Saturday, February 16, 2008

...training in deception

What are we teaching in the high schools?

One success of increased security measures is that my teenagers are feeling increasingly mistrusted, and deceived. With such treatment, they can’t help but develop into youth who are untrustworthy. Why are they treated as such?

Weekly, I’m entertained by tales from school of how teens must outwit the newest security measure that encourages law-abiding youth to connive and deceive in order to move past the limitations that they see as futile and recognize as insidious encroachments to their liberties.

The thinking has become: "Toss your cell phone in the bushes while waiting in line for the search." "If you are too dumb to think of a way to ditch the system, then you deserve to get caught."

My tenth grader says one day the teacher warned the students of a backpack search outside in the hallway after school and told the kids to hand over their illegal cells and she would "protect" them.

She collected 25 from 27 students and promptly took them to the office.

WHAT ARE WE TEACHING?

Even my son, who doesn't carry a cell phone could see the entrapment training taking place. Kids may have no rights, but the training we are giving them is to deceive. Thanks schools.

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