Alright, so I think I must have struggled with the title of this one for about ten minutes before actually giving up and naming it what I did instead of something catchy or clever. First, I'll go a little bit into why I decided to write about this. In the apartment complex that my dad rents at (which is where we're staying right now) there's somewhat of a routine that's developed. At 2:30pm every weekday people do one of three things (that I've noticed): One, they head out onto their balcony with a pack of smokes and their cell phone ready to call the closest school or the police, if need be. Two, they make sure they have plans so they can be gone from the complex completely until 3:30pm. Three, they bring in anything they think may be of value (this includes door mats) from the balcony and the front of the apartment and lock themselves in tight for the hour. Okay, so I know this is starting to sound like something out of a fantasy novel and that, at any minute, I'm going to tell you the giant dragon is about to swoop down on the helpless little village. If only that were true. In reality, that time every single week day is when the kids from the local Jr. High and High School are out of class and walking home. You would expect to see a mix of tiny, shy or nerdy kids and then the kids who play football or the occassional cheerleader outfit. Not with these kids. Each and every one of them apparently believes they are "hardcore" and "bad ass" so they can do whatever they want. For example: They walk through the parking lot of the apartment complex (which they're not supposed to) smoking cigarettes, screaming the worst profanities I've ever heard on a child all the way across the parking lot at kids they don't know or even tenants, pushing one another and cussing in the hopes that a fight will break out (which it always does), kicking people's cars, jumping into people's trucks, making it to at least third base in the middle of the parking lot, sneaking down the stair well to the garage right below our window to have sex, throwing glass bottles at each other, stealing things they want off of the balcony as they walk by, talking back and threatening us if we catch them and scold them and even threatening to kill other kids if they don't give them money. Angels aren't they? Now, there are a few of these kids who actually just walk quietly through, but they are always picked on by the others and almost in tears by the time they get to the other end of the lot. The police have been called before, but they get here 20 minutes later when that particular batch of kids who damaged property or made the threat are long gone. A neighbor, however, went straight to the school board and they sent out an official in his personal vehicle to observe these kids and was so angry with what he saw! The question is, why does this have to happen?! Why are these kids like this?! To answer those questions, you need to ask another one: What are these kids doing out of school at 2:30pm?! I remember being in High School and walking home, but we didn't get out of class until 3:30pm and once we got home at 4pm we had to sit our butts down and watch whatever "after school special" was on that day, be teen pregnancy, the dangers of playing with guns or drugs! And we always had at least one after school activity we had to be involved in which meant that, some days, we wouldn't leave the school grounds to walk home until 6pm! Schools today (public schools in particular, it seems) don't have enough money so they use that as an excuse to send these kids home earlier and cut the after school programs that are so vital to their personal growth! When we were kids, we didn't dare talk back to another adult! We didn't dare come home any later than we were expected to walk through the front door! And we certainly didn't dare to get the mail or answer the phone before our mom or dad got to it when we knew it was bad news from the school.. because we knew they'd find out later and our butts would be so sore if we did! I'm not saying parents today should beat their kids and I'm not even going to get into the spanking issue here; I'm just saying that if kids were actually involved at school and had something to look forward to every morning other than a few more classes then the long walk home, they'd be more appreciative! These kids are bored at school because they teachers don't get paid enough anymore either and so they destroy things and hurt each other for amusement and then act out on their way home from school because they know that if the school finds out and calls their parents they will be able to get the cal first! They know if the school sends their parents an email, they got all their email passwords! If the school tries to send a letter, they're home long before their parents are so they can burn that letter like it never got there! Remember how we used to sprint all the way home on report card day and pray that we'd get there before the mail guy did so we'd have a chance to look at it and know what was coming?! And most of the time we didn't make it their on time! Our parents were already home from work! These shorter school days and lack of after school activities or arts programs are creating more and more "latch-key" kids than we ever had before! These kids spend hours of their days on the streets between school and when their parents get home! They have nothing to guide them for more than a few hours each day and only their peers to teach them what life is the rest of the day! They have zero respect for other people, let alone older people, and think that they run the world! And WE are creating children like this! It's no wonder parents are eager to send their kids to private school or to home school them! But not everyone has the money to do so! We have a moral obligation to our kids to make sure they are safe and nurtured when we can't be there! That's what the school system is supposed to be for! I know it's not a daycare system, but why punish the kids in taking away the fun and productive things they could be doing after their usual classes which could be the difference for them between Harvard and Juevenile Hall?!
Okay, that's my rant. I'm done. And yet, still disappointed.
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