Not the best way for Teens to be taught a lesson... — Page 2

My school did this my freshman year.

Car crash. Students walking around the hall in skull makeup. We even had a double funeral for two of the girls killed in the car accident. Closed caskets, but the girls were in the skull makeup at the edge of the casket. I thought it was very effective.

Of course the parents were in on it! These things are planned well in advance. The seniors that participated had to write essays as to why they wanted to do it, and parents approval.

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It's an effective way to teach it (more effective than the health education where I live, the students don't pay attention and drink and drive anyway). Sometimes, you have to lie, and they aren't lying to be "bad", they're lying to warn the students.

Updated On: 6/2/08 at 08:22 PM

"As a 15 year old, I have to say that if that happened in my high school, a significantly large potion of my school would be furious (with me among them).
That's not an acceptable way to teach kids. It's just plain wrong."

You might be furious, but you also will remember the experience for the rest of your life. I thought it was a great idea when they started doing it years ago and I still do. This is a serious problem and every possible measure should be taken to get adolescents to understand that it can, and does, happen to them all the time.

"First off, it's not lying. The cops are acting."

If people are going to see others acting, they are prepared for it, they know that it's not "real."

This is deceiving and not an appropriate way to teach. Giving these students such an impression could create anxiety and panic attacks to imagine their friend dead. While this happens in one day, the anxiety could last a long time after.

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They did this in my senior year. It was a neighbor friend who was the driver, the only thing that was different was they weren't acting, he had been killed and the police came in to inform his classmates.
Too bad they didn't do one of these theatrical events before Gary got into his car drunk and tried to drive his girlfriend home. Maybe he or his girlfriend would have thought twice about getting into a car after having a couple drinks. Maybe his head would have remained married to the rest of his body and not ended up in someone's hedges.

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Giving these students such an impression could create anxiety and panic attacks to imagine their friend dead. While this happens in one day, the anxiety could last a long time after.

You mean like what actually happened when a student at my school was killed in a car accident?

If they don't leave an impression now, these students will have much more to cope with when they don't their friend back at the end of the day.

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Updated On: 6/2/08 at 10:06 PM

In addition, the people you supposed could have panic attacks would most likely already be at risk for anxiety problems; a scare like this would be a trigger, but not the cause. Thinking a friend is dead for a few minutes in high school will not be the worst tragedy anyone experiences in life.


It seems you want me to prove that my idea is better.

Well, yeah, if you're going to say this idea is wrong, you should be able to. I'd respect your opinion more if you could give a logical example to defend the position instead of running away from the debate.

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Updated On: 6/2/08 at 10:20 PM

They never did anything to that extent at my high school. Last year before prom, all seniors attended a presentation by the mother of an 18 year old boy who got into a terrible accident due to drunk driving.

This woman showed us pictures of her son , described his personality, and told us everything about him before the accident. She was leading us to assume that he died, and everyone was upset already, but then a nurse pushed this severely brain damaged person into the gym in a wheel chair and the mother said "I'd like everyone to meet my son, Jesse." I burst into tears along with most of my classmates. I don't drink at all, but I was still blown away and incredibly touched.

This was an eye opening experience, but I think if the "mock death" thing was done at my high school, I'd be traumatized (I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one). Other people who don't want to let their guard down would probably get upset (but keep it to themself) then drive drunk or do something stupid out of spite. It just seems that no matter what is done to educate, nothing ever works.

Updated On: 6/3/08 at 12:17 AM

"Teenagers are fragile. The tiniest thing makes us feel like the world is ending."

As opposed to the people whose worlds actually DO come to the end thanks to the selfish decisions of someone who decided to get behind the wheel of a car? Yeah, poor you.

Updated On: 6/3/08 at 08:41 AM

When I was a senior in High School one of my friends and classmates died(he was everyones friend in school, popular great person)...not by drinking and driving, he choked to death and died in his mother's arms...the next day was hell on earth in school...people were breaking down in classes and hallways...many of us heard the night before and many heard at school the next day...it was one of the saddest days of my life especially since we are a small town and have been going to school together since K4...and if someone came in and said he was alive that it all had been a gimmick for an assembly we were having I would have been happy he was alive but irrate with the people who put it together.

DUI is a serious problem especially with teens who think they are invincible. Like I said before the school that my dad teaches in has had many DUI deaths and no matter how many assemblies they have or how many times they scare them straight it doesn't seem to get into their brains that this could happen to them. One of their classmates died in an accident and the night of the viewing they all go out and drink at someones house and another kid gets in an accident...also my dad chaperoned a school dance and one of the students came drunk, he was sent home and the police drove him...the parents were irrate at the school that their son wasn't allowed into the dance...

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"Why even bother to trigger anxiety if there is no need."

But isn't that the point? To create anxiety so strong that the idea of getting behind the wheel of a car after drinking causes a visceral reaction. Maybe even one you can't exactly pinpoint.

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I agree with the whole thing that the youth of today need to toughen up...as a teacher I am so sick of hearing about their self esteem...I had teachers that yelled at me and told me when I did something wrong and now I am a well adjusted adult, no permanent damage done

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I had the old school nuns who had you kneeling on clothespins in the corner, or smacked your knuckles with a ruler....

and I turned out fine.

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