Dear Dr. Phil, Robin, and all of their viewers out there:
Even though I'm an adult now, I can contribute to the message boards on this topic because I went through the school system from kindergarten to university. Here's my $.02 worth on the various issues that were discussed on this show.
About teachers carrying a concealed weapon, I am completely against this. I think it was a member of the audience that put it best when she emphasized that if a teacher becomes frustrated in front of their class and ends of losing it, then the teacher can just take out the gun and fire it at the kids. This is just not right.
The Texas Federation of Teachers ought to rethink their position on this one. Personally, I hate guns with a burning passion. Such hard feelimgs towards firearms began more than ten years ago. That's when some derranged lunatic shot and killed former Ottawa sportscaster Brian Smith. That incident obviously made me very angry. Shortly after that, another derranged lunatic opened-fire with his machine gun at a bunch of female students inside a Francophone university in Montreal. Discussing these various incidents want to make me throw up and wish that only police officers and security guards carried guns in our society. Even though most teachers are the opposite of the derranged lunatics I mentioned earlier, I still sincerely believe that our teachers must use other methods that are apart from carrying a concealed weapon. Therefore, any action that consists of taking a gun away from any type of civilian, I am completely in favour of.
Next, let's talk about the drinking age. I can't believe that there are people out there who believe that the legal drinking age ought to be reduced from 21 to 18 years of age. Instead of rethinking to change the legal age of drinking, let's think about keeping it where it is. Because I often ride a bicycle for exercise and transportation, the thought of people driving drunk really makes me ill. While riding my bike, I try to obey all of the traffic laws. However, drivers of motorized vehicles that are considered to be drunk don't have the judgement and the skill to prevent other users of the road from serious harm. Last year, I watched the Oprah Winfrey show in disgust when it featured a young driver, going at full speed in the opposite lane. As a result, that jerk instantly crashed into a limosine, which killed the limo driver as well as a poor young girl who happened to be coming from a wedding. Just like drugs, alcohol use can be a very dangerous activity. At eighteen years of age, this age group lacks the maturity to be courteous to others and put the needs of society ahead of their own. This is a me-first generation where kids at 18 think they are invincible. Even though there are plenty of adults who exhibit their stubborness and selfishness by driving while impaired, the number of lives that can be saved by disallowing adolencents from drinking is too enormous to even consider reducing the drinking age. Simply put, this is not worth the risk. Please keep the drinking age to 21 and let's save innocent lives in the process.
Finally, I'll briefly talk about the school bus brawl that was shown on the show. The panel on the Dr. Phil show put it best when emphasized that there is a proper way of doing things. For example, I was on a Kingston Transit bus a couple of weeks ago. The bus driver was very rude. However, instead of getting into a fight with him, I called the transit office and filed a complaint. In the case of this young 15-year-old that was featured on the Dr. Phil show, she lacked the maturity to process such steps clearly and got caught up in the heat of the moment. What this girl should have done was to tell her parents so that they could call the school and make a complaint. I think that the girl and the bus driver were BOTH AT FAULT in this case. Dr. Phil said on the air that parents have a legitimate concern when they are afraid that their children can get hurt in a fight. That's exactly what happened to me in high school. This guy named Steve threw a snowball at me. When that didn't work, he then proceeded to beat me up and as a result, I had a black eye. Looking back on this, I wish that I never had gone to that particular high school. In any event, teachers and parents should empasize to children not to get into fights and handle issues in a more civilized manner. I sure wish that Steve and I did back when I was in high school.
Well, okay. That is my message. I hope that you all have a great weekend and I also hope that there are as many people who read my message as possible. Who knows? Maybe someone will learn from my valuable life experience at school.
Sincerely,
Fred, from Kingston, ON Canada.
Dr. Phil takes on controversial issues that could affect your child’s safety at school. First up, imagine your child’s first day at school and his or her teacher is carrying a concealed weapon. How would you feel about that? One small Texas school district will allow gun-toting teachers. Dr. Phil hears from moms on both sides of this debate, as well as the president of the Texas Federation of Teachers. Then, did you know that almost half of college-aged kids binge drink? That’s why 100 of the nation’s college presidents have signed the Amethyst Initiative, calling for a national discussion about rethinking the legal drinking age. Should kids be allowed to drink legally at 18? An Amethyst board member joins Dr. Phil, along with the national president for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, two university presidents and a family devastated by a drunk-driving tragedy. Where do you side on these debates? Take our poll! Plus, don’t miss a school bus brawl caught on tape. Who's at fault: the student or the bus driver? Join the discussion.
