Hi my name is April Shauwers. I am currently a student at Grand Heights High School and plan to graduate this spring. The road through high school has been difficult for me. Freshman year I became involved in a tough crowd where drugs and alcohol were a big part of my life. I continued this life style through the summer of sophmore year. At the beginning of junior year I was involved with this one boy and one night at a party we decided to have sex. It was my first time and I was under the influence of alcohol so my judgement was greatly impaired and we didn't use a condom. I became pregnant. I went through most of my junior year carrying a baby. Towards the end of the year I gave birth to my daughter. After that one night at the beginning of junior year, my life has turned a 180.I can proudly say that I have not done drugs or alcohol since that night of conception. I am trying to put my life back together but it has been tough. Kids look at me differently because I am now a mother. I have new responsibilities that kids my age shouldn't have. I can't go out every night like I did in the past because I have to stay home with my daughter. I have put more concentration in the classroom. I want to go to medical school at Northwestern and I now have the grades to do so. I volunteer at a local YMCA and help kids like me make better choices and get them off of the road I was once on.
I recently heard about the MySpace scandal at our school. I am sort of torn in a way about this issue. I think that it is dumb for the kids to put that sort of thing on a publicly viewed website. Anyone who wants to can and will see what they post. The internet is not a private place. Once you post your private life on the internet it is no longer your private life, it is there for literally the world to see. They should be punished for their actions that they publicly announced they did. However I don't think it is the school's position to punish the students involved. It has nothing to do with school. It is the parent's place to do the punishing if they decide it is necessary. As long as nothing on the website happened at school, they shouldn't be concerned about the incident. Since they found out they could alert the parents, but the school should not punish the students for something they did outside of the school's walls.
8 comments:
April Shauwers,
It seems like you had a rough life in high school. You must be a very strong person for getting through it all. It’s good that you realize that the internet is not a private place. There are a lot of students that don’t realize this. The reason the school got involved was because this was a magazine that was started and advertised at school. The school needed to end this right away so that the punishments would be known incase for other students who are posting inappropriate things on the internet. Good luck with your baby.
Thanks,
Cecile Calibo
Guidance Couselor
April,
I like your name its kind of like the saying April Showers, Brings May flowers. It sounds like your high school has been one to remember. It is good to here that you are turning your life around.
You are finally a student that is smart. I see that you are right about the internet not being private. Kids that put things on the internet are asking to get in trouble. THey know that they will be busted eventually, so I dont know why they even do it. Kids these days think they are invincible.
Ty longby
April,
I agree with you completely. Although I would like to point out that not only parents are the ones who can punish student for their actions. Law enforcement officers should also be able to take action against such things. I would also argue that school officials do have their foot in the door. I think it is appropriate that they should be able to punish students who break contracts signed for sports. However, I think actions taken against students who break contracts should only be in context to the sport. For example it would be fully appropriate to put the team member on probation or kick them off the team. On the other hand I think it would be completely unfair to expel the student in question or put them in detention. Sentencing a student to a punishment that interferes with their education is, in my opinion, counter productive.
Sincerely,
Lyla Marx
Ms.Shauwers,
I am very pleased to hear that you turned your life around. You seem like a very strong young lady. But what I hope you realize is that once something does get out in public, the publisher has no control after that. This whole Punky Rock magazine got out onto the internet, and out of control. I want to help and punish these students affected by this and the posting of drunk photos. I know that these young men and women know better. We have a reputation to protect at GHHS.
Sincerly,
James Johnson, dean of students
April,
I do agree that the students should just know that the internet is open to everyone. But there is a line between what you do at home and what you do at school. If none of those pictures were taken at school that it shouldn't be the school's business. I don't think the kids should be punished by the school. They are taking those pictures and doing drugs and whatnot at their own risk. But if they ever get caught doing it then it would be reasonable for them to get in trouble.
-Herald Hounderson
April,
I remember seeing you in the the lunchroom with your huge belly and how nobody would sit with you. I also remember your double lunches that you use to get...I'm glad you turned your life around and are on the path toward living productively. I'm also thankful that you stopped consuming those double lunches because frankly, I was afraid you would pop you were so big. Anyway, I disagree with your idea that it is not the school's job to punish students for their wrongdoing. If athletes are punished by the school for drugs and alcohol consumption, why shouldn't students be punished for illegal things they post online? Think about it.
Edna Quiggle
I agree with your comments 100%. The school should not be reprimanding students for their actions outside of school, espicially with online photos. Everyone knows that any experienced photoshop user can make things seem worse than they really are. Despite that, it is the parents issue to punish their kids. The school is not a court room, so why should they have the right to punish students.
April,
I don't know if the schools have this right. Either they stop or they make this right clear to the students. You can't punish kids for something before they know that they can get punished for it. I like your idea that parents should keep a closer eye. This keeps schools out of it and it keeps the crap off the internet. Parents would be the ones pissed off if their kid got kicked out of school anyways. Kids couldn't be as mad because its their parents enforcing the rules instead of evil teachers.
Frank
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