Leeah Herrin (Edison):Children Who Abuse Their Parents

23. April 2009 by student.

There was a discussion during one of the early classes addressing spousal abuse and child abuse. Professor Andoscia mentioned an episode of Cops where he saw a rather large woman fling her boyfriend/husband through the air like a rag-doll. We laughed. I started thinking about this phenomenon and the truth about abuse. There are people getting abused who never get mentioned, and who get giggled at like a joke. Abuse is not a joke.

Child abuse is a perfect example. There are heartbreaking stories about child abuse in the news everyday. However, there is rarely mention of all the parents who are abused by their children. Many of these cases involve autistic children or children who have tourettes. They are over medicated, or prescribed to the wrong medication altogether. There aren’t many resources for these mentally, physically, and verbally abused parents. I discovered a blog where parents of abusive children talk, and give each other advice about their experiences.

“My son is continuously verbally abusive to myself and his younger sister-but especially me. He will do it in the presence of his father but not as much. We do have him in counseling due to his behavior and the fact that he has tourette syndrome and is obsessive compulsive doesn’t help matters. He is usually remorseful but that is short lived and he is just very angry. I know, he needs help and we’re getting it but it’s very slow going. He is on 2 medications and weekly counseling but I’m ready to split or send him away. I am at the end of my rope. I don’t deserve to be treated rudely. Please reply with any suggestions or info. you may have. Thanks. “–Donna Patterson (posting from archive)

I was very frustrated to discover that there are hundreds of sites for abused children and very little, if any, for parents who are perpetually held hostage by their angry teen sons and daughters.

I noticed that with most of these parents stories, they end up being forced to put their children out of the house. Once the situation becomes urgent boarding school is where they end up. Is this how it should be? Another frustrated mother responded:

“Listen girlfriend, you must remove the boy from the home as soon as possible. You will be helping him, the rest of the family and those he will build relationships with later on. March 28th, 2003.This was the date my 18 year old son hit me. He now has one month to get out of the house. I found no support for parents who are abused by their children. Next time the police will be called. I reccomend getting the child out because the risks are higher it will happen again. “–Fran Urban (posting from archive)“

” I am going through similar issues with my daughter who will turn 15 next week. To sum it up — she is verbally and physically abusive and blames me for everything. She is currently in a psychiatric hospital as of this past Wednesday evening after she assaulted me because I told her to get off of the telephone. While waiting for the police to arrive — she broke everything that she could get her hands on — slashed her wrists and tried to jump out her bedroom window. This is her second hospitalization — the first time she was hospitalized because she ran away and said that she tried to kill herself — she was diagnosed as depressed and put on Paxil and assigned outpatient therapy. After 3 months of outpatient therapy her therapist said she could not help her anymore and we as parents didn’t know what to do. Shortly after she assaulted me for the first time and I ended up in the emergency room. I contacted the police and asked that she be removed from the home because she threatened to kill me — I was told that the police could not do that. The police instructed my husband and I to go to court to file a CHINS (Child in Need of Services) agreement. This documented what the rules in the house are — it was put in writing that she needed to obey the house rules, not run away - - which she has done several times — do her schoolwork — she went from a staight A student to failing all classes — and attending weekly counseling at the courthouse. It was made clear to her at court when we filed this agreement that if she violated the agreement, she could be removed from the home and be put into foster care. She has violated every aspect of our agreement. This agreement protects the parents and the child. The first time she was hospitalized was only for one week and I expect her to be hospitalized longer this time. After that she may end up in foster care. My husband and I have to meet with her probation officer this afternoon.

I love her and always will — but I can no longer control her behavior and I am not going to live in fear in my own home. If you are being abused by your child, you must involve the police. You must protect yourself and any other children in your home. I live in Massachusetts but I believe that the CHINS agreements are nationwide. “–Robin Carroll (posting from archive)

“How do you answer or give advice not knowing the circumstances.
This exactly what is happening to me. My daughter is out of control
or was i should say. She has been abusive for the last 4 years It all
ended today. She is 17 and a few months old. I hit my breaking point
and slapped her after 2 1/2 hours then i called the police before i
got any more out of control. well i was arrested for domestic
violence and now i cant even go home when she is there. so she has
free run of my house with whoever she wants and i have to stay away
of face going to jail. I was widowed 2 years ago my wife died of
breast cancer. My daughter was extremely cruel to her the last years
of her life. Now i have hit my limits i will abandoned my daughter,
never to see her again. I know this sounds cruel but it is something i
have to do not only save my sanity but to save my life. It is sad but I have
lost all my love for her. I do not believe she is my daughter any
more. I know that she will have a rough go of it and who knows what
will happen to her but at this point i really do not care. This has
been building for 4 years. I wish you the best because far as i am
concerned i have lost my wife and now my daughter. Thanks for
reading this.” Randy otto4@earthlink.net –Randy Otto (posting from archive)

“I am the mother of a 17 year old (soon to be 18 in May 2006). She is currently in DSS custody because she physically assaulted me last week. I obtained a restraining order to keep her away from me, but when I went to court I was brought up on neglect charges because I refused to bring her home because she is only 17. I have had numerous problems with her since she was @ 13. I discovered that she has been suicidal since 11. She is a cutter. We have previously filed 2 CHINS against her. She has lived out of the house in several locations for troubled teen girls. We have had extensive family counseling and she has had extensive individual counseling. She is now heavily involved in BDSM and completely uncontrollable. She is extremely intelligent. My husband had had her tested on all levels, academically, etc. She has only been diagnosed as having depression and that she needs to learn that life is full of ups and downs - period. However, things are only OK if she gets her way. She was a A+ student in all honor classes and went to a failing student. She has assaulted myself, my husband, her friends, etc. I have discussed with her therapists whether or not she could be bipolar or have some kind of personality behavioral disorder and both were ruled out. Several therapists have stopped working with her, because they discovered she is extremely manipulative and a compulsive liar and the therapists cannot help her if she is not honest with them. I have discovered that she beat my dog — she actually videotaped this and I found it on her computer. I am appalled that I feel I have absolutely NO rights whatsoever within the court system to protect me. I lost my job because I was working for a school system, and because she recently assaulted me and I was brought up on neglect charges, I was immediately terminated from my job and I can no longer obtain a job that will allow me to work with children. What has happened in society that our children can verbally and physically abuse their parents but we cannot provide self-defense. Once during family therapy, she went completely off the wall, swore at both my husband and myself, threatened to kill me when she got the chance, etc. The therapist did NOTHING to try to stop her behavior and when I couldn’t take it any longer and told my daughter that I thought she was a bitch, I was brought up on verbal abuse charges and banned from seeing my daughter for one month. I think that parental abusive by teenagers is a lot more common than society realizes and that parents do not have the appropriate resources to protect ourselves. My daughter is currently in DSS custody for the second time until she turns 18 this coming May. I am petrified of what happens when she is released. I had to change my email address, cell phone number, home phone number, the locks on my doors and my husband and I are contemplating whether or not we will even have to move from the home we love. I have exhausted all efforts to help my daughter with whatever is “wrong” and now I have to take care of myself. It is NOT my fault if she has been wrongly diagnosed by the numerous facilities she has lived in or the therapists that she has seen. Yet, once again, I am not the victim, I am the abuser.”

This blog goes on and on. I read through several more and realized there is no solid solution to the problem of children who abuse their parents. Often the tragedy is that parents are physically harmed by out of control teens, then end up in jail themselves. There is a program out there called CHINS which is a possible solution.

What is a CHINS?

A Child in Need of Services (CHINS) matter is a court case in which the Juvenile Court tries to help parents and school officials deal with troubled youth. The person filing the CHINS petition must show the judge that the child:

• regularly runs away from home; or
• constantly disobeys the commands of a parent or legal guardian; or
• misses school on a regular basis; or
• constantly fails to follow school rules.

Who may file A CHINS?

A parent or guardian may file a CHINS petition on a child who is under 17, who runs away, does not or cannot follow the rules at home.

A school district may file a CHINS petition on a child who is under 16, who is absent a lot or misbehaves at school.

The police may file a CHINS petition on a child who is under 17 and a runaway.

Once the CHINS petition is issued, it is up to the judge, not the parent or the school, to decide when to dismiss the CHINS.

What happens on the first court date?

On the first court date, the child and the parent will meet with the probation officer assigned to the case. Depending on the facts of the case and the seriousness of the situation, the child may also be assigned an attorney and appear before the judge. If the case is not too serious, the child may only meet with probation for informal assistance. Generally on this first court date the child will be asked to sign a CHINS agreement.

If the child is a runaway, the judge may grant temporary custody of the child to the Department of Social Services (DSS). If the judge does give temporary custody to DSS, DSS makes the decision about where the child will live; it may be at home, in a foster home, or at a residential program, depending on the age and needs of the child. Along with granting temporary custody to DSS, the judge can also order DSS to place the child in a setting outside his or her home to make sure that DSS cannot decide to send the child home.

If the child was arrested by the police for failing to come to court or was arrested as a runaway, and the court finds that the child is not likely to return for the next court date, the court may impose bail or other reasonable conditions aimed at making sure the child comes to court.

Bail is a monetary amount that must be paid before the child can go home. No child can be held on bail under a CHINS for more than 15 days without returning to court. If a child is held on bail under a CHINS petition, the child cannot be locked up and held at a Department of Youth Services Detention Center (DYS). However, the judge can transfer custody of the child to DSS, and DSS will decide where the child will stay.

If the child comes to court after being arrested as a runaway, the CHINS petition will automatically be issued and the case will be scheduled for a trial.

What is a CHINS agreement?

A CHINS agreement is like a contract. The child and his or her parent meets with the probation officer to try to figure out what temporary services or rules can be put in place to help alleviate the situation that led to the CHINS. The child will be asked to sign a piece of paper agreeing to follow the listed conditions or rules. Typical CHINS agreements include conditions like attending school daily without incident, coming home by a set curfew, attending counseling, treating family members and other people with respect, and remaining drug and alcohol free.

What happens at the next court date?

At the next court hearing, the probation officer makes recommendations about the case. The probation officer can decide one of the following things:

not to issue a petition because it looks like the child does not need services; or

not to issue the petition because it feels that the child would be better served by informal services through the probation department; or

to ask the judge to issue the petition and schedule the case for trial.

When the probation officer asks the judge to issue the petition, s/he will tell the judge the facts about why s/he believes that the child is a Child in Need of Services- why the child fits into one of the categories under the law. After the petition has been issued, and sometimes even before that, the child will be appointed an attorney to represent him or her in front of the judge.

What is informal assistance?

Informal assistance is used to try to resolve the problems that led to the filing of the CHINS without having the judge involved in the case. Once a child is referred to probation for informal assistance, the probation officer meets with the family and the child to discuss ways to solve the problem and to avoid going before the judge. The probation officer also decides what services the child needs to assist him or her. If the probation officer thinks that the child would be best served by having an attorney present, an attorney can be appointed. The parent or the child can also ask the probation officer to appoint an attorney to advise the child. The child is usually asked to sign another, more detailed CHINS agreement.

The services that probation can recommend include: counseling, educational services, occupational, medical, psychiatric, dental, or social services, anger management or fire safety classes, after-school or extra-curricular programs, support groups, and drug and alcohol testing. A child cannot be forced to participate in any of these activities. However, if the child does not cooperate with informal assistance, the probation officer can ask the court to issue the petition and set a date for trial.

How long will informal assistance last?

The period of informal assistance should last only for six months. This period can be extended beyond six months, but only with the consent of the child and parents.

What happens at the trial?

The trial or “hearing on the merits” is held to determine whether, beyond a reasonable doubt, the child is a Child in Need of Services as defined by law. The child has a right to a hearing in front of a judge or jury made up of members of the community. The child and his or her court appointed attorney must be present at the hearing. The child has a right to present evidence in support of his or her position, and a right to cross-examine adverse witnesses. Witnesses may include the probation officer, truant officer, parents, other school officials, and social service providers. Nothing that the child or any other person said during informal assistance can be used against the child during the trial.

Remember that if the behavior attributed to the child is infrequent, isolated or due to no fault of the child, the child should not be a CHINS.

What happens if the judge or jury finds that the child is a Child in Need of Services?

If the judge or jury concludes that the child is a Child in Need of Services, the judge must consider the best interests of the child, including his or her emotional and physical welfare, and can do any of the following: allow the child to remain in the custody of his or her parent or legal guardian. place the child with a relative, probation officer, other adult or private agency who is found fit to care for the child place the child in the care and custody of DSS. DSS will decide where the child will live, based on what the child’s social worker thinks is best. The judge’s order can include any conditions and limitations, including provision of medical, psychological, psychiatric, educational, occupational or social services, and for supervision by the court clinic or public agency providing counseling or guidance services.

The case should be reviewed by the judge at least every six months to see how the child is doing. The case can be brought in front of the judge sooner if the child continues to run away, be truant, or engage in the behavior that prompted the CHINS, or if the child is doing well and the parties agree that custody should return to the guardian before the six month period is over. Throughout the case, the judge can order a change in the child’s placement if it seems necessary.

When can a CHINS be dismissed?

The case can be dismissed at the six-month review if the judge finds that “the objectives of the CHINS have been met.” This usually means that the child can show that the behavior that prompted the CHINS has not occurred in at least a few months. If the objective of the CHINS has not been met, the CHINS will be extended for another six months for a review.

If the CHINS is for truancy, the case automatically should be dismissed when the child turns sixteen. At that point however, the child’s parents sometimes file a CHINS because the child is not following the rules of the home.

If the CHINS is not dismissed for any other reason, it will be dismissed when the child turns eighteen.

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Produced by Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts
Created July 2, 2002

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Legal Services for Children

Children’s Law Center of Massachusets

Like any solution, CHINS is merely a step in the right direction to help these troubled youths and abused parents.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

Social Standards by: Devin Richards

23. April 2009 by student.

It’s a difficult world that we live in now a days and sometimes its so hard to see past the day to day trials and tribulations of life. I sit and think sometimes of why the road i take sometimes is so difficult to travel and ultimately i come to the unarguable truth that maybe the world is so difficult because of the social standards we have developed to accommodate our decisions instead of necessity. whatever happened to working an honest living and providing your family with the necesities of life and ultimately the focus on being happy. i believe sometime we get so caught up in the mouse wheel of life and forget the fun and excitement of just living. why in this world have we created this despair not because of it just existing, but only existing out of our own personal decisions, we have such unrealistic body and personality expectations forced upon us by modern media and other influential idividuals that the water gets so muddy that sometimes i dont even know the socially exceptable actions anymore. i think what needs to take place is a focus on indiviualism and the acceptance of those ideals and not the banishment of them. Eventually we will become a drone society eating out of the bowl of the masses and never truely living our own individual social reality.

Posted in Social Problems, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Trang Nguyen (Edison) Privacy

23. April 2009 by student.

What is privacy?
According to Cambridge Dictionary:
1. someone’s right to keep their personal matters and relationships secret
2. the state of being alone.

Do you think you have any privacy? Well as we are in the 21st century, everything is now very advances, from nothing to highly technologies things. When dealing with  technologies such as computer, cellphone, or when you go to the store, your privacy may be lost. For example, msnbc.com wrote how some of your privacy may be lost:
“Someday a stranger will read your e-mail, rummage through your instant messages without your permission or scab the Web sites you’ve visited — maybe even find out that you read this story.”
“You might be spied in a lingerie store by a secret camera or traced using a computer chip in your car, your clothes or your skin.”
“Perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills, or a political consultant might select you for special attention based on personal data purchased from a vendor.”

Do you think your privacy is important? and do you care if you don’t have privacy?
According to MSNBC.com surve, sixty percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
Another survey at Ponemom Institute stating that there are only about seven percent of Americans change behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy.  A few people don’t use the the easy pass system at the toll to avoid being track by automobile movements. Yet there people gives away their Social Security numbers just for a 50 cents off coupon.

Why do you need to care about your privacy? And what happen when your privacy got lost?

The following link are some example of what may happen when your privacy got lost.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15289066/

There has not yet been a law that directly states “the Right of Privacy” but there are other laws related to privacy
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/rightofprivacy.html :
Amendment 1: Privacy of Beliefs — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 3: Privacy of the Home — No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment 4: Privacy of the Person and Possessions — The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 5: Privilege against self-incrimination, which provides protection for the privacy of personal information.
Amendment 9: More General Protection for Privacy — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 14: Liberty Clause — No State shall… deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

In conclusion, as the growth of technology, our privacy maybe easier to lost, but there still some right that can prevent people from invading your privacy.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

Taylor Greager (FGCU) Miss California Controversy

23. April 2009 by student.

Miss USA pageant always has a question and answer competition in which twelve questions are submitted and six are then chosen to be randomly drawn from a hat and asked to the top 5 contestants. During the recent Miss USA pageant there has been controversy over the winner and how the runner up lost the crown because of a question that the organization knew was in the mix. Miss California should have won the Miss USA pageant but because of her answer to a controversial question about gay marriage, judges changed their mind, especially Perez Hilton. If the organization is going to put in a question that they know will stir up some controversy there shouldn’t be a right or wrong answer, or the question shouldn’t even be asked. Everyone has an opinion and the organization shouldn’t have judged poorly for Miss California’s answer of not agreeing with gay marriage. The organization should have expected what outcome would come if the contestant disagrees or agrees with gay marriage rights. Today there are many controversial cases about gay marriage rights and because someone disagrees with gay marriage on national television in a competition her score shouldn’t be penalized. Miss California has her own belief about gay marriage and as she quoted in her answer, “No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised,” which explains she wasn’t trying to offend anyone but that her answer is what she believed that a marriage should be between a man and a woman and that was how she raised. Furthermore, even if the question caused Miss California the crown, she still feels she has won and the answer didn’t cause her the crown, but in any case her answer was her belief and the controversy is out of control and I feel the question should have never been given especially in either case of agreeing or disagreeing it was going to raise problems no matter what. The question portion of the competition was not a matter of being gay or not gay but a matter of competing for Miss USA and getting a question and answering it to the best of your ability. Either way if Miss California lost the crown because of the question, I feel the organization needs to rethink their choices of questions and step in when audiences and judges disagree because a contestant’s belief wasn’t what they wanted to hear. (Foxnews.com)

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

Alexandra Hayson (fgcu) How toys display Gender

23. April 2009 by student.

            Go to any toy store and you will notice how different the isles are set up. When examining the “boy’s” section in the toy isle, I had made several observations. For young boys, gender identity starts at a young age. In this isle I had noticed blue teething toys with the title, “Little Boy” written on the package. Right off the bat young toddlers are given the impression that the color “blue” is a masculine color, and is geared towards boys, and not girls.
        Another significant toy that seemed to pop up numerous times throughout the “boy’s” isle is guns. It seemed like this isle had almost every type of gun. Just walking half way down the isle there was shot guns, water guns, dart guns, even the “Leggo” figures had guns. In society, the gun is a very masculine object and symbol. When a person thinks of someone carrying or using a gun, the words that might come to mind are “tough, manly, or masculine”.
        In the article, “The Act-Like-A-Man Box” by Paul Kivel, he explains that at a early age young boys are taught to act like men and be tough. He goes on to explain that men in our society have to fit in a box, and in order to fit in this box they have to meet certain expectations. Some of the expectations of this box are to act tough, be aggressive, and to be in control. A toy gun easily gives off the message that boys are meant to be masculine and tough. This idea connects with Kivel’s theory. Children, even toddlers are taught to act like a man, and they start becoming part of the box.
        All the sports toys such as football, soccer balls, and even the softballs were found in the “boy” isle.. Almost all the toys in the “boy” isle were in some way masculine. There were no pots and pans in this isle!   These toys send a message that are geared towards only a certain gender, and contribute to all the stereotyping that society has for men and women. Also, it is clear that gender identity is created and carried on throughout childhood.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

Chad Suarez (FGCU) Legalizing Marijuana ONLY

23. April 2009 by student.

The legalization of drugs or Marijuana has been in the conversation of America’s mouths for a long period of time now. Since we live in America, we are supposed to be a democratic government where the people’s votes count right? Obviously something isn’t right here since the American people want marijuana to be legalized but still the government has done nothing about it. Yes, I admit there are a lot of problems that face the legalization of marijuana but like any decision there will be pros, and there will be cons. Look at California, their economy would be in the shit hole if they didn’t have such a prosperous marijuana economy. They have made billions of dollars by taxing the product and regulating sales to certain types of people whether that is medically or for self purposes. Marijuana if grown, sold, taxed, and regulated by the government could help us with our insanely huge debt that we face here in America because of previous poor decisions made by our executive leaders. Marijuana is something that grows from the ground, it is similar to plans and trees, you plant it and it grows with proper care. What people don’t realize is that cannabis hemp can be used to create all sorts of different products. Cannabis hemp can be used to make clothes, it is already use medically, and it can even be used to create oil. A problem that we have been facing for the past couple of years is our oil industry and even though we could have a solution we choose to do nothing about it?

As I said earlier marijuana grows from the ground, it is not produced in a lab like other more severe drugs. I am not for the legalization of all drugs, I think cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin all those drugs need to stay illegal because of their severity on people’s bodies. If marijuana is used already as a medical prescription for certain ailments and illnesses what real harm does it actually do to your body? We spend billions of tax dollars and our own personal money on the “war on drugs” when this war against drugs is getting us nowhere. Millions of lives have been lost over drug wars, territory, and deals that have gone bad. Why not stop this by letting our government which we “trust” to take this product and give it to citizens under certain standards. I am not saying legalize it period making it accessible to everyone because at too early of an age I think it would cause more harm to society. Just as our government has an age restriction on the purchase of alcohol what would be so hard to make marijuana policies the same exact way? Even though the bill has been brought up in Congress we can never have the signature on it that we need to start this. If we grew it in America and regulated it here we could potentially stop millions of deaths and arrests per year. We would be able to cut off the import/export business for illegal use which would save money and time. Border control wouldn’t have to be so intense because drug smuggling would be brought to a minimum if we knew we could get it here with no conflict. I feel as a lot of others feel that if it were made more accessible people would not be doing it in excess all the time, they would even regulate their use.

Another problem that we face is arrests for petty marijuana charges. We have no room in jail for real offenses because so many cells are being taken up from marijuana. Marijuana isn’t harming anyone especially if they use it just to themselves. If you find relaxation or a time to get away from the real word through this drug then you should be able to buy it and use it for your enjoyment, it would be another form of “entertainment” for society. Our government needs to stop being so naive and listen to the people, they aren’t right now and for that a lot of citizens are unhappy with our government. Legalize it, regulate it, make money off it and help America get out of debt. Save lives, save problems from arising and save room in our prisons for offenses more severe. Like I said, marijuana doesn’t kill anyone but smuggling it does, legalize it and let our economy rise to what it once was.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Alexandra Hayson (fgcu) Gaps

23. April 2009 by student.

When I was growing up my mother always told me that people can do anything they want as long as they put there minds to it. Although I would love to believe this statement, it is unfortunately false. Getting a job that pays well now days is not that easy. And for some people it’s a lot harder than others. Being a woman I never realized how much we are underpaid compared to white males. A woman can be just as smart, maybe even smarter than her male partner, and chances are that she is getting less pay. This is otherwise known as the glass escalator effect. This effect happens when I woman is making her way up the corporate latter, but she can only go so far. See, there is this glass barrier that is holding her back, even though she can see herself going up, it is only the males that are escalating. Society tends to think of women as the “nurturers”, that’s why a lot of women could only be teachers and nurses in the past. This also brings up the question why teachers are so underpaid. Could it be because the majority of teachers are women?

There is not only a wage gap between men and women. There are also wage gaps do to people’s race and ethnicity. Statistics are shown that the average white man gets paid more than someone who is Hispanic or black. Some people may believe that if you work hard you can get ahead. But I on the other hand believe that most of the time someone with a higher class is always ahead of you, even if you are working twice as hard.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

Alexandra Hayson (fgcu) School Violence

23. April 2009 by student.

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Chad Suarez (FGCU) Bullying in Schools

23. April 2009 by student.

There is a huge problem in school, bullying. Schools have changed a lot since old time and students are now able to go to school with other ethnicities, genders, and disabilities. This shouldn’t cause a problem because supposedly we live in a humane society but the problem still persists. Bullying has been around since before my time and will probably continue to be a problem till long after I am gone. Administrators do not pay as much attention as they should to their students out of the classroom but on campus. Even in the classrooms problems arise that the teacher does nothing about. The definition of bullying is a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people. This could be a false representation of the word, bullying doesn’t only involved intimidating smaller and weaker people, it involves discrimination and putting people down with words. Whoever said sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me was obviously never pressured like students are today. Classmates are supposed to get along and help each other but cliques have prevented that from being able to happen.

                In high school you might not mean to do it but you always associate yourself with a clique, or a group of friends that share your similar interests and hobbies. This can cause a lot of problems with other groups as they may have different hobbies or interests. It makes competition, competition happens with everyone no matter what stage of life you are in, if you can’t make yourself look better what do you do? You put the other person down to make you feel like the bigger person. All they are really doing is putting their self-conscious person on hold and trying to be a person that they want others to see them as. A story that was just recently on the news came from Ohio, a seventeen year old high school student committed suicide because of the problems he encountered at school. People were making fun of him, harassing him, and making him feel like he was nothing in today’s society, how is a kid supposed to cope with all that fear and distress? Deaths have occurred because bullying before but still not one single school has cracked down on it.

                Another problem that happens in high school is the different ethnicities; even though our society is supposedly not racist anymore it still happens every day. When you think racism you might still think black and white, but it’s more than that now as more races have come into the country and our entering our schooling system. A big problem that society is facing now is inequality between the races, predominantly white students have a problem with either the Spanish or the black and it’s causing group wars. Bullying is part of the social stature to be on top, to be the most popular or to be known on campus as the one that can’t be beat. Kids are brought up to have too much pride and their egos are too big to let other kids be better in the classroom or on athletic playing surfaces. As soon as a teacher sees this type of problem or a coach something should be done to prevent it before it gets to out of hand. There will always be fights and such outside of school but in school where we pay administrators to take care of the teenagers there shouldn’t be any problems. As long as bullying is around our society will still have introverts who could be geniuses, constantly being put down teach children to be shy and to not express ideas for the cause of failure. If you are brought up as a failure you will in fact fail, our peers play a bigger part in life than we account for now. The sooner bullying is put to an end, or at least watched more carefully the less problems we will hear about on the news. No one should be put down to the point of wanting to commit suicide yet it happens, maybe our society isn’t so humane like we thought?

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Brooke Gonnelly (Edison) Sex Education in Schools

23. April 2009 by student.

When it comes to birth control education is key.  There are two types of sex education based on what state you live in they are Comprehensive Sexuality Education or the Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Program. Abstinence isnt always going to work for every teen. They need sex education to prevent what comes along with having sex. Either that or teach both options but no matter what state or school you are in there will always be teens having sex. Many parents are against sex education saying that its inappropriate and if they want their child to have sex education they will do it themselves. Parents also believe that sex education is promoting sex and don’t want their kids to get any ideas. But they either dont do it or aren’t well educated in the subject to give the proper information. No matter whether parents like it or not their son or daughter is or eventually will have sex. 47% of teens were having sex in 2005. Knowing about STD’s, birth control, and what comes with having sex including emotions are very important for teens to learn. A sexually active teenage girl who has sex without contraception has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant within a year. A single act of vaginal intercourse with an infected male partner, a female teenager has a 30% chance of getting genital herpes, a 50% chance of gonorrhea, and a 1 in 100 risk of acquiring HIV. With those statistics alone sex education is a must. Abstinence will not work all on its own.

http://parentingteens.about.com/od/teensexuality/a/sex_education.htm

http://www.psparents.net/sex_education.htm

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