Kids gone bad: Students lie, cheat and steal, but say they’re good people

The title of this session of my blog is from an AP story. The point of the story is to show that even though;

• 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store
• 64 percent have cheated on a test
• 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative

Despite this, 93 percent of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77 percent affirmed that “when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know.”

Most of the above I have shamelessly copied from the AP story, but it is important to repeat the statistics so we can all have a basis for my comments below.

Lets look at the reasons that this story is such a valid reflection of our society.

• We have stopped taking responsibility for the actions of others in our society. Of course there are many reasons for this such as law suits and the like.
• Parents have stopped taking responsibility for the behavior of their children. I volunteer at a local elementary school reading to kindergartners. From my experience I can almost always match the children to their parents. The kids imitate the actions of their parents. If a parent is a good person the child is more than likely a good child. Pulling no punches, if the parent is a loser, the child will most likely be a loser. To call a child a loser is a terrible thing. To have it be true is even worse.
• The school teacher should be a parents helper in the education process and not have the primary responsibility. Traditional 'school' should be only one part of the educational process. Religious education is a very important part of building a balanced child. Family and neighbors are another important part.

Stealing, cheating and lying can only be stopped with the parents involvement. It is time that parents step up to their responsibility and not excuse their child's bad behavior.

Datadiver08