There are days, like today, when my job scares the crap out of me. I am scared for our society. I am scared for students, faculty and staff at institutions of higher education across the country. And, most of all, I am scared for my son.
When I say 'scared,' I mean this in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. Literally, I am scared for students and colleagues at colleges and Universities, because after the past few months of being privy to the threats of students of concern that frequent our college campuses... well, let me just say that I am very happy that I have an electronic code to access my office, the location of which is unpublicized on our campus. The good news is, most colleges and universities have procedures in place to address students of concern. The bad news is, there are times when there is no forewarning, and therefore even the best laid plans will not work.
Figuratively, I am scared because of all the bad I see. Every day, I ask myself how these students end up on the paths they are on. For some, you meet their parents and that explains everything. But for others, what I see is a parent sitting by their student's side during a hearing, shaking their head and wondering how or why their student made these decisions as I'm reading off the code of conduct violations. Drugs... prescription medication abuse... medical transport for alcohol-induced coma... 33 attempted suicides to date... shooting a weapon from a residence hall room at a car stopped at a busy intersection... how does this happen? And how do I prevent it from happening to Wyatt?
It seriously boggles my mind.
2 comments:
Wow!! You know, I can honestly say that I know how you feel. Ever since Columbine I've had that fear in my heart that something like that would happen around my children. It's a sad, sad thing that we have to live with that kind of fear in our hearts and always at the back of our minds. I can't imagine having a job where you have to deal with that type of stuff on a daily basis. Take care!
you know megan, i've said the same thing to myself over and over the past few months as i have been substituting...
i am scared of what i see in our schools nowadays. children are BAD. i had 6th graders tell me they cursed out their teacher and they'd do it again. many say their teachers just let them get away with anything...cheating, never holding them accountable... i subbed for 2nd graders and actually found myself very uncomfortable with what one kid would do when he got mad that i wouldn't let him go down the hall.
yesterday i was at a preschool, and three of the young boys went around hitting the other kids. there was no repercussion for their action except don't do that. shoot, when i was little if i had hit someone i would have been in a world of trouble!
in a way, i think that nowadays, schools have become babysitters where nothing is enforced and everything is tailed to the kids. no discipline. allowed to eat snacks all day if they want. 3 recesses. and very simple work. it seems to me that educators are scared they will get in trouble for enforcing that discipline.
i often wondered how my college students had such different views of the world then i did. and being in high schools and grade schools these past few months have allowed me to see that their experience is so much different then what ours was.
my last year in res life, i saw first hand that everything is tailored around threats and fear. i was in the right with students who had violated the code of conduct 5 times in a period of a month. they made false claims against me saying things like i was targeting them, was racist, etc. then they threatened to sue the university. wouldn't you know, that their suspensions were overturned. we really aren't teaching these students anything. and i fear for what is going to happen to society when they are the ones in jobs, etc.
long comment i know. but you brought up something i've thought about for the past few months, and something that scares the crap outta me when it comes to having kids...
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