I don't have anything to say except honest to Christ, what is wrong with people?
I just read this article about four fifth graders in Louisiana having sex with each other in front of the rest of the class. They'd been left alone for 15 minutes.
It's not about the teacher leaving the room. When my fifth grade teacher left us alone, I think we did things like leave our seats when we weren't supposed to or shoot erasers across the room. Saying this makes me feel like my father telling us that when he was a kid Coke cost 5 cents, or that he walked uphill in a snowstorm to get to school every day.
But honestly. Kids are exposed to a lot racier stuff, but mores have not changed that much since I was a kid.
In what twisted reality do four 11-13 year olds to decide to start having sex in front of the classroom because the teacher isn't there? Who are their parents? What is wrong with the world? Honestly.
Well... not to join you in curmudgeonville, but WE DIDN'T HAVE SEX IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. It's more sad than outrageous, though. These unfortunate kids have to go to school that houses k-12th grade? No wonder they are influenced by their peers to grow up sooner. But just out of curiosity, how many were from single parent homes? How much television do they watch each day? What is their diet like? How much time do they spend with their parents in a typical week?
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to rant. But kids need love and guidance. My guess is these kids had neither. Now some moron is going to slap a felony on them. That will help.
I saw this tagline yesterday on CNN and didn't have the heart to read the full story.
ReplyDeleteSad. It's just sad.
Oh, you all, this just makes me so upset. No, slapping a felony on them won't help anything. And what are their home lives like that they think it's OK to do this at school? I just don't understand.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the root of this is at the kids' homes, which makes me mad. You can't stop watching and teaching and protecting your kids just because they're older and more self-sufficient.
ReplyDeleteAlso, 15 minutes is a really long time for students that age to be unsupervised. Our principal used to periodically scan the classrooms with the PA system, and if she heard a class that was rowdy, she'd suddenly show up at the door. That was a scare tactic that could still work (the memory of it still makes me flinch).
Shannon - I'm not a parent, but I agree, I do think the root is at home with the parents.
ReplyDeleteOh my God, Lemon, I was going to write about this. HORRIFYING! I hate to talk about "the good ol' days," but I was going through withdrawal having given up my Barbies when I was 10. Fifth grade we got "married," but wouldn't dream of kissing. We were just "going together" and all that meant was that maybe MAYBE we sat next to each other.
ReplyDeleteIt's awful. It's disgusting. Is it the world? The parenting? What? It comes from somewhere and I wish there was somewhere to point the finger because for a child to get to that place so quickly (I mean just sex - the whole "in public," and "IN A CLASSROOM" and "while people are watching" are a whole different story) is awful. Childhood? What childhood? Enjoy it while you can, you know? Ugh. I'm really disgusted.
Stace - I know! I just keep not understanding how a kid - a kid! gets to this point. As you said, sex at that age is bad enough. And then in public. In a classroom. What about the other little kids in the class? It's all so terrible.
ReplyDeleteMy son is an 11 year old 5th grader and I don't think the kids in his grade are even kissing yet.
ReplyDeleteOf course, he's going to a school where the majority of kids aren't allowed to go anywhere without their parents until their 15.
There's got to be a happy medium.
Yes. There are some scary things about GA, but I'd rather it be that the kids are chaperoned till age 15 than the other extreme. I don't remember anyone my age kissing when I was 11. We still didn't even like boys.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but I bet the A/V nerds were *still* spazzing out if any of the non-approved cool kids touched the video camera, so at least some things remain unchanged at that age. (Wait. Do they still have A/V nerds?)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I imagine the participants had signed "Kidz Gone Wild!" waivers, so it's all cool.
The teacher in me is shaking her head and wondering exactly that: What is wrong with the world? And also, what is wrong with kids today?
ReplyDeleteDon't get me started on the parent side of things. I could go on forever about that...
I am not allowing my children to watch TV, unless it's educational DVDs. I mean, WHERE did these kids get the ideas, if not from hours of sitting in front of the boob tube? And what about the parents? How ghastly!!!
ReplyDeleteAnon - I'd like to joke about it being filmed, but I can't. It's probably true somewhere.
ReplyDeleteMiss B - That's right - you're in a classroom with little kids right now.
G&D - I'm in agreement. But how to keep kids from watching TV? It's everywhere?
I checked in with my son about kissing. He said "yuck." I didn't even go into the sex thing. That would have sent him screaming from the room. Then I wouldn't have had anyone there to get up and get me a glass of water or scratch my back or yank off my shoes.
ReplyDeleteSo for now we're safe.
Your kids sound very sweet. Good thing you didn't push it and traumatize him. Speaking of having him get you water and scratch your back...my brother once accused our parents of having kids just so they could have built-in servants.
ReplyDelete