Reading, Writing, Murder?

On March 28, school officials at an elementary school in Georgia thwarted a plot to murder a teacher. They were only third-graders, 8 to 9 year old children! Police said as many as 9 students were involved in the plot to kill their teacher. Now if you think this is being blown out of proportion, the students brought to school a steak knife, a roll of duct tape, handcuffs, ribbon and a crystal paperweight. The town Police Chief said; "We did not hear anybody say they intended to kill her, but could they have accidentally killed her? Absolutely," Tanner said. "We feel like if they weren't interrupted, there would have been an attempt. Would they have been successful? We don't know." The students were reportedly angered by the fact that the teacher had scolded one of them for standing on a chair. The question is how could children so young have such a serious intention to do something so horrible? I am certain that many are of the opinion that our violent society is to blame. Video games, movies, and TV their number one offenders. I can't completely dismiss their argument, however my belief is that it has more to do with the breakdown of the American family. With more of both parents working, and the divorce rate so high, I think that there is less family structure in place to reinforce values. Also, whether we realize it or not parental authority is diminished. I have heard first hand accounts from parents who's children have threatened to call family services if they received corporal punishment. There are even efforts underway to remove the rights parents to do any form of physical discipline. My father was on the fence about giving me a spanking if I brought home a "B". If I threatened him with calling someone, I would have been in a lot of trouble. If I hatched a plot to kill my teacher, you probably would not be reading this now. Yeah, he was rough but you know what, I needed it.