BLESS YOU, PARENTS OF (SKIN)TEENAGERS!!

[lam]

I am a teacher at a high school here in North Texas. One period a day I have duty in the In School Suspension classroom. My time is at the end of the day, and I usually let the students talk among each other for a while. Oh, the conversation I hear from these children make me blush!(Ans that's not too easy for a woman of color!)
Now, the children assigned to this room are not the academic scholars or even average students. They have some serious issues at home (step parents, imprisoned parents, etc.) that I know can account for some of their outrageous behaviors. But I heard two girls talk about another girl who has a disease, and they were talking about going to get checked because they don't know if their boyfriends had been with this girl! Then they were discussing the different drugs they have tried and still do. I acted like I wasn't shocked hearing this, maybe they were just trying to get a reaction from me. But I know from students in my own classroom that some of these things do go on, and there are so many parents who don't know what their children are doing. I just hope that this is a small percentage of our students at school--I do know of some kids who have it not so good at home and still strive to to well academically and morally. I know that you parents of teenagers have a lot of stress when it comes to raising your children, and I salute you!
I think I'll just raise dogs

 

[Betty's mom]

Thanks Lisa! Now I don't want to have kids! If you haven't seen the movie Traffic you should go. It has a different kind of set up because it's shot with a different camera. BUT What a movie! It seriously tells parents they better get on the ball and talk to their kids or at the very least get involved! When my husbnad and I were walking out of the theater he said jokingly he didn't want kids anymore just Boxers!
I can't wait to see how my neices and nephews turn out. They're all good now, but you never know!

I commend you for being a teacher! That is some serious hard work!!!!!!!

 

[Elsa]

Originally posted by Betty's mom
Thanks Lisa! Now I don't want to have kids! If you haven't seen the movie Traffic you should go. It has a different kind of set up because it's shot with a different camera. BUT What a movie! It seriously tells parents they better get on the ball and talk to their kids or at the very least get involved! When my husband and I were walking out of the theater he said jokingly he didn't want kids anymore just Boxers!
I can't wait to see how my neices and nephews turn out. They're all good now, but you never know!

I commend you for being a teacher! That is some serious hard work!!!!!!!

That movie was incredible! I was laughing because the writers seemed to drive the point home that even the very wealthy, white-bread, "privileged" (sp?) kids get caught up in drugs too! I especially liked the effect of the kids doing drugs in their prep school uniforms. I was pleasantly surprised that the moviewas not as violent as it could have been.
I agree, parents have a much tougher job nowadays than when I was a kid. You can still raise good kids if you talk to them and make the presence of consequences known.
I think that is what saved me; I was terrified of what my parents would do to me if I screwed up.

 

[Lava Linda]

Thank you, thank you.

I count my blessings regularly. My 15 1/2 year old son is taking life slowly, the way I wish more teens would. He's interested in girls, but seems to be in no hurry, although one day he said he wanted to move to a new town. I was very surprised because he likes his school, but he said it was because he's been going to school with the same girls since third grade, and he doesn't like any of them!
He's a high achiever, a wonderful trumpet player, easy going and (mostly) respectful towards me. I'm so proud!!!

My second son worries me more. He's in a terrible hurry to grow up, and doesn't choose the quality friends that my older son does. He's 12 1/2, and I just found a note in his pants pocket saying, "You, me, and Ben need to make another plan to go drink." We're in the middle of the fallout right now, and being divorced makes it all harder to deal with these things. We're at the "either you tell your dad about this, or I will" stage, and he hasn't made his choice yet. Sigh. He's a high achiever, too, but he worries me so. :( The best I can do is try to keep communication open, but he's been hard to talk with since he was a toddler. He was born a teenager, I think!

Like boxers, there are challenges, but the rewards are immense. For you young childless women out there....there's nothing like a great BIG hug from two great BIG kids, and hearing "I love you, Mom" every night... in a deep manly rumble.... :Dlovicon

I can't listen to that beautiful song anymore, "Sunrise, Sunset". I cry too much!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lisa M]

My sister is a teenager now, my mom is having soo much trouble with her, she confessed to me yesterday that she's counting the days till this summer when my sister will go to college. I know that so many kids are in a lot of trouble now. My cousin - definately in the so-called priveledged class, was selling (and taking) drugs and stealing from our family when he was still in junior highschool. I do think his parents contributed to it a lot, his mom was always telling him what a "horrible child" from the moment he was born it seems and that she was going to send him to boarding school. When they found out about it, they sent him to a military boarding school. When we heard about the drugs, I said I would sell drugs if I'd have been him too if I thought it would get me out of that house and away from a mom that seemed to hate me and a dad who cared more about being my "pal" than my dad.

I'm involved with a school here that works with juvenile delinquent boys. They are working hard to give them confidence and positive peer pressure. It is a great program, being involved makes me realize how much the parents play a role in this. Some of them we have helped get accepted to college and the moms come and say "He can't go to school, he has to help me raise my other kids!" Gee, great life for him. But we are turning some of them around - I was amazed with the boys the first time I met them - the ones that have been in the program were so kind and were telling me that they know if it hadn't been for the school they would have been dead or in jail by then.

A close friend of mine works in a school in an underprivalged area in South Dade, she teaches art. I think teaching kids at that age is very difficult it seems a lot of them just don't care and need much more attention from their families.