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Students should check behavior to benefit futures
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Written by Staff Editorial
Each day, students are seen parading the halls wearing hats and using profanity or tobacco products, and each day teachers reprimand their students for breaking the rules.
Here in the journalism room, we’re big fans of the freedom of speech and expression, but we are concerned that some students are disrupting the education of their classmates. Teachers must focus on the rule-breakers rather than their students who want to learn.
Dipping in class doesn’t make the user look older; it causes cancer and makes the floors nasty. And the worst offense of all: disrespect. Posting Facebook statuses about how much you hate teachers does not make you look like an adult.
Some students believe trash-talking is the best way to approach teachers. In reality, those words you spit towards the people for whom you should have the upmost respect can be perceived as threats. Those words are also traveling further and faster than you think. It’s the technology age, people. When you say the hurtful things you do, people are listening — now more than ever.
One Facebook status can lead to a text message that can lead to a confrontation and more serious consequences.
Some students fail to realize that their actions affect more than just themselves and their own reputation. In fact, they taint the reputation of all West students and all young people in general. Teenagers in our area do plenty of wonderful, newsworthy things on a daily basis, but the terrible things we do are what make the headlines and form the community’s opinion of of us.
Take a moment to seriously think about a few questions.
Does cussing people out on Facebook or Twitter make you any more empowered? Does using drugs actually make you cool, or does it make you just feel cool? Does breaking the dress code bring you any real satisfaction in life?
In the end, all these decisions will land you is a bad reputation and a less-than-positive future. This type of behavior won’t get you ahead in life when it really matters.
Treating teachers and “friends” like dirt may make you feel like you’re on the top of the world in high school, but when you reach the real world you’ll realize that learning does matter and that you should care for others insead of putting them down if you want to achieve the goals and dreams for which you’ve hoped.
We’re asking for you to take a moment and truly think about the things that you do at school and away from school, the people that you hurt, the reputation you give yourself and the bricks of the road of your future that you are preparing for.
We know that we all have the capability of doing great things; we just have to allow that capability to influence our actions.
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