Are classrooms across the country so lacking in subject matter that they must now resort to how-to guides for designing and implementing an act of terrorism?  It looks that way for a school in Colorado.  One hundred middle school students were given an assignment that required them to develop an act of terrorism and how each of them would go about implementing it in this country.  They were allowed two minutes to develop it in their minds.  There are countless parents who are not only angry, but are disgusted and sickened by this

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assignment.  The teacher’s credibility is being questioned too, especially since he/she can’t come up with any kind of a response to the many questions being asked.  The teacher does say it was just an exercise meant to illustrate terrorism by a foreign country on American soil.  Most will agree it has been illustrated enough over the past several years.

The school superintendent isn’t helping matters either and insists the students must have misunderstood the assignment.  That’s not likely since there are over 100 kids relaying the same story - anyone who’s ever had teenagers knows how impossible it is to get two teens to agree on anything, much less 100-plus.  He explains the assignment must have been misunderstood because had any student actually illustrated such an act, it would have resulted in immediate expulsion.  This redefines a vicious cycle.

Anything related to this project that was memorialized on paper has been destroyed.  Still, it’s not like the blackboards we remember from school - you can’t erase this.  With the end of the school year nearing, this will most likely go down as a poor choice of assignments and will be forgotten as soon as the kids barrel through their school doors for the last time this year.

There are questions that still linger, however.  This couldn’t have been part of curriculum and if it was, a major revamping effort is overdue.  There’s very little, if any, educational benefit from assigning this project and certainly not within the 120 seconds each student was allotted.

I’m sure most of these parents believe there was a better way to close out the school year than this.  It was in poor taste with no obvious benefits.

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What happens when a teenager becomes a victim of date violence?  In eleven states, not much.  For the rest of the states, very little is done to assure those who do come forward to obtain restraining orders.  They’re afraid it will be reported to their parents, teachers or anyone else, for that matter.  Teenagers are naturally secretive, especially when it comes to their parents.  According to national statistics, one out of three teenagers will become a victim to physical abuse at the hands of their boyfriends or sometimes their girlfriends.  The level of abuse is considered everything from a slap to the face to homicide.

The problem comes in because of the gaps between domestic violence and child abuse.  These kids aren’t being abused in their homes, so it’s hard to charge domestic violence, yet they’re also not victims of child abuse, at least in the more traditional definitions.  It’s proven many would come forward and request restraining orders, but fear prevents them from doing so.  The thought of a sixteen year old signing charges and then appearing in front of a judge is overwhelming and more than enough to keep them far away from that option. 

It’s long since been established that domestic abuse continues its cycle: children who witness abuse often grow up to choose an abuser to marry or become an abuser themselves.  Certainly, this isn’t an inclusive statement, but for those teenagers who are witnessing abuse in their homes, it’s even less likely they’ll confide in their parents. 

Only one state currently has laws written that address minors and their ability to appear in court without the presence of a parent or guardian.   For many other states, the domestic abuse laws don’t protect teens because they’re not married or co-habitating.  Further, there are some lawmakers who dismiss this as “kids being kids”.  But Break the Cycle, a violence prevention agency that focuses on teen violence, believes lawmakers will become more willing to introduce legislation once teens become more litigious and demand new laws.

In the meantime, teen violence continues to rise.  The eleven states that don’t recognize this as a serious social issue are: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia.

The entire report on each state can be found here.

Nebraska’s Safe Haven Law is still causing problems for lawmakers, hospital administrators and most importantly, the teenagers and pre-teens who are being left on hospital steps. Most recently was an 18 year old whose mother felt she was out of options in dealing with her. The hospital refused to take her because she’s now legally an adult and her mother had no choice but to take her with her. Granted, the circumstances were desperate in this case, but still, teenagers are being abandoned at alarming rates by those who want to “get in under the deadline”. The law is set to be changed and will take affect in the very near future. Read the first post here.

In the case of the 18 year old, she was adopted by her parents when she was a child. She has been diagnosed with several mental disorders, most likely due to extensive childhood abuse before being adopted. Not only that, but she was left alone in an apartment with her dead mother for a week before she was found. The adoptive mother says she was desperate for help but that it just wasn’t available through traditional methods such as social services or her local police. Her reasons for trying to abandon this girl included a sincere hope she could get the help her mother wasn’t able to provide. Some of the problems included cutting school, stealing and assault.

Nebraska was well aware of the potential problems its vague wording might cause, but in its rush to get the law on the books, chose to leave these loopholes open and hope for the best. The result is 18 teenagers having been abandoned. Looking into the crystal ball, these 18 teenagers will soon become 18 adults who will live with this. Some will thrive in a different environment and others will cave with the knowledge of having been abandoned and given up on. These 18 kids don’t include the remaining 13 who were younger kids or pre-teens.

Nebraska’s primary concern isn’t the 31 new residents to its state, but rather, rewriting its law to apply only to what they refer to as “dumpster babies” - those whose mothers give birth and realize immediately they can’t take care of these newborns. I can understand that and it’s a blessing for these mothers and newborns, but still, there are 31 other lives now at stake too. So what’s the solution? I’ve no clue. Ideally, there will be 31 families in Nebraska who are in a position to step up to the plate and finishing raising these kids and hopefully allow the transition from abandoned to high achieving and successful adults.

Nebraska has had twenty children dropped off at hospitals since July, when their safe haven law took effect. Sadly, some of the abandoned kids are teenagers whose parents either don’t want them or can’t take care of them because they’re “problem kids”. Earlier this week, a woman drove from Georgia to Nebraska to drop off her 12 year old son because she said he was troubled. What awaits these older kids, who clearly know they’re not wanted and will forever carry the knowledge that they were abandoned by their parents - parents they’ve known for years - remains to be seen. Many of these abandoned kids aren’t newborns or even toddlers who have the luxury of not remembering being left on the steps of a hospital. Further, Nebraska’s loophole is putting state officials and medical personnel in a tough position. They don’t know what to do with these older kids, so those who have come from two other states, Missouri and Iowa, have been returned to their home states. Try to put yourself into the mind of a 17 year old whose mother insisted he get into the car, probably with very few of his possessions and possibly with only the clothes he’s wearing. Imagine sitting next to the one person you’re supposed to trust to take care of you and never abandon you for a four hour drive, knowing the destination is the end of the line. You know you will likely never see your parents or siblings again, and you know you’re being dropped off on the street in a city and state you’ve never been to. And then, after getting out of the vehicle, you watch what little safety you’ve known drive away. And then what? Most seventeen year olds would bolt and make a run for a better life. This particular teenager, probably scared to make a run for it to strike out on his own, walked into the hospital and told a hospital official he’d just been abandoned and had nowhere to go. After being the topic of several discussions, the decision is made to return him to his home state. So, once again, he’s on a road trip, having no idea what awaits him but knowing he’ll be once again dropped off with strangers who will determine his immediate future. Because of the way the legislature worded its state safe have laws, the parents can’t be prosecuted. So, in January, state officials are planning to meet and revise the law to apply only to newborns less than three days old.

In the case of the child dropped off this week from Georgia, he was suspended in the first grade and had his own probation officer by the time he was in fifth grade. Something tells me this kid didn’t have a chance. For a probation officer to be involved at such a young age, I’m thinking this “problem child” is a result of a “problem adult”. Hopefully, even though there won’t be any repercussions in Nebraska, there will be consequences in the mother’s home state of Georgia.

Unfortunately, this happens all too often every day with different results, but with a ribbon of heartbreak weaved through each case. In the meantime, Nebraska will be deciding what to do with the twelve year old boy from Georgia.