgh.... I live in a very populated area. We've had our fair share of those types of unimaginables at several different school in our greater area. So tragic!
DeleteGood, that behaviour should never be acceptable. It's not a joke anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad the school jumped to action right away. But, I do feel very bad for his parents. They must be devastated!
DeleteI'm glad you have an anonymous option for posting. God knows what he is doing giving me girls. Let my son talk like that at any age and I'll give him the butt warming of his life. I think parents (especially those of my generation...I've got babies) are out to lunch and don't instill MANNERS, COMMON SENSE AND DECENCY in their kids. My 3 yr old is giving me a run for my money right now. Let's just say boarding school is NOT off the table (I tell myself this is an option when I'm at my wits end).Sorry about your son's classmate. Maybe the kid can turn it around with some counseling and the parents can turn it around with family therapy. Jussayin'.....
ReplyDeleteI would like to work at D3's school.
ReplyDeleteJoking aside, juvie seems a bit strict for a verbal utterance, unless he has a history of violence in school and has actually carried out such threats in the past.
I currently work at a school, and I'm frequently appalled by the kids' use of socially unacceptable behavior and the absence of consequences for things they do/say.
The scary part about this? I can remember having somewhat elaborate plans to kill everyone in my high school. My best friend and I had an admittedly unrealistic plan to kill everyone and then ourselves. I'm sure we weren't the only ones. We were not serious, but we were also not joking. We were angsty, and didn't have the emotional maturity yet to deal with that angst without making empty threats of senseless violence. Most of us who threatened ridiculous acts of violence never made good on those threats.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, a few of us (see Columbine, etc) have. And that, my friend, that really sucks.