The Kids Aren't Alright

I'm a little disturbed by the recent news of school incidents - two students bringing weapons to ROCORI Middle School in the past week, other reported incidents of threats, and recent suicides makes me think that being a teenager isn't quite what it was when I was in high school.

With the rise of social media and smartphones, bullies have more tools to use against their pawns, which I think makes it even worse for their victims in a much shorter period of time. I never quite understood why bullying was tolerated - I know I was bullied at times in school, and myself and the group of friends I hung around bullied some kids back in the day too. I'm not proud of those things, but it was something we grew out of. Besides, you never know - the person you bullied in school could one day be your boss at work!

The thing that disturbed me about the recent ROCORI incidents is that bullying has been and still is sometimes ignored by parents and school staff. I really think that the bullies' parents and school teachers and administrators need to get more involved and curtail or even stop bullying before it starts. It's just tragic to me that kids feel so lousy about themselves that they feel a need to strike back or hurt themselves or others. It's getting to a point where schools almost have to have metal detectors installed, but by instilling the proper ethics in kids, maybe schools can get to the point where kids never have to worry about their safety while going to get their education.