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Your Attention Is Needed
By Administrator | September 21, 2006
Many years ago a large town decided to institute a new policy in their middle schools. Given the concern for children’s safety and a potential legal vulnerability, the decision was made to create separate student and adult restroom facilities. Pleased with their forward thinking decision, they announced that only students may use student restrooms and only staff may use staff restrooms.
One month later the middle schools instituted an emergency policy creating a new teacher duty. A faculty member was assigned to stand in the doorway of each student restroom during each passing period. What happened? It appears the makers of the original policy had forgotten the importance of oversight and accountability. Once students realized no adult would ever enter the restrooms they felt free to do as they wanted. Many of the middle school children drew the conclusion that no oversight or accountability meant no rules. Due to the chaos and trouble occurring in the unsupervised restrooms, the school system was forced to create accountability through a new teacher duty.
Just like a log raft must be held together with a strong cord, accountability ties together the lessons and expectations we have given to our children. For far too many children there is a lack of accountability, thus no binding together of moral lessons. Consequently, the raft meant to keep a child afloat throughout life is pulling apart offering little assistance. Do not be mistaken, the waters of our modern day culture are equivalent to rough seas! Help your child keep afloat by tying those raft timbers tightly with the cord of accountability.
Your attention is needed! Keep an eye on what your children are doing. Know who your child will be with and where your child will be. As you see areas of concern, use them to teach and train, to set appropriate boundaries. Learn to be careful not to short circuit your efforts by allowing situations where accountability is difficult such as allowing cable TV or internet access in a private bedroom. Then when the stormy seas arise, your child will have a secured raft to ride out those difficult situations.
May God’s grace and peace be with you,
Mark and Ellen Strohm
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