Violence In Our Schools - When Is It Enough

Mary was a good kid. She never gave her parents much worry. She made friends easily, was kind to everyone she met and was a hard worker. In school she made honor roll every year and teachers enjoyed having her around. She played softball in the spring and ran track in the fall. Christmas carols were sung around the piano that she played with love if not accuracy. Life was good for Mary.

As with most young girls, when puberty came along a certain young man captured her attention. He of course, hadn't gotten to the point of even noticing girls existed. Not really. She wrote in her diary of talking with him through the night; of wanting to hold his hand; of daydreams and curiosity. As time passed, her diary was filled with other thoughts and daily life. She didn't think about the boy, but in the secret recesses of her mind he remained.

Her first year of high school, she excelled beyond anyone's expectations. There was talk of National Honor Society and full college scholarships. Special permission was granted from the administration to assist her science teacher in some of his lower classes. Mary was liked by most and fit in everywhere. Her laughter was infectious.

By sophomore year her goals were set. She would take her AP classes, continue her volunteer work, letter in track and softball and get into a good college. Astronomy fascinated her and becoming a scientist became her new dream. While helping the drama department design their set for the fall play she met a boy. He swept her off her feet. His compliments flowed like honey and his consideration knew no bounds. She had never felt the need to date and told him so. His response was as kind as many of his other words. All he wanted was to be able to spend time in her company. She could have her friends around if that would help. That's the way it started.

By December her friends had left her and his friends replaced them. The day before winter break began, that certain young man secreted in the back of her mind stopped by the table where she and her new friends were eating lunch. He shyly asked if she would like to go skating next week with him and his family. Stunned, she hesitated to respond, afraid her words would squeak with glee. After a moment, the young man told her to think about it and that he would call her later for her answer.

Doing a mental happy dance, Mary never saw the look of the boy sitting next to her. She soon found out he wasn't the person he had been showing her before. Within the next month he made her life a living hell. How dare she consider going out with someone besides him. Only HE decided who she saw, what she did and when she did it. He verbally berated her and she stopped hanging around with him. He would call her at home and threaten to beat the young man if she ever saw him again. When school started again he followed her through the hallways and never stopped staring at her. He'd walk behind her telling her all the nasty things he was going to do to her, her friends and even her family if she didn't come back to him.

Being strong she felt she could handle this creep on her own.

On February 12 her mother came to school for a meeting with the principal. Mary's mother demanded the school protect her child while in their care. You see, the boy had begun to threaten to shoot Mary. Ahh, but Mrs So and So, you don't have any witnesses to this. All his friends tell me that he never did such a thing. Mary's friends tell me the same thing she does. Who am I supposed to believe? I do have a solution for you Mrs. So and So. You may attend classes with Mary and be her body guard if you are so sure these so called threats are real. Or you can transfer Mary to another school.

With tears streaming down her face, Mary's mother signed the paperwork to remove Mary from school. There was no other school in the district where the boy's evil friends did not hold sway. Having no money for private school, Mary was a ship without a rudder. Her mother worked two jobs to support them and had no time to home school. All her dreams began to unravel.

There would be no homecoming dances or proms for Mary. No National Honor Society, varsity lettering or scholarships. Instead of walking down the aisle in cap and gown receiving her diploma, Mary got her GED results in the mail with a nice certificate signed by the Governor. Her aspirations for becoming a scientist were quashed when she could only afford to attend the Community College part time while she worked full time as a grocery clerk.

Kids like Mary have their dreams destroyed by creeps like that boy every day in our schools. Our children's safety is touted by school boards around the country, yet few can actually fulfill those promises. Taunting, threats, beatings and destructive rumors have become so commonplace that our kids can no longer enjoy those few precious years before adulthood.

Many may say that situations like those are part of life. That those like Mary need to learn how to toughen up and take their licks. No one should have to "put up" with any kind of discourtesy by peers, teachers or administrators. Schools are not battle grounds and it's time we, as parents, demanded otherwise. So many rules have changed thanks to litigious weenies that our kids are no longer learning the basics of math, science and history but learning how to duck, weave and hide.

It's time to take back our schools from the lawyers and return them to the kids. As parents and as human beings, we have an obligation to protect our young, to educate them, and to prepare them for adulthood. Children such as Mary are losing out on the wonders life has to offer them, though the fault isn't their own. The failure lies with our school systems, with other parents who are incapable of properly teaching their own children respect, and it is our own fault for allowing the above to thwart the dreams, goals, and talents of our young to blossom.