Since life seems to be an instance that all seem to want to use as an analogy for this discussion, then we must be honest about how life is not fair.
1. Contracts are constantly nullified or voided;ie, how corporations are backing out of their commitments to retired employees.
2.Some individual's have made mistakes and often gotten away with them based on their family name or who their parents may know.
3. Slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but it took another 100 years for civil rights. Jim Crowe laws in the South were often more destructive to the ex-slaves, tha slavery itself.
4. Children today face a much more rigidly structured environment in school, due in part to the fact that many parents work too much and need someone else to raise their kids. Children today take countless tests, face rigid rules that does not allow for failure or the ability to make amends, and children realize at this age that many of the people before them did the same things they are attempting today and turned out just fine.
5. While all of the above points are just a rant by War Veteran turned school teacher, I just wished to point out various arguements that could be brought forth by the children reading these postings.


I am dedicated to educating our children, but sometimes honesty is forgotten in the equation when dealing with them. We as educators and coaches often speak openly and honestly when behind closed doors, but speak in another way when talking to our adminstrators and boards. Why? Because we often have a clearer understanding of the nuiances that life operates on.
Should we be firm or lax on enforcement? That is a difficult for an individual to truly discuss without knowing the kid or the instance of violation in an up close and personnel way.
I do believe in honor and living by a code with the highest standards, but I also believe in having compassion and temperence when dealing with our young children, who are often just starting to learn who they are themselves.