Will this sad story become more common? 18 yr old sentenced to jail for throwing gas on a bonfire and injuring 17 friends in an explosion

Today I read an unfortunate story: an 18 yr old drank beer with his friends at a bonfire - something we all did with our friends - but he got carried away. He grabbed a barrel of gas and threw it on the fire. It exploded and seriously burned 17 of his friends. He is deeply remorseful. Besides spending a year in jail, he'll be paying restitution for the rest of his life.

It's not that teachers directly teach students not to throw gasoline on a fire, but they do teach kids that you must think first and then act responsibly as you go through life - or at least they used to. It's practically impossible now.

Teachers are doing their level best to impart important life skills to their students because parents are too overwhelmed, or whatever, to do it. Teachers are well-aware that the kids who are their students today will be running the world tomorrow. If they can get their students to put their phones down long enough to pay attention, they have a lot of necessary and important stuff to teach.

But the students aren't listening. When the teacher calls/texts/emails to let the parents know that their kid isn't paying attention in class and is in danger of failing, there's an excellent chance that the parent will inform the teacher that they need to do a better job. "Yeah, he says your class is boring," or some other version of that's-your-fault.

School administrators aren't supporting the teachers. One adult in a classroom with 30+ kids means that at least three will be openly disruptive and downright rude. About 20 will be talking to friends and/or glued to their phones. The teacher will be constantly interrupted with "I gotta go to the bathroom," and they have to let them go. Maybe five will sit up front and participate in class.

Administrators no longer give behavior support. The teachers aren't allowed to send students to the office. They remind the student of the rules, maybe document the reminder in a computer database (while teaching), and later contact a parent. That's all they've got. Teachers aren't allowed to give consequences anymore.

Teachers are pressured to pass every student - whether they do any work or not. Schools are graduating kids that can barely read and add. Worse, they believe a rude reply to authority is acceptable.

What they mostly can't do is act responsibly. They are unable to hold a job. They don't think before they act; they never had to before.

Submitted April 13, 2024 at 07:29AM by MantaRay2256 https://ift.tt/xW9cEFB