Would you do it? … 02.21.09

According to an article by the Brietbart TV, a 15 y/o girl turned her mom in for drug possession and usage in the presence of a minor.  The article did not give much details or information on the incident other than to report the incident. I’m not sure what was her motivation for doing this.  There could have been many.  My first thought was that this is the right thing to do in wanting to help someone that you love.  Was she doing it because she wanted help for her mom?  Did she see the destructive path that this was leading to?  Was it out of anger for her mom?  Was this one way of getting back at her mom?

Whatever the reason for doing this, I believe it is the right one.  Do you agree?  At least mom will hopefully receive the help that she needs and will probably be able to give her daughter the kind of life she needs to have – a drug free mom.  That’s my prayer for this family.

Oh to be in school again … 02.20.09

A decision was recently made by the Broward County School Board in Florida, to set limits on the amount of homework that students will receive beginning in the 09-10 school year. I’m sure most if not all students in Broward County will be shouting hallelujahs from the housetop. Some might be doing somersaults. This might be true for parents or any other adult who finds themself in the position of almost doing hours of homework with their student child. It’s amazing how as a parent you feel like you are the teacher at times.

I remember when my children were at the age where I would help them with their homework, I wondered what teachers were being paid for if I almost had to reteach the lesson. Obviously, when a student is not grasping a concept, something is not right. Its either the student has a learning disability, hates school, is oppositional, or the teacher is not teaching. If after careful exploration you find that the student is not exhibiting any of these or other symptoms, then I begin to question the teachers ability. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Some teachers also think that their class is the only class the student is in. They do not  seem to care that the student has other classes as well. One of the things I like about this new policy is that there would be collaboration among teachers to decipher the amount of workload of their students. This is simply called communication, which should be happening in the first place.

Now having said all that I would love to be in school when this policy is implemented. As it is now, some students doesn’t seem to get enough homework. Sometimes it seems like they are getting none. You ask some students do you have homework on any given day, and the answer is no. It makes you wonder.

It’s amazing how students find time for watching hours of television, surfing the internet for eternity, talking and texting on their phone for hours on end, even though they supposedly have homework. They will find time to do what they want to do.

I am wondering if these are just board members who don’t want to be bothered with the hands-on assistance of their children’s education, who decided to bring this debate to the table and now won? Also I am wondering if this won’t give students more time on their hand to be involved in things they ought not to be involved in? Just some thoughts!

Alfie, the 13 y/o dad … 02.14.09

It happened the first time!  So said Alfie who has just turned 13 y/o. It happened at 12. What happened? Glad you asked. I was here waiting for you to do so.

According to the Sun news article, Alfie became a father at 13 y/o. The article stated that he had sex with 15 y/o Chantelle for the first time when he was 12, and she became pregnant. When they found out, they didn’t know what to do. They knew they needed to tell their parents but did not know how to go about doing it. Fear of what they might say or do kept them with this secret. With all that these two at this age had to be dealing with – Alfie, issues surrounding puberty and Chantelle thoughts of turning the magical age of 16, they now had to add the burden of unplanned pregnancy to the list. If you are at this age or if you can remember what it was like at this age, you can probably related.

I must hasten to commend the decision that was made, which is to take the baby full-term and not abort it. We are living in an age that abortion has become the means to end “the inconvenience”. I used the word inconvenience because there are many people who thinks this way. Hope you are not one of them. I know there are other words that are used as well, but lets not get distracted. This baby’s life was spared. I wish this was true for the other millions who are killed each year.

Note: Baby’s Mom – Chantelle, looks like she could be baby’s dad – Alfie’s, mom

There are several interesting things about this article. One of them is Alfie’s dad making the statement that he realizes the need to talk to his son – Alfie, about the “birds and the bees” again. Could this be one of the problems? I’m not suggesting that if he spelled it out to Alfie as best as he could, it would have made a difference. It may have. The issue here is maybe he needs to talk to his son not about the birds and the bees but about penis, vagina, and sexual intercourse. Call it what it is.

Maybe you are reading this article as a parent and you are one who have a difficult time talking to your kids about a topic of this nature, let me hasten to say this: if you don’t someone else will and maybe the someone that will, is not the person you want talking to your child about this issue.

Here it is that this child has now become a father. He doesn’t even know the cost of a diaper. Obviously this child will be raised by the grandparents. I don’t think you would want these children raising this baby. Do they sound like they could? Chantelle – “We didn’t think we would need help from our parents.” Alfie – “I didn’t think about how we could afford it. I don’t really get pocket money …” Are these the words of children or what! Should they be having a baby? Should the baby be placed for adoption? These are tough questions.

If I was to point the finger at anyone, I would point it at Chantelle. She need to get someone who is at least her own age if she wants to have sex. I would almost go as far as to say that she raped him. She took advantage of a little child. She knew better. Someone may ask, “what about the parents?” I’m not sure what they could have done. If they never had clear talks with these kids about sex and developmental issues, then yes, I would also point the finger at them for that part.

If it is as Alfie states that this happened the first time of having sex, it only underscores the fact that staying clear of sexual intercourse is the only sure way to not become mom and dad. In addition, it is the sure way to remain free of STD’s.

Does environment plays a part in all of this? Hmmh! I wonder.

Childish play or Serious Crime? … 021109

On 12/30/09, I wrote an article entitled “Sexting, the new porn?” In that article I discussed the fact that it seemed teens were getting involved in something they thought was just “child’s” play. These teens would take nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves or a willing partner and send those pictures to friends. What these teens were not aware of is that any transmission of nudity over any media form, is considered porn.

Now, some boys are being considered for possible charges of trafficking porn. What these boys did was to send to their friends pictures of a nude 13 y/o girl. The boyfriend of the girl had taken pictures of his girlfriend and send to his buddies. They in turn send those pictures to others. Who else knows who have seen this picture or where it will eventually end up. It might now be on the internet. Was that the boyfriends intention? I don’t think so.

The question that must be dealt with which is, should they be charged with porn trafficking? Would that be excessive? Wow! That is the $1,000,000 question.

Prosecutors claim that the law does not give them much room to negotiate.

Was this a stupid mistake? Is this childish play? Should this be overlooked? What about the 13 y/o whose picture has now been seen by who knows how many people?