EDUCATIONALLY SPEAKING -- Gay Geiser-Sandoval

I was invited to a leadership conference at Newport Harbor High School,

and it restored my faith in the democratic process.

The 150 Harbor High students who attended broke up into student-led

groups after lunch to discuss some weighty topics. The groups rotated

through the four subjects, which included the Zero Tolerance Policy, the

Honesty Code, the community’s perception of teenagers and intramural

sports. While students had passion about the issues, they were willing to

let everyone have a turn at sharing ideas, without denigrating others. It

was a pleasant change from similar meetings with adults.

My first stop was at the group discussing how adults perceive teens. The

facilitators had conducted an unscientific survey and found out that some

adults thought teenagers were crazy, irritating and irresponsible. The

teenagers at the conference believed that the media portrays them in the

wrong light. They brought up the point that the media doesn’t report the

good things that teenagers do, just the bad acts of a few of them. These

reports have painted all teenagers with a broad stroke.

I don’t watch television news, so I thought the teenagers were

overreacting. But, that night, I read where juvenile crime has decreased

every year since 1993, with an 11% decrease in serious and violent crime

this year compared to the last. That was double the decrease in adult

crime. Most of the time youth are depicted on the evening news, it is in

connection with violence. However, less than 0.5% of juveniles were

arrested for violent crimes last year.

While the chances of being killed by lightning are far greater than being

killed at school, most people don’t perceive it as a one-in-a-million

chance. While 12 kids were killed at Columbine High School, 11 kids die

at the hands of their parents or guardians every two days in the United

States. Americans believe juveniles are responsible for 43% of homicides,

but statistically they are responsible for 9%. However, coverage of

homicide has increased 721% on the evening news programs on ABC, NBC and

CBS.

So, our local teenagers are right. The media is skewing our views on

teenagers and crime. Their ideas to counteract this perception included

providing columns in local newspapers, or starting their own newsletters

to showcase their own positive acts.

Discussions about honesty led to wider philosophical issues about

cultural perceptions of honesty and whether it was too late to try to

change the behavior of 14-year-olds. Some saw the need for tighter

controls in the test-taking arena. Others thought the answer was in an

ethics course being added to the health class curriculum.

Some saw honesty as an absolute, while others saw it as situational. In

other words, if the assignment was busy work, or the teacher had piled on

too much homework, then copying from a friend was OK. All of the groups

that filtered through agreed that cheating was a problem, and that there

was no easy solution. The plan was to define cheating by department,

using a panel of teachers and students. I’m not sure that cheating

depends on the department for its definition. But, I do think it is a

good idea for parents, students, and teachers to get together and discuss

the issue. I hope this school, as well as others in the area, keeps this

in the forefront.

Our school board, as well as others in the state, is revisiting the Zero

Tolerance Policy. Many teenagers thought the current policy wasn’t there

to solve the problem, just to move it (the offending students) to another

school. I found out that the definition of partying to most high school

students is going to someone’s house to drink alcohol or do drugs. I

thought parties were for games, singing, food and conversation. As most

of the teenagers there noted, regardless of a Zero Tolerance Policy,

teenagers will get together to drink and do drugs unless we address the

underlying problems.

These teens suggested the following:

1. Parents need to set a good example. They shouldn’t condone drinking in

their homes. They shouldn’t drink so much themselves.

2. Teachers should enforce the rules. Maybe if the punishment wasn’t so

harsh, they would. But, right now, many are turning their heads.

3. The policy shouldn’t punish the sober driver. If some teenagers wants

to ensure that their friends aren’t killed on the road, they shouldn’t

face the same punishment as the drinker.

4. Coaches shouldn’t encourage drinking by telling team members that they

should party with their teammates. This type of bonding shouldn’t be

encouraged. It is easier not to drink if you don’t go to the party in the

first place.

5. There needs to be more information about all of the things that are

available for kids to do in this community besides “partying.” Clubs that

plan alternative fun activities should be formed.

6. Older teens need to go talk to elementary and middle school kids to

let them know that the coolest thing isn’t going to a party to drink.

7. Kids who are caught drinking should attend Alcoholics Anonymous

meetings to see firsthand how to lick the problem.

The Political Action Committee at Newport Harbor High School is hosting a

town hall meeting at 7 p.m., Tues., Dec. 14 at Saint Andrew’s church to

discuss the Zero Tolerance Policy. They plan to take their findings and

report to the school board with possible suggestions. The meeting is open

to all.

By the way, if you have been yearning to meet a scientist or two, come to

the Meet-the-Scientist Night at Costa Mesa High School on Wednesday.

Start at the library at 6:45 p.m., where you will be directed to

scientists from a variety of fields. This is a prelude to the Science

Fair, which will be held in the spring.

* GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs Mondays.

She can be reached by e-mail at GGSesq@aol.com.