Another armed robbery - almost a daily occurance~read " crime" comments Schools & Kids, posted by Mayfield Child, a resident of the Green Acres neighborhood, on May 15, 2007 at 4:38 am
There is a post up in the crime thread (a reply) regarding crime and the relationship to our schools here in Palo Alto....It was suggested that there be a mandatory class for information on "Crimes and the Law" for our children and I think this is a great idea. It will expand their knowledge of our juvenile and adult court system and also alert them to the conquences of behavior...This is something that our society needs to be more aware of as the pace picks up speed in our changing society. They have an old saying that "ignorance is no excuse" and I feel that giving the knowledge to the younger children can never come too late....I would like to see this course implemented around the 8th or 9th grade...Then another upgraded class on "Youth, Crimes and the Law" about the time right before the High School graduation commences..Why wait until the unknown strikes by mistake and a lawyer has to be called in? Someone elce besides myself needs to pass this along and get the ball rolling as I do not attend the PTA meetings...Please consider this item for an agenda change in our schools......We need well rounded out students that are aware of social implications, of their rights as young people, of the their role in society and the law of the land...............thanks for considering my idea proposal, now please help pass it along and possibly it may become a reality for our children.
Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on May 15, 2007 at 5:44 am
Do you really think that a class in the consequences of crime is going to make any difference at all in the crime level?
I suspect 2 things: The quality of home life affects the outcome in crime rate, and people who commit armed robbery and the like did not pay too much attention in school.
Posted by hmmmmm, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on May 15, 2007 at 7:57 am
Interesting idea, but what do you give up to have this class in an already over-scheduled middle-school day? Maybe this information could be condensed into a couple of assemblies and given out as take-home material for the PARENTS!
The CA Bar Association has a great booklet called "Kids and the Law" and then an older version "When You Become 18 - A Survival Guide for Teenagers" and one for "maturing" Californians, too. They cover exactly what you're talking about in a great, readable format. I think they're provided for free - if your principal agrees, you can order a few hundred of them. PTAs used to pass them out for interested families.
Posted by Parent, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on May 15, 2007 at 8:49 am
It is family attitudes that make the big difference. I know of one incident where a student "lost" an ipod at school and rather than talk to the school, the father contacted the police and got them involved without any thought of what the affect would be. The students that "found" the ipod who were completely innocent of anything underhand (just careless with what they had discovered) were threatened with charges and the possibility of a court case.
If one family treats the police as the first course of action then this will undoubtedly make any of the peers in this situation very scared of knowing what is the right thing to do.
A class can just confuse students. However, in their senior year, they are given an assembly on turning 18 and becoming an adult in the sight of the law and the difference that this makes to their lives, although most of them probably only hear the bit about having sex with someone under 18.
View in an RSS Reader
E-mail this topic.
Print this topic.
