Last year was my last year of high school teaching. If you have read my earlier posts, you know I had a hard time deciding to retire. I confess when I pass schools and see the Welcome Back signs, I feel happy I am not going back. I realize how much I needed a change.
I am still concerned about the environment that students are facing. Schools should be a haven for learning. Outside forces keep seeping into the barriers that educators try to erect to protect our kids.
I remember as a kid, we had our “slam books.” These were steno pads circulated with names of students, events, and who knows what else was in them. Some of the comments under students’ names were terrible. No one knew who wrote what unless you knew someone’s handwriting. They were eventually banned in my high school. Now kids have social media. Pictures are taken of embarrassing moments and shared numerous times. Hate comments circulated are much more devastating because they are more widely seen.
Vaping is the latest trend that many kids are trying. Taking anything into a person’s lungs except air can be dangerous. Most kids, I am sure, don’t think anything like this will hurt them. Most kids probably don’t think about or know what is in the vaping contents. Companies like JUUL have made vaping attractive with packaging. Looking at the graph below, the trend is unmistakable.
As in my book Downward Spiral, young people are vulnerable. A lot of times, because parents have so many concerns, they could miss the damaging behavior. They may be overcritical, overreact, or not be available to listen.
Parents do not count the pills or tablets in their medicine cabinet or keep close tabs on their children’s medication. They should.
I’d love to hear what you think.
For Downward Spiral see https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Downward+Spiral+K-Horn&ref=nb_sb_noss
Downward Spiral, New School Year, Prescription Drugs, Vaping