Monday, February 21, 2011

Durn Kids!

I probably shouldn't post this, but right now I just gotta vent. I just got this e-mail from my kids' school:
Dear [G-land Town Elementary School] Families,

I am very sorry to inform you that we have had a case of vandalism to our school early Sunday morning. The damage came from the outside in the form of broken windows. No classrooms or equipment in the school were damaged. The [G-land] Police are investigating. The custodial staff is cleaning up the glass. The Town has hired contractors to board up the damage with the hope of having the windows repaired this week before the children return from vacation.

The Main Office and Special Education Office will be open Tuesday- Friday. The rest of the building and grounds will be closed off in order to allow for clean-up and repairs.

Enjoy the week with your children.

Thank you,

[Mrs. Principal]
Words cannot express how angry I am about this. This is my kids' school, dammit. Odds are it's local kids, teenagers most likely, out on a Saturday night with nothing to do. In the grand tradition of juvenile delinquents everywhere, they decided to spent it destroying the learning environment for the town's young children. Great job, you big heroes. Wasting money, ruining things, all because you had nothing better to do.

I hope, fervently, that someone saw something. A license plate, a general description, anything. Find these bastards, make them clean up the mess, make them (or their parents, depending on age) make restitution for the damage caused, and then, when it's all done, lock them in the stocks in the town square so we can pelt them with rotten fruit. Either that or, if they're of age, ship let them decide to join the armed forces to get straightened out.

In the general scheme of things, it's not a big deal, really. Yeah, it's gonna cost the town - and of course here I mean the taxpayers - a chunk of money. They had to call the maintenance guys in on a Sunday to clean up the glass; a contractor was called to board up the windows; they're going to be working fast (read: $$$$$) to get new glass installed before the kids are back in school next Monday (it's February vacation this week). No one got hurt, nothing was stolen, no classrooms were vandalized. More than likely the kids will only know that something happened by way of the grapevine. It still rankles, though.

All of a sudden, Heinlein's ten lashes in the public square sound like a wonderful idea...

That is all.

9 comments:

Tim Covington said...

If people would see to it that their children did enough physical work, we would not see these kinds of shenanigans. Make those kids work from sun up to sun down and they won't be thinking of anything but going to bed.

Irish said...

If they catch them, they should be made to pay for the damage and do community service.

The ultimate punishment would be to make them stand in front of the school with sandwich boards that said "I broke the windows".

( Now picture the liberal uproar at this being cruel and inhumane punishment)

That being said.. I bet they wouldn't do it again.

Irish said...

After I posted my comment I came across this:

Experts criticized the move as humiliating and ineffective, and someone reported Holder to the Department of Children and Families.

Here is the story:

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/bizarre/12003598882037/tampa-mom-makes-son-wear-sign-announcing-1-22-gpa/

Anonymous said...

All of a sudden???

You mean after you first read the book, you had to think about it?!

Jay G said...

Fair point...

Guffaw in AZ said...

This is akin to the graffiti around here. As a sometimes mature adult, I always marvel that persons old enough to have a driver's license (who must be 18 to buy spray paint here) remain immature or unprincipled enough to vandalize property. Of course, the POLITICALLY CORRECT DICTIONARY defines grafitti as People's Art!
I wonder how they define broken windows?

Old NFO said...

I like Pissed's idea! And the military won't take them anymore. Don't need that type. Put their asses in jail (boot camp).

TOTWTYTR said...

I saw this on the news this morning and wondered if it was your kids' school. This sort of thing should not be tolerated.

Of course it will be. If the catch the kids, there will no doubt be a parade of excuses for their behavior.

Anonymous said...

Public humiliation and physical pain are fine deterrents!

I maintain the lack of paddling in schools is a major contributor to delinquency and crime.

Actions should have consequences.