It’s a beautiful spring morning. A gentle breeze ruffles the leaves on the trees as the sun peaks it’s head over the horizon. A melodious chorus of bluebirds is in the air raising and lowering their song with each chirp.
The echo of your mother’s voice calling your name awakens you. Your weary eyes open slowly and you take a long deep stretch. You thank God for waking you up and you hop out of bed to begin your usual daily routine.
You head into the bathroom to wash up. Then you get dressed, eat breakfast and head out the door. The only thing on your mind at this age (13) is school, your best friends and boys/girls.
School is a safe haven where you spend half of your day. The outside world and anything dealing with it seems so far away and isn’t a factor here. The worst thing that ever happens is that someone gets into a fist fight and that’s hardly ever.
Teachers teach classes with very little problems and they touch many young lives. They are happy to have chosen this career; they make a difference and they know it.
Is this a joke or a fantasy? Or maybe a fairytale?
In fact, no it’s not. This was life back in the late sixties when I was a thirteen year old. People were different and the time was different. In school you were about as safe as you could be away from home. Even schools in some of the poorest neighborhoods were safe havens where principals and teachers were the authority.
Back then children listened and learned. They didn’t only learn reading, writing and arithmetic, they learned health and etiquette. They also learned respect and how to work with others.
But sadly, this is no more.
It seems light years ago now. Gone are those days of innocence that a child had. Gone are those days of respect for your elders, respect for authority and respect for others. It’s a sad situation that this generation is in today.
Schools aren’t safe havens anymore. On any given day classrooms are being disrupted by one or more kids who only cares about his of herself. Teachers don’t have control anymore and can’t teach the students who want to learn. With some this is a constant that they have to deal with everyday.
Sex and drugs are rampant and a norm and now mental issues are too. With this generation there are kids who for whatever reason want to inflict harm onto others. It’s heartbreaking, it’s sad and it’s the world our children and grandchildren live in.
What is it that we did or didn’t do as adults to produce a generation like this?
They can’t even go to school and feel safe. Now in addition to their classrooms being disrupted by some with no respect for others, they have to worry about someone bringing a weapon of war to school with the intention of harming or killing them. It’s horrifying and so sad that this generation has never known a world without school shootings. That they have to go to school each day with this fear.
Sadly, even elementary schools are not exempt. The younger ones have this same fear. What a burden to have to bear as a little child. There’s a crisis in this country in our schools, and it needs to be handled.
In 1999 the first of the unthinkable took place in Littleton, Colorado. Two students there took their frustrations out on others and on April 20th, 1999 twelve students and one teacher lost their lives with more than 20 others wounded.
It got continually worst here in America.
There has been:
- 50 mass murders or attempted mass murders at a school since Columbine
- 141 people were killed in a mass murder or attempted mass murder at a school since Columbine
- 65 school shooters and thwarted school shooters referenced Columbine as a motivation
Sadly this is a trend that doesn’t seem to be going away. What’s going on? Why are people so violent today? I wish there was an answer to that question but sadly there’s not.
73% of the school shooters had no prior criminal record. They were never arrested for anything. Since Columbine there’s been 17 kids aged 15 or younger who have committed or attempted a mass school shooting.
Again…what’s going on?
We really need to re-evaluate the way we’re raising our kids. There’s obviously something lacking. We have to stop trying to be friends with our children and be what we’re supposed to be and that’s parents. Stop allowing the children to run the house and above all, stop condoning or co-signing the things they do wrong.
We have to lead by example and train them in the way they should go. And we should teach them about our Heavenly Father. How he loves them and wants the best for them as their parents do. How he provides grace and mercy all day, everyday.
We must get back to the basics if we want to see a change. If we ever want to see a world where there’s love, peace and respect for others.
A lot says it can’t be done but we’re doing our children an injustice if we don’t at least try. We can do anything we set our minds to, it’s been proven time and time again.
If we go back to putting people first before money this will not only be a better place for us today. It will be a better place for our kids and grandkids tomorrow.
Think about it…
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
