School Cliques

 “Parents are not the only ones to blame. I have attended school now for thirteen years and have witnessed first-hand how kids and teenagers can act. Teenagers form their own cliques and tend to make fun of anyone who doesn’t seem to be like them. As much as one tries to forget or get over it, words hurt. Some hold grudges, and these grudges, sadly, can result in murder in [some] cases.”
Rachel Casey, Salem High School, Salem, Missouri

“The life of a youth in America is very difficult. School can be a terrible place where there is a constant battle to fit in. In American schools prejudices have not disappeared but have evolved. Students are discriminated against and judged for a variety of reasons like their intelligence level, how they dress, whom they hang out with, and what their interests include. All through school students either take up the aristocratic positions where they learn to be bossy and mean to others, or they are the peons who are made miserable and oppressed and learn how to blend in and not speak back. Originality and the ability to think for oneself is stunted and thrown aside.  Students must either conform to fit in or be ridiculed and made fun of by the others. No one wants to take the time to get to know one another and [students] are quick to judge each other. School is a harsh world and [children will take] experiences from it…with them into adulthood. Slowly the social system of schools is producing tyrants, terrorists, and people who are afraid to stand up for what they believe in.  Values have also been lost. The world of youth today is a selfish and lonely world where babies have become an expendable by-product of recreation, human lives are no longer important, and respect for one another has been completely lost.” 
Tracy Hanna, Carrollton High School, Carrollton, Ohio

“Common among the school shootings is the treatment of the aggressors by their classmates. These kids had been treated as outcasts, teased and ridiculed without intervention of school administrators on a daily basis. It’s no wonder these kids snapped. I’m willing to bet that if these kids were not teased so much, these shootings would not have happened.”
Erin Parchert, Rockridge High School, Taylor Ridge, Illinois

“Teenagers get picked on all the time for not wearing the cool name brand or for not listening to the right music. If you get bullied all the time, you get really aggravated and stick up for yourself by fighting the bully. Fighting is the only defense kids feel is acceptable…people pick on others because they have problems or they are getting picked on, but in fact they are only creating more problems.”
Jamie Ludwig, Joliet Central High School, Joliet, Illinois

“The peers of many children have driven them off the edge. They have pushed the children to the point [where] one child has caused fights between two people, and even killings. Why does this happen? This isn’t what peers should be about.” 
Steven Ardary, Harriman High School, Harriman, Tennessee

Neglected Lessons: How To Handle Their Emotions

“There is a lot of violence and anger in schools and in the children today.”
Jamie McCarval, Valley Springs High School, Valley Springs, Arkansas

“Many children are never taught how to handle their negative thoughts. They grow up like a time bomb, waiting to explode.”
Cassie Flynn, Rockridge High School, Taylor Ridge, Illinois      

“But what it all comes down to is that children do not know how to handle their emotions of frustration, helplessness, and fear.”
Kristy Lowery, Salem High School, Salem, Missouri

Kids can’t learn if no one is willing to teach!

“Everyday youth are faced with important decisions that may alter the direction their life is heading. Many youths do make good decisions but many stumble and are unable to get back on their feet. For these youth who stumble, where do they turn to for help? In our society today the answer to this question is unclear.”
Josh Onken, Rockridge High School, Taylor Ridge, Illinois

Neglected Lessons: Understanding and Tolerance

“In almost all of the communities today, the neighbors don’t know each other and have no idea what each of them is going through in their lives and how they live.”
Jimmy Gipson, Salem High School, Salem, Missouri

“What is it that prevents society from working together? Much of it is our own ignorance. Racism, sexism, prejudice, and pure hate prevent us from helping others. We worry about our differences, and do not concentrate enough on our similarities. When others need us, we cannot be there for them because we can’t put our differences aside and work together.”
Nicole Gunter, Joliet Central High School, Joliet, Illinois

“‘I don’t like your tattoos, tongue ring, or your dangling shoe laces. I don’t like your music, the bag you carry, or your idols. What do you have to offer the community? You are nothing but a drain on society! I do not want you behaving this way in my community!’ These statements can be heard from the lips of many community leaders, but is this really aberrant behavior or does it just cross the social boundaries acceptable to the adult community?”
Ezekiel J. Johnson, McLeansboro High, McLeansboro, Illinois

“In today’s society it seems that we’ve lost the ability to deal with one another face to face. We blame our incapability to deal with one another on how vast our nation has become and how, with the ever growing technological advances we possess, there’s no reason to look a man in the face while making a major business transaction. The lack of personal contact has made mankind in general, desensitized to the quality of life. Thirty years ago who would’ve guessed that it would ever be commonplace to hear…of a mere twelve-year-old child opening fire on other innocent children? To our fellow man we owe our kindness, our unlimited caring, and, most of all, our understanding. While we may think that no one has experienced what we’ve experienced, that no one has had it worse that us, and that no one could possibly understand where we’re coming from, the truth is, it doesn’t matter if we share the exact same experiences. If we attempted to understand one another, it would germinate more responsibility toward mankind throughout our communities. …Faith Popcorn says, ‘We have so many latchkey children in search of a human connection.’ The familial environment instills what our children carry to their future lives, and if a nine-to-five job full of loneliness is what we instill, what do we expect from our children?”
Brooke Eddy, Valley Springs High School, Valley Springs, Arkansas

“Adolescents need to have an understanding of the values of cultural diversity. If a parent teaches a child the morals of…society and keeps their child morally grounded, then that child will understand the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Parents should teach their children how to treat different types of people and make [them] understand that it is okay to be different. There are many people who discriminate against other people just because they are different. But if people are taught that criticizing [other people] is wrong, then [they will] realize that [those people] are just like them. Trying to adapt to society and the criticism that comes along with trying to fit in is an aspect of life that everyone must face. This has brought more and more people to understanding the values of cultural diversity and has brought different communities together by understanding each other. People have come to realize that everyone is essentially the same and that no one is better than the other.”
Jessica Williams, Kecoughtan High School, Hampton, Virginia

Neglected Lessons: How To Be Considerate Of Others

“There are unstable people everywhere and nothing can fully protect us from the harm of their minds and bodies. …The population and diversity of America has contributed to the amount of violence today. The ideas and differences of people sometimes clash, and there is nothing that can be done about it. Arguments will ensue and sometimes these disagreements will lead to bloodshed. Humans must learn to be considerate of others, or else the world will become a colossal riot. We should look back at the sixties, the age of hippies promoting peace. Although there was a war taking place and unrestrained rallies created a dangerous atmosphere, most people, especially teenagers, wanted peace. Woodstock is a perfect example of this. In 1969, the music festival drew crowds of over three hundred thousand people. With a crowd this size, it is remarkable that there was no intentional violence except for a broken fence. However, Woodstock 1999 had fires, rapes, and injuries from thrown projectiles. It is astonishing to see how much a society can change in thirty years.”
Jennifer Glass, Demopolis High School, Demopolis, Alabama