Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Our Schools Are Changing

By Margaret Daley

In my The Men of Texas Rangers Series I have dealt with several issues facing our teenagers today from prescription drug abuse to bullying. I taught secondary level school for twenty-seven years and over those years I’ve seen a lot of changes occur.

Today our children are facing so much more than my generation in the 1960s. There was one year while I was teaching when a string of students committed suicide. It rocked the school and many had a hard time dealing with the emotions from a friend taking his own life. 

On top of that bullying seems to be on the rise as well as teens planning and going through with killing fellow classmates and teachers at school. I never once thought when I went to school as a kid that someone could pull a gun out and start shooting. As a child we would prepare for a tornado and fire emergency. Now schools also prepare for an intruder on campus and what to do in that kind of situation. We had several intruders on campus over the last years I was teaching. Scary.

When I was a teenager, alcohol was what some would abuse. Now it is drugs—illegal like cocaine and prescription—as well as alcohol and anything else that will give them a high. When I was doing research on prescription drug abuse, the law enforcement officer who was helping me described what a pill party is (it may be called something different in your part of the country). I couldn’t believe some people, often teens, would put different prescription drugs into a large bowl and take some randomly with no regard to what they were ingesting.

Our kids are growing up so fast, exposed to a lot of graphic violence and sex. The schools are demanding more and more academically from our children. All students must perform at a certain level whether they are ready or not. Algebra is being taught much earlier. What we learned in first and second grade is being taught in kindergarten. Then add the pressure they must pass state mandated tests in order to pass on to the next level, and the students today are carrying a lot on their shoulders.

Our children are the future. What are you seeing where you live? What do you think we should do to make the situation better?

Books out this month are Security Breach:
When White House tour director Selena Barrow is attacked in her office, the Capitol K-9 Unit goes on high alert. Selena's cousin is a person of interest in a congressman's shooting, and Selena has been collecting evidence to exonerate her. Could this be the break they're looking for? Officer Nicholas Cole and his dog, Max, step in to safeguard Selena—and to keep an eye on the evidence. As the attacks escalate, Selena finds it increasingly difficult to keep her distance from her handsome protector. But with an unknown enemy watching Selena's every move, Nicholas will become her confidant…and her lifeline. 

Also out this month Box Set Books 1-3 of Strong Women, Extraordinary Situations:
A romantic suspense, three books in one: Deadly Hunt, Deadly Intent, and Deadly Holiday

About Author:
Margaret Daley, an award-winning author of eighty-five books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at http://www.margaretdaley.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/margaretdaleybooks

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4 comments:

  1. It seems to get harder and harder to be a kid, doesn't it? Each generation seems to top what the prior one did. We didn't have school massacres when I was in school, although there was illegal drug use. I fear for what my grandkids will face. Great post!

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  2. I fear what my grandkids will face, too.

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  3. I taught school for about 10 years, and I had a 10-year break in the middle. I definitely saw a change in that 10 years. I can't imagine what it must be like today.

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  4. More than ever, you need to talk to your kids and know what is going on at school.

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