Panthers seem to dodge the thought of responsibility
As I sat in the auditorium and listened to the Palmetto Integrity Network lecture us on honesty and a sense of self-discipline, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes along with those around me.
Then it hit me: how many cases have occurred that involved students getting a second chance after violating a school rule? A monstrous amount, that’s how many. I attend a school that has a façade of pure integrity and honor.
But surprisingly enough, this hidden secret that seeps into the walls of Palmetto timidly reveals its face as I think over the question – why are students rarely seen in trouble with teachers or faculty? Parents. It’s simple enough.
Parents are the reason why students get another first chance as a result of what they [the students] do on a daily basis. Just because parents have a strong voice in the school system, kids shouldn’t feel the right to press the limits of the rules and regulations like those concerning wrongdoing and corruption in the morals of students and parents alike.
I’m sure students have heard teachers proclaim that getting parents involved in school issues will have the most positive effect, like the problem that arose involving class resizing and the student/teacher ratio.
Considering that parents are the majority sponsors to public schools, their voice is most listened to. Even though the adults get the problems resolved and usually help us out in other situations, like friendships and heartaches, their control and authority should only be allowed to go so far.
When the time comes, the presence of our parents will no longer be available to us and students will realize the dilemma first hand.
We have all been exposed to dishonesty in a general sense. Students talk, judge, and even cheat left and right. Maybe my eyes deceive me, but why is it that anyone is rarely seen walking with his or her neck bent in shame toward the Main Office or Honor Council staff?
I’ll tell you why: it’s because students persuade their parents to become involved, and who better to protect him or her against harm’s way than the ones who gave them life and love them more than anything in the entire world?
A friend of my family once got in trouble with the police because she ran a red light in the middle of US1. Instead of accepting the ticket or even taking an online course to re-learn the rules of driving, she had her parents get involved and in the end she had no price to pay.
Come college, or even a real job for that matter, students will not be able to fall back on their parents for support and dependency.
College professors are not as lenient as high school teachers and the possibility of facing reality without assistance is likely. A sense of dependency evolves when parents come to the rescue in high school and it does nothing to prepare the little child inside of you for the evils of the real world.
Although it may seem comforting knowing that your exploits will be backed up by your oh-so-devoted creators, you should still carry a sense of self-respect and honor.
Students, not only is it an inappropriate example to set for future students at school, it is blatantly unfair.
An advantage is given to a student who does not have to pay the price for a wrongdoing, whether it is weaseling out of suspension or accepting help on independent work. Parents are not here to wait on you; their intention is one that some students have yet to comprehend – to guide you along the way as you make decisions that determine who you are and how others perceive you.
Do everyone a favor, including yourself, and just hold your head high and embrace your grit while you ride the shaky wave back to the roots of your shameful acts. It’ll be over soon enough.
