Reflections on Lesson 7

When I lived in California, I sat for 2 months on a jury for a trial involving three minors and one 18-year-old who kidnapped and brutally assaulted and raped four other teenagers.  We were called to give judgment on 42 separate counts, and in the end, we found all four defendants guilty of multiple counts.  The one 18-year-old defendant was to receive multiple life-sentences, ensuring that he would be spending the rest of his long remaining years behind bars.  The other three were tried as minors, and while being found guilty of the same violence, would be set free after their 25^th birthdays.  Did the fact that one of the accused had turned 18 a few months before the others mean that he was automatically capable of better judgment than his comrades?  Was he more deserving of a lifetime’s worth of punishment than they were because he had reached a magical pre-determined age where good judgment is required by the law?  Was his crime any more heinous?  Were their crimes any less? These are powerful questions and I’m not sure that my time on the jury necessarily answered them for me.  In the end, I don’t know who I felt worse for—the victims that endured such a horrific event, or the 4 young defendants whose lives were forever destroyed for one reckless irreversible night.

I teach Jr. High and see crazy, silly, and sometimes outright senseless behavior on a daily basis.  I also see a lot of kind, gracious, and noble behavior, as well.  Young people are developing the life skills they need to succeed in the adult world, and like toddlers, stumble, regress, and throw temper tantrums along the way.  But that does not mean we need to lower our expectations for them.  I believe that in spite of their lack of adult reasoning capacity, adolescents should not be given a pass on responsibility.  Even toddlers can learn what is expected of them and get time-outs for bad behavior.  Instead, I believe it is important to establish a strong foundation for students that will provide stability as they begin their tenuous steps into adulthood.  Students are much more likely to raise their personal standard higher when their goal is set higher and they understand what they are aiming for.  As teachers, what we need to do is give them the guidance, instruction, understanding, and the tools they need to reach the goal.  When mistakes are made, we as teachers can use these moments to teach and strengthen our students so they hopefully won’t make the same mistakes again.  Each learning moment, whether it originates from a positive or a negative experience, can strengthen their brain foundation, giving them greater capacity for judicious thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving as they mature into adulthood.  For some students, their path to adulthood will be relatively smooth, marked with moments of true wisdom and foresight.  For many students, the process will require much trial and error, but strong role-models like positive teachers can keep minor mistakes from progressing into pattern of behavior that can derail a lifetime of opportunity.  My goal as a teacher:  To give my students the tools, the guidance, the encouragement, and when necessary, the reproof they need to aspire to excellence as a teen and as an adult.  This is true teaching success.