The Shu asked a couple of days ago why bloggers weren't talking much about the "hit lists" that have been cropping up in our local schools. That same day my cell phone rang while I was up on a ladder in Charlotte and I let it go into voice mail so as to keep my hands on my business.
When I finally checked my messages a few hours later I found that WFMY-TV reporter Frank Mikkens had called and wanted to know if I knew of any Aycock parents who had kept their kids home. The day before, Aycock Middle School became the latest in a string of Guilford County Schools (and elsewhere, via The Chalkboard) to discover a 'hit list' (my Josie goes to Aycock and it is a block away from our house). News2 was working on a story about it and some Aycock students are on it, too (via NoSMOD blog).
I called Frank back and by then they had already taped their video. I asked him what they were going to say about the Aycock list that had not already been said about the previous half-dozen 'hit lists', and he was circumspect and it was obvious his focus had shifted since he left the message looking for affected parents, "We are trying to hit a balance here, we have to be careful that we aren't just perpetuating the problem instead of helping to solve it." I then asked him if they had arrested the original perpetrator of the new get-out-of-school scheme some kids have hit upon here in Guilford County. "They know who it is, they're just waiting on forensics before bringing charges," was his reply. Their story ended up focusing on the possible consequences to hit list authors, thankfully.
Knowing that Frank deals in images more than snippets gathered on the phone I felt safe in offering my opinion of what the "hit list" authors' punishment should be. "I sure wish we had a stockade in front of every middle and high school in the county," I offered, "A little public humiliation would go a long way towards straightening such kids out." (Actually I think I said 'gallows' instead of 'stockade' to Frank... my bad... anyway...)
Of course my comment to the reporter was in jest - sort of - but.. What ever happened to the notion and practice of public humiliation as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour in America? Are we too fragile a society to unleash the simple concept of shame on those who truly deserve to know what it feels like?
We have eliminated pain, aka corporal punishment, as a behavioral tool of deterrence and replaced it with what?...This: "...I'll call your Mommy if you don't stop that."...only to find out many times that Mommy could give a rat's butt about how her child is acting at school. Public humiliation and the resulting shame worked for centuries as a means of ensuring civility among the populace... perhaps we should revisit those simple ideas. Any suggestions as to how the concepts might be utilized as it pertains to our schools?
10:45:23 AM 
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