Teaching and testing the “Seven Deadly Sins”
In my effort to share interesting e-mails, here is one from a Fayette County mom about confronting a permission slip from school to permit her child to attend a segment on the “Seven Deadly Sins.”
Today my 8th grade, 14-year-old daughter presented me with a permission slip to attend a teaching segment on the “Seven Deadly Sins.” As stated in the permission slip, juveniles who are at least 13 years old in Georgia “must be prosecuted as adults if they are charged with one of the Seven Deadly Sins.”
The permission slip further contends the Georgia Department of Education believes it is vital for our children to understand the justice system and consequently the circumstances which may result in them being treated as adults. In this very same paragraph, it is stated it is now “required” for all 8th grade social studies teachers to therefore cover this curriculum as part of performance standards as it will subsequently be covered on the 8th grade CRCT.
As a mother of four children, three of which I might add all attend the same Fayette County Middle School (one is in 6th grade, one in 7th grade and, of course, the last in 8th grade), I nearly lost my coffee in a wave a nausea when I read the portion of the permission slip referencing yet another standardized test and the reference of bureaucratic performance standards.
This is heartbreaking stuff, people. We are talking about a day and age where as a society of people we have evolved (apparently) for the need to charge children as adults for committing heinous, indescribable crimes. As if the world weren’t scary enough with all the adults out there committing thousands of grotesque crimes, now we live in time where babies are out there doing it, too.
This letter is not about whether charging a 13-year-old as an adult is the right or wrong thing to do. I’ll save this debate for my prayers. The purpose of this letter is to address my daughter is 14 years old, and she should have been made aware of the “Seven Deadly Sins” when she was 12 years old, previous to her turning 13 years old if it is the intent the state Department of Education to include this information on required proficiency mandates .
She should NOT be learning about this as an 8th grade student, a year after 13 years old and definitely not for the SOLE purpose of glazing the state’s required CRCT or to make all of us that live in Fayette County less uncomfortable about falling home values. The permission slip made this sound like this was due to “recent news stories” when the TRUTH is this became law in 1994, when the Georgia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 440 (SB 440) which gives the Superior/Adult court exclusive jurisdiction over youth ages 13 through 17 years old who are arrested for one of seven violent offenses, otherwise known as the “Seven Deadly Sins.”
As a mom, personally and most importantly spiritually, I don’t want my kids learning about the “Seven Deadly Sins” at all truthfully. What mother or father wants their son or daughter learning about aggravated sodomy or child molestation, rape or sexually battery in grave detail and at such young and formidable years? NO ONE! However, given our lawmakers and politicians, given society, and, lest we forget standardized testing and performance standards, there isn’t a choice. I wish it was different.
I challenge our new superintendent Dr. Bearden and our new governor to take a more proactive approach and reconsider continuing to teach this class to 8th grade students only, who by the way, are on a whole, older than 13 years old. This is like dispensing birth control pills to a pregnant woman. It’s just a little too late. If our school district really care about our children, and the so-called “circumstances” of the justice system that directly impact them, they will teach this course when the state of Georgia has the right to levy the applicable consequences to them … not a year later.
Maybe some parents will be unhappy to send their 6th and 7th grade sons and daughters to a class like this … I know I would be, just like I am now for my 8th grade daughter, but this isn’t about me being comfortable, or about other parents being comfortable, or about CRCT test scores or performance standards. This is about the law and sadly a 13-year-old child’s right, given how Senate Bill 440 directly impacts every child in the state of Georgia between 13 and 17 years old. (And apparently every 8th graders CRCT score too).
–From Maureen Downey
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63 comments Add your comment
Dr NO
January 31st, 2011
2:02 pm
Fred
January 31st, 2011
10:54 am
Ah yes…well things have a way of coming back around and I just have a sneaky feeling we havent heard the last about or from Mr Wilson…The Morehouse Man.
Ole Guy
January 31st, 2011
2:23 pm
Well people, it is now official…GEORGIA DOE HAS LOST ITS COLLECTIVE MIND! Are we also supposed to spend public monies “teaching” kids not to come to class drunk, race gocarts in the hallways, and have foodfights in the cafeteria. Why stop there? Let’s really make sure they’re “prepared” for life. Such rules as “no spiting in church”, no dancing on the rooftops and, my favorite, no bating practice in the hallways.
Of course, only the pornographic imaginations could come anywhere near approximating those “Deadly Sins”…but, sure, if all this nonesense becomes part of the testing mania…why you bet…we’ll have generations of kids/young adults who can’t read, write, or cypher, but they sure as hell will know how to get into more trouble than they ever knew existed.
These kids aren’t COMPLETELY stupid. How bout a return to the OLD SCHOOL…set the standards, insist upon them, enforce them, and when they’re busted, paddle the jokers until their butts glow. It worked for many many generations…how come, all of a sudden, it’s become taboo for, perhaps, the stupidest generation to ever come down the pike?
Absolutely ridiculous
January 31st, 2011
2:41 pm
First of all, standardized testing on this? Really? What moron thought of that? Secondly, this is absolutely NOT in the realm of what should be taught in a public school. To discuss this in a class of 30 immature middle-schoolers is going to do nothing but result in a loss of several hours of otherwise valuable teaching time. Parents can be referred to a website, a book, or a study guide of some sort. For kids whose parents do not acknowledge that the subject matter has been covered at home in a manner deemed appropriate by the PARENTS, they can attend some sort of session at school. Seriously, this is one of the stupidest ideas I have ever heard of!
parent/educator
January 31st, 2011
2:51 pm
Parents of many kids don’t do their parental duties and teach their children about these things. Of course, it is then left to the school to raise and educate children. Apparently, these moral lessons aren’t being taught in the home as there were 393 males, UNDER 16, that committed RAPE, in 2009, in GA! (http://www.georgia.gov/vgn/images/portal/cit_1210/13/41/1598322302009%20Summary%20Report.pdf). I am a parent and an educator and parents should know what is in their children’s standards BEFORE the issue arises. If they have a problem, take it up with the legislators. Teacher are teaching to the standards and they have no choice, or they lose their job. If my children have to sit in a class (usually one days lesson) and hear the lesson, it is not the end of the world. As an educator, it IS uncomfortable to teach but, it is over quickly. Some young boys obviously need to hear the lesson, given the statistics. Children need to hear that there are such monsters out there in the world so they need to be aware, unfortunatly. The world is not easy nor is it nice and rosy.Parents who disagree with the standards- be informed, contact your legislators, and stop blaming the teachers.
parent/educator
January 31st, 2011
3:01 pm
To ole guy and absolutely ridiculous- it IS currently being taught in 8th grade classrooms.
ole guy- before you start slamming the kind of education kids are recieving- check yourself. your spelling is horrible. And yes, we are “old school”- we have the standards and we do stick to them like glue.
absolutley ridiculous- parents actually do something? we can’t get back papers saying that they have seen their child’s report card. you want to ask them to go to a website???
Ole Guy
January 31st, 2011
3:51 pm
Parent, you are certainly correct in that one should check one’s spelling prior to submital. However, misspelling notwithstanding, I think, as a (responsible) parent and as a (responsible) educator, you will agree that far too much time…too much tax-supported instructional time…is spent on issues superflous to gaining a solid education. While it can always be argued that these issues are, indeed, topics from which kids should not be shielded, the over-riding question remains…are we, taxpayers, compeled to direct limited resources to these issues? Is not the well-educated individual equiped, intellectually, to make such social distinctions between right and wrong? Would public monies…and the “short” 12 year pipeline in which we are to provide a basic education to these kids…better directed to those 3 Rs?
While you, as an educator, seem to defend the education your profession delivers to kids, you seem willing to minimize my comments, realistic as they painfully appear to be (evidenced by the large numbers of high-achieving high school students obliged to take remedials at U), simply on the basis of a few mis-spellings.
Despite my mis-spellings, I have somehow managed to gain some rather lofty credentials; I have somehow managed to make a good living; in retirement, I enjoy a rather challenging, exciting, and well-paid part-time job in which I probably earn at least your income. So you might do well to KNOCK IT OFF with the BS remarks about spelling.
While we’re at it, Parent/Educator, you might do well to concentrate on the message rather than the carrier. If you choose to focus on a few mis-spellings rather than the main theme, you just might be missing the issue and, at the same time, gaining the well-earned descriptive…ANAL!
just watching
January 31st, 2011
6:35 pm
Add this to the CRCT? WTH? Seriously? The education system here in GA is not teaching them enough about reading, writing and arithmetic. Now they are adding morality? I don’t think so. I think I have a few letters to write and calls to make to my state legislators and the DOE. Sheesh. NOT THEIR JOB to teach this stuff. And definitely NOT something that needs to be covered on the CRCT.
high school teacher
January 31st, 2011
7:46 pm
As an ornery old English teacher, I must point out the real Seven Deadly Sins: pride, wrath, envy, greed, lechery, gluttony, and sloth.
Let’s not refer to the Seven Delinquent Behaviors as the Seven Deadly Sins, please
Teacher-Mom in Cobb
January 31st, 2011
8:17 pm
The Seven Sins/Delinquent Behaviors talked about are taught in conjunction with a social studies unit on Juvenile Justice as a whole. This unit details how the juvenile justice system is vastly different than the adult system, and it is filled with information kids need to know. Scant attention is given to the gory details, and when students asked me about the definition of “sodomy,” I told them to go home and ask their parents.
GA Studies Teacher
January 31st, 2011
9:18 pm
Teacher-Mom is right.
All students learn about the Seven Delinquent Behaviors in 8th grade Georgia Studies. It is a part of the curriculum (under the government domain). Students also learn about the juvenile justice process and the difference between an unruly and a delinquent behavior (there’s a huge difference – someone mentioned smoking, and that is definitely an unruly behavior and not a delinquent one).
I spend one day on the “deadly sins,” and I plan no class-related activity to correlate with this topic. I tell students what the Seven Delinquent Behaviors are, and if they ask me questions, I answer them in the most basic way possible. It’s an uncomfortable day for me as a teacher…I won’t be flippant here and tell you that I enjoy teaching this topic. However, since it is in the standards, I teach it.
No one should be surprised by this. I’ve been teaching Georgia Studies for a long time, and the Georgia Performance Standards (with this topic) have been available to parents for years. I’ve often marveled at the fact that very few of my parents have complained about this topic. However, most of our students do go through a program in our county that covers rape laws (that requires parental permission), so that might explain the lack of reaction from my parents.
8th grade parents, if you are concerned about your child learning about the Seven Delinquent Behaviors, it might be a good idea to talk to your child’s Georgia Studies teacher. That way, you can find out what exactly the teacher will teach, when he/she will teach this topic, and how it will be handled (in terms of detail). I would have no problems discussing this topic with any of my parents.
Trust me when I say that most Georgia Studies teachers understand the sensitivity of this topic and we try to handle it as professionally as possible.
(By the way, you should take a look at the standards. Georgia Studies definitely covers some dicey topics!)
Ole Guy
January 31st, 2011
10:57 pm
I’m gonna add the 8th Deadly…WASTING TIME/DIVERTING TIME FROM A TRUE EDUCATION TO THIS CRAP. People have done many dirty deeds and partook of some rather questionable pastimes ever since Adam and Eve started dating.
If we don’t stop with the “special awareness studies” and start devoting full attentions to EDUCATION, in probably less than a generation or two, we’ll be just another third world country (if we haven’t already gained this “plateau”) posing as a used-to-be.
OTOH
February 1st, 2011
2:13 am
Are the 7 tested sins really “murder,rape,armed robbery (with a firearm),aggravated child molestation,aggravated sodomy,aggravated sexual battery,voluntary manslaughter”? I understand that the statutory rape laws are not obvious or even rational and therefore may merit discussion, but the rest seem to be clearly illegal no matter the age of the perp so why spend any school time on them? How many of them really need to be forewarned that some juvenile murderers will be charged as adults? Most 13 yr old boys do know the jailbait rules, but should not need to worry they will be charged with statutory rape as they are not 17. duh. I do know the GCPS likes to use the threat ” We could charge him with sexual battery” to get parents to accept suspension for innocuous pranks and this whole thing seems to me to be leading up to that intimidation and another waste of time.
high school teacher
February 1st, 2011
9:52 am
OTOH, you would be surprised at the number of high school juniors and seniors who are unaware of the statutory rape laws. Their mouths drop open when they put two and two together and finally realize that the 14-year-old freshman they are currently dating could possibly cause trouble for them. I had a student last semester who was already 18, and he was dating a 14-year-old. He didn’t realize that he could get up to 20 years in prison if they had consensual sex. I do think it’s important to keep kids and their parents apprised of the current laws. However, CRCT questions on the topic seems to be a bit much.