You are so right. The concept of consequences has been totally lost on the younger generation. They get trophies for not winning, and they do not receive punishment when it is warranted.

Michael, I could not agree more. My wife and I just adopted a baby boy who is now 5 months old and I have become a huge fan of yours as has my wife. We plan on teaching our little son Matthew that Character counts and that there are consequences for his actions; however, we will encourage his good behavior. Of course, we will wait until he is old enough to understand about consequences, but I thank you for sharing your commentaries. They are much appreciated and enjoyed.

A similar incident recently happened here in southern California. Three kids from very well-off families decided to break into their high school to change their grades. All three were charged with felonies. At least here in Orange County justice was served to all.

I wonder if the families were not well-off if the break-in would have been characterized as youthful indiscretion or breaking and entering?

Those kids will be the next corporate spies, white-collar criminals, or government bureaucrats on the take. Since we excuse it at that level, why would it be surprising that we excuse it at the kid level?

You would be surprised at how many high school seniors have committed these acts, but the consequences depended on who your family is and knows.
We are raising a generation of kids who really have no remorse for what they do. Younger kids will tell you when you get in trouble in school your punishment is dependent on how much pressure your parents put on the board or if your parents have money. Wealthy people in the school system don't get punishment. Then the kids say it depends on who your parents' friends are.
So, do we watch the bad criminals keep returning to school and teacher referrals being ignored and just keep going to funerals?
Kids who commit acts like breaking and entering will advance.
The boy at the Va. college had a file in school that predicted this, but did anyone listen to the teachers?
It's sad because just because you are academically bright does not mean you have character and morals.

Michael, you are absolutely correct. I believe that a huge part of our national problems derive from this long-evolving leniency on matters of fundamental ethics. We need to reclaim our values and leave the consumerist, me-first world behind. We need to reclaim those parts of old-fashioned values that will serve us in the challenging 21st century. I may sound like a conservative, but I am a very liberal Democrat. These values are not owned by any party or political perspective.

In a small midwest community, pictures of a senior class party were analyzed by the school officials. They gave penalty strikes for "mere presence" against a recognized student who was there as a designated driver because the student would not rat out the other students. Students who were drinking and questioned by school officials named names and received no punishment. What could this school system have done better?

I agree with you 100%. The gravity of the offense far outweighs the punishment. In my school in Nigeria we will definitely expel such students. They must learn there are consequences to every action they take. Most importantly, other students are watching. If nothing serious is done to the students, they may be encouraged to commit a similar or more grievious offense. Educators need to be careful. I am working hard to ensure we have a Character Counts Week in my school this October. Keep up the good work. May you be mightily blessed.

Balance. School discipline and criminal charges are separate and should be handled separately.

These students should have been charged with a crime.....clearly and this is an easy decision. A felony? Well, that's up to the local DA. In cases far more serious than this, it is quite common for adults to be charged with a misdemeanor.....not a felony.

Notifying schools about the incident....what is that all about? Schools receiving transcripts can seek out their own information, but volunteering information seems unusual. And their application process should account for this.

So the bottom line is that the students should be charged with a crime appropriate to their actions as determined by the DA in their community. If convicted, that is their record. Future schools and employers can seek out that record if they choose.

The superintendent's suspension of the students may or may not be appropriate. But in addition to the criminal aspect of this, there should be some form of school sanction. Isn't this a form of cheating? Shouldn't any school have a disciplinary standard that can be reviewed?....a matrix?

Anyway, the school discipline should stand on its own and the criminal charges should stand on their own....independently.

I fear you have made things too simple here. You mentioned what "justice requires" so I assume you were referring to the law. After all, natural justice would tackle the root of the problem and see their parents in the dock for raising children with so little appreciation of what is right or wrong. Not all children, and we are dealing with children here, are fortunate enough to be raised by truly adult and mature parents. Compassion, understanding and appropriate measures such as community service, counselling, connecting with role models, etc. might have done much more for the boys, their future and the community than applying adult law to children, even if they are legally responsible. Obviously, there is no excuse for crime, but there are manifold reasons, and they vary much more than the strict letter of the law allows. If we do not accept this, take steps to improve our laws and tackle the roots of the problem, we will remain in a vicious circle of a growing and increasingly inhuman and ultimately self-defeating prison system.

While I agree with the statement that a 5-day suspension is often viewed by students and society at large as a vacation, the "punishment" does not need to end with the school's action. Parents have some power and authority to react to the students' indiscretion and the city attorney has the power and authority to charge the students with or without the district's cooperation. If this part of the village raising the students did not react appropriately, other parts of the same village do have some authority to react.

Many people take learning life lessons personal, especially when it involves their children. What mother would not want to protect her young? However, protecting your young from small lessons during childhood and adolescence is a mistake. As a parent, would you rather watch them struggle to mend major wounds and scars when they become adults?
Keeping the focus that the issue is not about the person, it is about changing the behavior is important. Excuses like “boys will be boys” is a sure-fire sign you are taking away the opportunity of a valuable life lesson that if repeated as an adult may have lifelong consequences. As adults, we are responsible to ensure our children have the best learning opportunity during their childhood. Stand on value or fall for everything.

I think the punishment was enough. Why do you want to ruin their future when they could be guided to better choices, not punished for poor ones?

Everyone seems to be acting very high and mighty on this one, but I want to add a cautionary note. Imagine yourself as a high school student being pressured by your parents, your teachers, the entire community to go to a good college. Everyone is telling you that if you do not go to a prestige school, this will limit your success in life (not true, but the kids don't know this). The kids are starting to panic. They resort to doing something wrong. The school then turns on them and brings charges. They probably won't face jail time, but they are on probation. They are now required to disclose this to the schools where they are applying, which means they will not get in to any of the prestige colleges or even the second and third tier ones. They were already convinced that if they did not get into a top school their opportunities would be limited. Now, they fear they will end up in community college, maybe a 4 year state school if they are lucky. They are convinced their lives are over before they have even started. Being teenagers, they tend to be very emotional. Their solution? A suicide pact. The next time they are "caught", they are found dead. How would everyone feel then?

I think you just went off the deep end! We can't make a decision based on the weak assumption that if punished, these students will be so distraught that they will make a suicide pact. This is faulty logic and should have NO bearing on whether or not these students should be punished. They broke the law when they chose to break into the school. That alone is a punishable offense and the school should have pressed charges. The additional offense of altering transcripts should also have been dealt with by the school with more than a suspension. This is cheating at the most devious level and as such should have warranted full implementation of the school and district's policy on academic honesty. A stunt like that in college would get you kicked out of school and arrested, as should have been the case here. Students and many adults need to learn that there are real and sometimes significant consequences for their actions. When we don't provide the necessary consequence, we do a disservice by allowing them to think "it was no big deal."

Kids are pushing the limits and not thinking through. They are learning. Don't throw them in jail if they make a mistake. Give them community service, give them a chance to fix the wrong. We all make mistakes. We send that message but what sets us all apart is what we do about our mistakes. Give the kids a chance to take contol of their lives. Let them make mistakes, but help them fix them. They are kids!