News-Record.com

Doug,

Even before the eighth-grade, you can see students heading in this horrible, ugly direction where the outcomes are almost guaranteed to be negative.

Whom children choose as their friends matters deeply, maybe as much as any other factors.

I teach children whom I know will never have any problems in life unless they change drastically or are affected by sources outside of their own control. In other words, if anything bad comes their way, it won't be because of their choices because they've already learned to make the best decisions for themselves and how they interact with others.

On the flip side, I've taught children who are only heading in negative directions unless they change their attitudes, their behaviors, and their efforts. I don't know what the answers are when a student keeps making the wrong decisions, failing miserably to learn from their own mistakes. The problem is not that they're not getting the right messages about how they need to change, at least from adults within the school environment. But those messages pale next to the influence of peers.

There are young people, even by eighth-grade, even by sixth-grade for that matter, and I suspect, even before then, who simply do not care about the consequences of their actions. They do not mind disrespecting any adult, no matter who those adults are and no matter how those adults are addressing and/or responding to these young people. Something is tragic about young people developing such attitudes and having so little regard for anything or anyone.

I've already known of students who have been at my school who are now in jail or have been brutally murdered (not many, but a couple, that I'm aware of). And in more cases than not, you could see them heading in those directions all the way back when they were in middle school, if not also earlier than that.

There are people trying to help those individuals, but I don't think we have figured out nor created enough methods, procedures, systems, programs, or institutions to help these individuals. And part of the problem of course is that we can't force anyone to care or to want to change. For a person to change, they in part have to have a reason to want to change, and there are some young people who have no such motivation or desire.

As always, thank you bringing up the important subjects you address and all that you share and express.

Sincerely,

Hardy

Mr. Clark,
Why should this not have happened?

Hardy,

Thanks for your comments. My wife, who teaches at a middle school in Davidson County, has been giving me reports all year about a boy who's exactly like you describe - constantly in trouble, and not just at school. He's been in and out of juvenile detention and seems to have little desire to straighten out. I don't believe that certain people are "destined" for tragedy but some certainly get on a destructive course and seem unable to get off.

Mr. Johnson, this should not have happened because those kids should not have been out getting into trouble.

You're absolutely right, Doug, about those kids should not be out getting into trouble.

And I should be riding down the Pacific Coast Highway right now in my Mercedes converible, top down, with my Country Music Award in the back seat with Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood riding shotgun.

Skeet Club Savage = Tim McGraw? Who knew?

Well Doug, now that the secret's out....

Live like you were dyin's what I always say. But what a way to go!!!