I believe in my Mom because she took care of me for 13 years by herself.

I believe in my Mom because she took care of me for 13 years by herself. She takes me to my friend’s house when I ask her to. She takes me to the mall. She lets me go on the boat with my uncle and my aunt.

I believe in my grandma because she helps my mom and the rest of my family. She lets my mom do what she wants such as lets her buy tickets for vacation and other stuff. She owns my house. She bought my house for my mom.

I believe in my uncle because he buys me stuff I want such as a motorcycle, a new bike and new computer. He also brought me on his boat Monday he let me drive it too.
He is like a dad to me. He is better then my dad in my opinion.

By J. T., a middle school student

This I believe ...

I believe in God. From my first breath I took to my last, I believe God will be there for me. I have been raised in a good Christian home trying to go to church every Sunday. I have been taught that God loves his children. Even if you are one million years old you are considered god’s child. I can’t member when I asked god to come into my life, but I know what it means. I believe that every move I make and every breathe I take, he’ll be watching me.

I’m going to tell about a few of millions of times God has helped me out. He will help you out; all you have to do is ask him to come into your life.

Before I had even consider breathing on my own, God was in attendance when I was in my mom’s uteruses; he developed me and made sure that I would be normal when I came out. I am blessed that I came out alright, that nothing bad happened to me. I never thought about it till now, millions of babies come out with something wrong with them, not being able to breathe on their own to having eleven toes. I am thankful for coming out ok. This isn’t the only time God has preformed a miracle on me.

Another event in my life that God was there for me was, when I was about five years old, my family and I went to the zoo. We were there all day, walking around looking at all the different types of animals and shows they had. We were just leaving a show and were about to leave the zoo. There was a trail that lead to the parking lo, and we passed by some more animals and things. There were at least two hundred people walking on the trail. Going to and from the zoo. I made a choice without thinking that could have changed my life forever. I decided to start running. I was weaving in and out of people; I didn’t realize the danger I could have been in. There could have been sick people out there trying to abduct little kids, just waiting for them to come into their hands. I am thankful for my dad catching up to me and slowed me down. I never thought about what could have happened to me until much later. I am thankful I had God watching me and having a speedy dad. This is another time God was there for me.

I really haven’t taken the time to thank God for everything he has given me or what he has done for me. I should appreciate the things he has done.

I believe that God has developed me into a loving, caring, and respectful person. I also give credit to my parents for that too. I haven’t realized how much he has done for my loved ones and me. He has provided me with a loving, caring family , who would take one million bullets for me, he has also provided me with people that helped me so much in my life by guiding me, giving me someone to talk to about anything, making me feel good about my self, they do things that my parents do. They are wonderful people, and I thank god for giving me them. All this good stuff that happens to me can happen to you. All you have to do is ask God to come into your life, and he will do good things and help you when help is needed.

I believe in helping someone who hasn’t accepted God to come into their lives. It doesn’t take long and it will be the best thing you have ever done. All you have to do is close your eyes and ask god to come into your life and forgive you from you sins. That’s another thing; I believe that God will wash your sins away because he sent his son Jesus to die on the Cross for you and for me. He will wash your sins away; all you have to do is ask.

That is why I Believe in God.

By S. G., a high school student

I believe in the inner strength.

Only so little people know this about me, but about 12 years ago my father had passed away from a car accident and slowly suffered. This car accident had made him loose so many things and privileges away from him. This was a life changing experience for me, my mom, and my older brother. Although I can’t say I developed any beliefs from it. I am actually confused about everything. But this essay is not about my father’s death, but about my mom.

I believe in the inner strength. It was my mom, Elaine Hoffman, who really had the hardest time when my father was slowly suffering away from the accident. For the first year he was gone, my mother had never given up her strength. Every day from the moment she woke up from the moment she would sleep, she would take care of a 11 month old and a 2 year old, and that is a lot of work. During the day she would change millions of diapers and feed us food, she had to bring us everywhere she went because she had no one else in her life. She was a mom with two babies and a house all alone by herself.

“My dad would have loved to see me grow up these past years and feel me in his arms”, my mom would always repeat to me, but unfortunately he can only look over me. I never really appreciated what my mom has done for me until this day, and I am very thankful I have a mother like her. My mom stayed strong and believed we would make it through, me, my older brother, and her. After all her believing, we made it through. My mom has helped me grow without a father and did a heck of a job.

Today Elaine Hoffman is doing well and still taking care of me and my brother plus a new father and new siblings to come along. She still raises me as good as she did when my dad had died. My mom had met my new loving step father at my age of 1 and was very happy. He brought along now my brothers and sisters, Bret, Lance, Chad, and Ashley. This is the best dad and only dad I really know and love. He is wonderful to me and my mom. I love him and I am very happy my mom has made it through and found another man. I believe inner strength emerges when times are desperate. I believe people sometimes refuse to give up, and they help others no matter the personal cost. My mom proved that to me and I will always remember that.

By N. H., a middle school student

Some good choices determine if you are a good person or a bad person. Not a lot of people make good choices.

Some good choices determine if you are a good person or a bad person. Not a lot of people make good choices. There are a lot of people on planet earth that make choices that get them in trouble. And there are a lot of people that do not get into a lot of trouble for making a good choice. Here are reasons why people make good and bad choices. Read more to find out how good and bad choices are made.
A good choice in school is to help other people. By helping somebody with their work or homework. But only if the person helping get’s permission from the teacher. Everybody has a bucket of choices whether or not to do what ever they want.

I have made a lot of bad choices in my time of life right now even though some are not good but I have learned my lesson. I have been in this place (in school suspension) too many times. My father asked me if I wanted to graduate from school, and I told him “yes”. He replied by saying from the choices I made, I might not even make it into college.

I have made a bad choice by destroying someone else yearbook. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would to fix up all of my mistakes. I have also made a lot of good choices like to try to be good like a good girl in school for at least until the end of the school year. I have been so good that I got to go on a field trip to the Golden Gate pool. On the bus on our way to the pool we had so much fun that everyone on the bus was rocking the bus from side to side that it almost tipped over. And everybody on the bus got yelled at. Making a good choice get’s you almost everything you want if you think about it.

Now you know how to make a good or bad choice. Remember that making a good choice can get you what ever you may want in life sometimes and that a bad choice can get you in some no-good places.

By D. H., a middle school student

Choices are sometimes difficult, sometimes they are easy.

Choices are sometimes difficult, sometimes they are easy. Choices help us choose good things and bad things. But all choices have consequences bad ones and good ones. I’ll explain what a bad choices is and what a good choices is. And I’ll explain what type of consequences there are.

A bad choice is if you chose to kidnap someone for money. Or if you kill someone just for fun or you felt like killing them. Another bad choice is rob someone or rob a bank. Bad choices are when someone gets hurt because of your choices.

A good choice is if you behave in school, do your class work, and finish your homework. Or if you share your lunch with someone who didn’t get lunch. Good choices are when you feel good about what you did.

By T. C., a middle school student

What are choices? Choices are actions in which people get involved.

What are choices? Choices are actions in which people get involved. There may be numerous of choices somebody could have. Others may hardly have any choices or no other choice at all. Choices are a measure of things you do or achieve or fail to do. Choices may lead to consequences or to triumph. Here are some examples in which you use choices to settle a situation.

At school, at home or pretty much everywhere, we use choices to deal with conflicts that may lead to some serious consequences. We use them when we need to decide what is right or wrong. If you get in trouble at school, it is because of your actions, or in another words, you‘re choices. Do bad choices make you a bad person? Well, it really depends in what condition you are in. Did someone force you to it? Or if you did it because you wanted to do it?

By J. C., a middle school student

Life isn’t preset, there are thousands, if not millions, of decisions you can make in your life time.

Life isn’t preset, there are thousands, if not millions, of decisions you can make in your life time. Some will be wrong decisions, but hopefully most will be good decisions. Why we make those decisions is affected by multiple factors. It could be a feeling that you have inside, your intuition, or it could be an outside factor that persuaded you to make that decision, a person, a thing, or maybe even a worst case scenario. These and many other things can affect a persons decisions in life, but what really matters is if they let that persuading factor affect their judgment.

If a person makes a bad if not horrible decision in their life, does that make them a bad person? No, of course not, a bad decision should not be used to judge a person on whether or not they are bad. People make bad decisions in life, everybody does. Now if they realized what they did was the wrong thing to do and they are compelled to felling guilty by their own will then they shouldn’t be forever judged by that poor decision. Although, if they made that poor decision and are ether joyous that they did, or feel that they want to make additional poor decisions in their life span, they should be exposed as the twisted person they really are and ether given mental or physical help or simply be punished.

By C. B., a middle school student

Choices, there are so many you can make. You always have a choice.

Choices, there are so many you can make. You always have a choice. You can put up and shut up, take what you get. Or you can fight for what you believe in, even if you know you shouldn’t, if you know it’s not your place, if you know you’re wrong. It is always our first nature to defend ourselves. It is always your first nature to fight, and then consequences possibly make them worse. The thing is though consequences aren’t always bad, some can even be good. I have had my share of both good …and bad. How I got through them was only with a choice, some bad consequences I am still battling, some good were only sweet while they lasted.

I defended myself even though I was wrong, I knew it, I took actions into my own hands, and I faced the consequences. What for though? I thought I was a strong person I thought by doing what I did I made myself stronger, I thought I would be on top, I thought well what is another referral going to do to me? I still remember that day the day that I made the worst choice of my life. I still think about it, I dream about it, and I know what I said and did. I know I still have secrets buried deep within the walls of my skin. I know some are better left untouched. I still know that some of the things I did and the true story behind will never come out, I won’t let them. My worst choice was somewhat like this. The steely gleam of the door knob was in front of me, waist high and with an ominous chill to the touch. I grasped the knob with my finger tips and let it slid from my grip. I was in a classroom tardy, yes but there. I was feeling confident that I would be in no trouble at all with the purple pass in my hand. The teacher glowered at me and said,” You’re tardy again!” I said calmly, “I have a pass.” With almost a mocking face she said “No you don’t.” Feeling annoyed now I said in just the same way, “Yes I do.” I flicked the pass rudely at her. “This pass was for homeroom.” She said with a smile. “Well it wasn’t much use was it if the bell for homeroom rang while I was still in the office?” I ranted. From then on it was a shouting match.

By V. D., a middle school student

Every human is faced with choices some are good and some are bad.

Choices is defined by the Webster’s Dictionary as the act of choosing or the power or opportunity of choosing. Every human is faced with choices some are good and some are bad. I am confident that we our judged on the choices we have made. If we made a superior choice and someone sees what you done, they will think you’re such an amazing person, but if you made an awful choice and someone saw it, they think you are a dreadful person and want nothing to do with you. So I think we are judged by the choices we have made.

There are many different theories that state, bad choices make you a bad person and that good choices make you a good person, I personally think that if you made a bad choice, you either didn’t think about it before you committed it or you were just going alone with the throng of people. I really do believe that if you made a bad choice, it doesn’t mean you are an evil person. And what if you made a good choice, it doesn’t represent that you are a good person. All the serial killers made good choices in the life but they also have problems and committed crimes are disturbed people. So if you have made good choices, I don’t think you are always a good person. I think it is how you were raised to determine if you are a good or bad person not the choices you made.

Some people think we are defined by our choices, because if you hade made a ridiculous choice, I don’t think that’s who you really are and you shouldn’t be defined by that choice. It could have been the environment around you or the people you hang out with that made you make that choice, but I don’t think it defines who you really are. So I don’t think that choices really define who a person really is.

I suppose that choices are made by our brain. You may have made a choice without thinking what is going to happen after you did it. I am absolutely confident that I will grow and make better choices by choosing better people to hang out with and not being in the spot to make a bad choice and have to get a punishment for it.

The first step to making better choices is to recognize when I am faced with a bad choice is to think about what would happen to me if I made the choice also to think about what my consequence would be. I think we can think about the choice before doing it. If I would have thought about my choices, I have made, I would have never been in trouble. I wish I could go back and think before I act. Choices can be controlled and are important to control before you get into trouble.

I also think that if you made a bad choice, you will be faced with a bad consequence. For example, if your best friend tells you a secret about someone else and the next time you witness that person you don’t think about your choice and notify that person what your friend thought about them, that person will be angry at you and that person. So that’s an example of how bad choices will result in bad consequences.

If you make a good choice, I think the consequence will be excellent. Another example of that is if you chose to aid an elderly women cross the road, she will reward you with a buck or two. So if you make good choices, good things will happen to you.
To close, I have realized that bad choices can be prevented by thinking before you make the choice. I also found out if you make a bad choice, there will be a bad consequence for it. Choices come from you brain, and you have to eliminate the dreadful ones and produce high-quality ones. That is a major key to a successful life.

By a high school student

We have rules all over. Rules can protect us from danger.

We have rules all over. Rules can protect us from danger. Rules can help us if we follow them right like driving with our belts on and driving at the right speed. But if we break these rules, we could get hurt and even lose our life. Some other ways we could get hurt while driving could be DUI (driving under influence) or driving while drinking. That’s one of the reasons people get pulled over by cops.

Rules are also to be followed especially in school. Rules in school are the first thing you learned when you get there. Breaking the rules in school grounds can get you in a lot of trouble. One of the main reasons kids in school get in trouble is when they don’t listen to a teacher or someone that works in school campus. That’s how I got to E.A (enhanced assist). This program helps us understand rules and how to follow them.

Rules are also in public places such as the mall, Wal-mart, the movie theater and places like that. When you go to one of this public places, you have to follow several rules. Some of the rules that you have to follow are no 5 finger discount. Which is nooooo stealing. If you break that rule, you could get arrested, or you might just have to pay for the item you took.

Following rules in school, out of school, or public places can help you and can help to stay out of trouble. So you should follow the rules. If the rules are posted, follow them. If they are not, still do what’s right. Don’t break a rule that can get you in trouble or might get you in trouble with the law.

By A. C., a middle school student

First, rules that I can react to so that I stay out of trouble are for example do as I am told to do.

First, rules that I can react to so that I stay out of trouble are for example do as I am told to do. So don’t talk back, stay on task, and more. Also why do we need rules? Well, we need rules for many reasons like for instance we need rules so we can have a safer world like one rule, don’t go on red is a good rule I think because it prevents accidents from happening. We should also have rules for many other reasons also.

Secondly, rules are all around us where ever we go no matter were we go they are right there!! And the way that I react to the rules depends on the rule or how I feel about it. Also most of the time I am very good on following the rules. But it doesn’t matter how I feel about it or if I think other wise about the rule no matter what I still have to accept the rule and apply it. Some ways that I react to rules are like for example so times I react mad, confused, disagree, agree, and much more. Another thing is that even if rules are not right in front of us or are not on a sigh or posted on the wall THE RULES ARE STILL THERE!!!!

Thirdly, rules are to be followed no matter what. Expressly in a place like ENHANCED ASSIST…because if you don’t you will not like it... also for example the rule don’t talk, don’t sleep, don’t slouch, don’t, and much more. I suggest that you follow these rules. Also rules aren’t that bad to follow if you chose to, but it’s all up to you to follow them or to not follow them...

Also, rules are in some other places like the mall or on the roads , in school or even in your own home… and some rules you have no choice but to follow them like the don’t steal, don’t litter, don’t speed, don’t talk back to your parents, clean your room, don’t run in the hall way , and more. All of these rules are a great structure for our society...

Lastly, we have to keep in mind that there is a consensus for each and every rule like if you steal or speed you will get a ticket or go to jail. And if you don’t clean your room or talk back to your parents, you’ll most likely get grounded or something. The same for littering if you litter, you will get a fine for it. Well, I think that I have said enough on what I think about rules or what I have to say about them!

By M. V., a middle school student

I could react to the rule of staying out of trouble and behave in public places.

I could react to the rule of staying out of trouble and behave in public places. For example I could go to the teacher when some one messes with me, and I could stay away from bad people such as my friends. I am in EA for breaking the rule so many times at my school that I got the rest of the year at Enhance Assist. I think at school teachers should make there own rules and not take other teacher’s rules.

At home if think my family should have “NO” rules. At the mall I think they should have cameras and more. I think I need to go to anger classes so I can’t get mad as fast as I do.
I get mad, angry, confused so fast. The other day my mom made me so made that I started to cry I got so mad I felt like killing her.
If you don’t wont to spend your life in jail, take my advice, do not get in fights in public place, do not get in to trouble any were if you don’t want to go to jail. THE RULES ARE EVERY WHERE, at the mall, at the skate park, at the movie, at the beach even at stores.
If I was alone on an island, there will be a few rules for me to follow.

The rules at the mall are no stealing or you will go to jail. I almost got caught stealing once. But I will never steal again. At school the rules are no running in the hall, no talking during class, no cursing at teachers.

By J. T., a middle school student

If a girl is in the hallway wandering around and a teacher walks past and does not say anything, what does that show?

Boys are treated differently than girls. If a girl is in the hallway wandering around and a teacher walks past and does not say anything, what does that show? Now if a man was walking in the hallway and walks past a teacher, the teacher would most likely say, “excuse me young man may I please see your hallway pass”? What more is there to tell that is discrimination right there as it is. What about if a girl is chewing gum? What is a male teacher going to do? Most likely say spit it out and in my school go run a lap. Now in my school this happens all the time, if a young male was chewing gum, they would say spit it out and go sit on a square. When you sit on a square, it is because you are kicked out of your class room. When you sit on a square, you wait for a teacher to come exercise you and/or bring you back in the classroom.

What bothers me the most is what doesn’t happen to the women of our school. If there is a disruption, they may tell them they lose a point which is something that if you lose too many you have lunch detention on a square. But more so on the occasion they may just give them a warning. If the guys in my school are good, they rarely get awarded for it. I go to a military based school so they may get covers and shevers to a higher rank and all. If the girls are good, they get to walk around with the captain of our school, they are promoted more and more, they also get ice cream or something.

Do you think that the boys are encouraged as much as the girls to show better behavior? I do not think that boys are at least an inch away from being treated the same. I think that the girls are more encouraged by the teachers and everyone else. Think about it this way. What is to happen if a cop pulls over a woman? Well all the women has to do is get a little flirty and then all she gets is a warning some of the time. Now if an officer was to pull over a guy and the guy got a little flirty I don’t think the officer would like that as much or even a little. I think he may just be arrested, I am kidding, but the guys are punished harsher.

Girls are also trusted more than guys with anything. If I was to tell my teacher a girl was chewing gum and talking to Johnnie another student, she would say just go sit down and mind your own business. If a girl was to walk up to a teacher and just plain lied and said that I was talking, she would say go outside and sit on a square and sit on a square until a teacher is out there to see you. Now that wasn’t that hard for a girl to get me in trouble, but it was impossible to get her in trouble. She did not even ask her to please wait or anything she sent me outside without any clue what I was even doing.

By J. G., a middle school student

But if we boys do same thing that the girls do we probably get, EA, ISS, or OSS.

Are boys treated differently from girls in middle school or elementary school? I think that boys are treated differently from girls because in certain occasions teachers let the girls slide, but when the boys get in trouble the teachers send us to discipline or sometimes call the deputy to come and get us. When girls get in trouble, they sometimes just get their parents called or just get lunch detention. But if we boys do same thing that the girls do we probably get, EA, ISS, or OSS. Onetime a girl said a bad word to the principal and she got was 2 days of lunch detention. When I was in 7 grade, I said dammm to my self and I got 3 days of OSS. So as you can see girls are treated differently from boys in and out of school.

The most punishment a girl ever gets is probably 2 days of ISS. Most of the guys usually get EA, or OSS. Some even get kicked out of school. Even out of school boys are treated different from girls. My friend he was at the mall and a girl threw gum at the guy who was working at MacDonald’s and people saw that she threw it, but my friend was the one who more in trouble for not telling them who threw the gum. So as you can see we get treated different from girls. Most of the girl police or teachers or principals are always taking the girls’ side. Even my own mom takes my sister’s side more than she takes mine. She thinks I’m the one who does everything wrong around the house. I tried to tell her that I didn’t do it but my sister tells her that I do it, and she believes her every word my sister tells her.

So now you know guys get treated different from girls in and out of school. I tried to stay out of trouble, but I just can’t do it. And if I try to stay out of trouble, some one or some how I get in trouble. Girls are trusted more than guys. If tell my mom I want to use her credit card, she would tell me that she would go with me and buy what ever I want . But if my sister asked for the card, my mom would give her the card and tell her buy what ever you need.

So now you know why we get treated differently than girls. They get more privileges and they get more help in everything in and out of school.

By A. C., a middle school student

I’m here too writing about how boys are treated differently from girls.

I’m here too writing about how boys are treated differently from girls. People have there own opinions on the way boys are treated differently from girls. I think that boys are being treated differently because girls get awards for the good things they do. Girls are also trusted more which is another reason that boys get punished more than girls or get it worse. So there are the three reasons why I think boys are being treated differently than girls.

To begin with girls get awarded for the things they do. When girls do something like get an answer write in school or like they win a game or something, they get a prize either from the teacher and if it’s a sport maybe from the coach. But when a boy does something like that, the teacher or coach will just say good job. Another example is that there was a girl who got an answer right and the teacher gave her a piece of candy and told her good job, but when the boy got it right the teacher just said good job and that’s not fair.

Second, girls are trusted more than boys. When I walk through the hall ways at my school, the teachers always ask me where is my pass and then I would show it to them but when a girl walks by, the teacher says hi or something. Also if I was in my classroom and the teacher was going to choose between a girl or a boy to take something to the front office the teacher will more likely choose the girl.

Third, boys get punished more than girls or they get it worse. There so many examples how or why boys get punished more than girls or get it worse. Well the first example is that if a girl threw a piece of paper in the class and the teacher saw it, the teacher would probably tell them to pick it up and give them a warning. If I threw a piece of paper in the class, the teacher would pull out a referral and start writing what I did down, and they will probably send me out of the class.

In conclusion boys are treated differently than girls because they get rewards for the good things they do, they are trusted more, and boys get punished more than girls. So I think that girls and boys should be treated in the same way.

By E. S., a middle school student

I think boys at my middle school are treated differently. I think this because there are more boys than girls that get into trouble.

I think boys at my middle school are treated differently. I think this because there are more boys than girls that get into trouble. Also teachers feel like girls are different and need to be treated nicer because they are girls. Another reason is that boys are treated more rough cause we’re guys.

For instance at my school they were a few girls talking in class and there were a few boys talking and the teacher immediately yelled at them. Then one of the boys said, what about those girls and the teacher said I didn’t hear them I only heard you boys. That is an example why boys are treated different.

Another reason that boys are miss treated is because when there is a boy teacher he is most likely to treat the guys better than girls and when there is a girl teacher the girls are treated nicer. Or it can be opposite when the girl teachers treat the guys different and the guy teachers treat the girls different. That is another way guys are mistreated.

There is another example is that girls punishments are different. They are not as rough because they are girls. If a boy was to the same thing as the girl did, the punishment would probably be worse than the girl’s was. For example there were two fights, two girls and two boys. The boys were suspended and got into huge trouble, and the girls were only given a slight punishment.

Well that is it, I have told you some what of what I want to tell you because if I said everything then I would be here all day. So I don’t want to get you bored so that is it about what I can say about the treatment between boys and girls.

By D. R., a middle school student

Well…….I never thought of how I would parent of a child just like me and what I would do to make my child grow up happy and successful.

My parenting

Well…….I never thought of how I would parent of a child just like me and what I would do to make my child grow up happy and successful. I would show my child the religious part of me. I would also teach my child to show others respect whether child or adults. And I will show the consequence of him/her their actions. As a parent I would be nice to my kids and make them have lots of fun!!

To begin with, when it comes to church I will be very patient with my kids because kids are very active and do not want to sit and listen to the preacher not even for 30 minutes. I want them to see how much god is important because without him god knows what will happen to us or what accident may happen. I will take them every weekend to church because there are very nice activities in church. I will make sure it is fun because I myself was once a kid and know what will be fun for them.

Furthermore, I would also teach my child how to respect others no matter if they are a kid or an adult. I would certainly dislike it if people make rude comments about my child, that would also upset me. If they’re having trouble with a student at school, I would go to the school and talk to the principal. And I know myself when you try to stay away from someone who wants to fight me, it’s difficult because they would start rumors and they say everything they can to make me mad. And I will understand because I’ve been through it, but they still have to be respectful.

Last but not least, if my child would ever disobey me they would get punished for he/she’s behavior. For everything you do in life there’s a consequence. For instance if my child had got into to trouble I would never beat them up or anything that would make it worse. I would simply ground them. For example No TV, NO RADIO, NO PARTY, CAN’T GO TO SCHOOL FIELD TRIP and stuff like that. I would not woop my kids.

In conclusion, if I had to be a parent of a child just like me, I would bring he/her to church. I would teach my child to respect others. And also I would give my child consequences for their bad behaviors. I would love my children, and I would try to be understanding and make them feel like they could talk to me and let me know what’s going on.

By B. O., a middle school student

There are many difficulties in parenting a kid. What challenges would you face if I had a child like you?

Parenting

There are many difficulties in parenting a kid. What challenges would you face if I had a child like you? What rules would you put down? What rewards would you give your kids, and what kind of privileges would you allow them to have.

Rules

First I would make a curfew that depended all on age. It would start when he gets in middle school. When he is 13, he can be up and out till 10:00, when 14 10:45, when 15 11:30, when he or she is 16 there curfew would be 12:15. I would not ground my child, but I would give him something to cry about. I would be a dad that understands my son, and I will relate with him when he gets in trouble. I can understand him having to keep his respect and the respect for his family when he gets in fights. But then I would give him a firm talking to saying you don’t want to end up like in a stupid military school.

Rewards

I would reward him for acting grown up or etc. with things like you get to stay up later or you get to own something like a gun or a go cart as long as know I can trust him and know he will act age with it. I would make sure he will have rewards and more privileges as he gets older automatically. but most of all I would let him be him so however he wants to dress or act is his choice.

Being cool but responsible parent

I would be the coolest dad. I will make sure he has a cool dad that will do stuff with him and let him run around with his friends. I will understand when he starts wanting to do stuff by himself and his friends when he hits that certain age. I will do stuff with him like throw the football, and go hunting or fishing whatever he is into. I would let him make his own decisions.

In conclusion

I would be a cool dad and let him make his own decisions. Give him older rules and let him have what ever friends he wants to have unless there involved in gangs or drugs because I have seen what they can do and I wouldn’t want to him to end up like some of my friends that were involved in gangs and drugs. I would hope I make the right decisions and privileges so in the end he will be a rich, happy, successful, and intelligent young man.

By M. L., a middle school student

Do you know anyone whose parents are divorced? Are your parents divorced? Hopefully not, because it stinks.

Do you know anyone whose parents are divorced? Are your parents divorced? Hopefully not, because it stinks. My parents have been divorced since I was 4 years old, and even 10 years later, I still have problems with it.

For a couple of years, I did that whole “every other weekend” thing, but that didn’t really work out. Then I had to answer one of the hardest questions in my life, I had to choose which parent I wanted to live with. I had chosen my mother. But when I said good bye to my dad I had a broken heart. My dad was always a big part of my life and now he and I were going to be thousands of miles away from each other.

I had to start a whole new life, new friends, new town, basically a new lifestyle. My mother and I had moved to New York (my whole family is originally from there). My mom was different from my dad in many ways, so I had to adjust to her methods of life. But the big problem was everything I had left behind in Florida. My friends were the world to me, and I didn’t see them any more, I loved my house, and where it was, but now I was living in completely different home. I missed my brothers, and you can’t replace them, and my dad, I would never allow a person to take the place of my dad.

All of these challenges in my life were affecting everything did. In Florida I was extremely popular and had tons of friends, but I was nobody in NY and knew nobody. I had to overcome my problems and make it right, so I did. I started getting more friends here and there and eventually accepted that my friends in Florida were there without me. By opening up to new things, my mom and I had a much better relationship.

To conclude, there are many challenges people face from day to day, whether they are as minor as your hair style or to death of a loved one. One thing to remember is to all ways to look on the bright side, and don’t wait a while to start doing what is right.

By D. A., a middle school student

To me one of the challenges in life is getting up at six in the morning when your not use to it.

To me one of the challenges in life is getting up at six in the morning when your not use to it. Why you may ask? Well because if your not use to it, you have to try to stay awake in class, and trust me, it is not very easy. I should know be cause it happens to me all the time. If you can not stay awake in class, then you have to stand up in front of the whole class for you don’t fall asleep again.

The main reason that I hate getting up so early is that I’m not use to this at all. My mother has to kick me so I can wake up and get ready. It’s a pain. When your falling asleep in class, you think that you are awake because in the dream your teacher is talking in the dream there saying the same things.

My real challenge was learning how to play basketball. I didn’t even know the rules to the game. I didn’t even get the point of the game. I thought that all you had to do is take the basketball in make it in the hoop with no rules like double dribbling, traveling fouls, and much more. Now I’m like one of the best in school. I get the rules. I know how to shoot the basketball. Everything the people that were making fun of me when I didn’t know how to play I’m making fun of them because they been playing longer then me, and now I’m better then them. I guess if you put your mind to learn something, there’s not a thing in the world that can stop you unless you just drop dead then your done cause you can’t move. These were some of the greatest challenges for me.

By F. F., a middle school student

I have overcome a lot of challenges in my life, but there are three that stand out the most.

I have overcome a lot of challenges in my life, but there are three that stand out the most. These three are learning to swim, learning to ride a bike, and learning to play football and basketball. It all started when I was about five years old, and my Mom had just signed me up for a summer camp down at the community center.

When I was five and I was signed up for a summer camp down at the community center, they had a swimming program every other day for 5 days of the week - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The first day was the most frightening because the swimming instructor wanted me to jump in the pool with no life jacket. She said she would catch me, but I was still scared. When I finally jumped into the pool, she did catch me, and I overcame my fear of the pool. Now I am swimming at the lifeguard level and will soon be one.

In the same year my mom had bought me a bike with training wheels. It was a blue, black, and gray checkered BMX bike. I practiced all the time and was so happy riding my bike until the time came when I had to take off the training wheels. I was scared, but I wanted to be like some of my friends with out training wheels. My older sister could already ride a bike without training wheels, so she was the one to teach me. She was an alright teacher, but the way she taught me was to make me sit on the bike and push me without any assistance.

This was the year 2002 when I first signed up for basketball and football. The first practice was hard and breathtaking, but it paid off in the end. Later on in Middle School I saw a sign up sheet for the basketball team. I didn’t think I was that good so I didn’t sign up. But when I made it to 8th grade, I signed up for it and easily made the team and got a good record in all of our games. The same year I signed up for football at the school I was always pretty good in football, and I was still kind of nervous, but I went; I played, and I over came my fear and beat the challenge and became better than ever.

In life when you have to overcome fears and challenges, just go for it. If it has something to do with a professional, and they say everything will be ok, just trust them.
It was hard for me to overcome the challenges in my life learning to swim scared me to death, the same with learning to ride a bike where I got some scrapes and bruises, and last playing football and basketball. These have all affected me in some way, but it was for the better.

By D. W., a middle school student

In every child is a spark of imagination but in my cousins Bobbie, Mikey and my sister and I are told by our mothers every day we are imaginative.

In every child is a spark of imagination but in my cousins Bobbie, Mikey and my sister and I are told by our mothers every day we are imaginative. My sister, Bobbie, Mikey and I are all first cousins; our mothers are sisters. This story is just about one of the times we used our creativity.
One day we were all outside playing at the park when we saw a pile of wood just lying on the ground. I looked around and saw kids every where with their parents. So I told my cousins and sister that we should get things to sell. My sister suggested we sell things that we buy from the store. Mikey suggested that we use the wood to build a little stand. Then Bobbie suggested we paint it with all of our favorite colors. Maria (my sister) thought about asking our mothers for 10 dollars (each mother). So we began to build our master piece. It took us the rest of the day to build the stand. We were ready the next day. It was very gorgeous. It was mixed with pink and blue and red letters that read “Lebron and Reyes Family Store.”
The next morning we went to the store with twenty dollars and bought chips, candy, other junk, and lemons. We made homemade lemonade and brought the goods down stairs to sell. We had started around 1:30 pm and ended at 4:50. By then all the goods and lemonade had been gone because you see we made a smart decision on where we should put the store. We finally decided on putting the store on the side walk that ran through the park. It worked we made $120.97 off of everything we sold at our store.
At six we went to the mall, and we took these pictures of ourselves and had them put in these pure glass crystals. They were $50.00 a piece. We got two one for my aunt and one for my mom. Our moms were so proud of us, and best of all, they got something from their little entrepreneurs.
So to conclude my story I would like to say that anybody can do what we did. It is a lot of fun and you learn things from your experience. You really don’t need to have money; you could sell your old toys that you don’t play with anymore.

By M. R., a middle school student

We are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan now, and we have been in war for about 4-5 years now.

We are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan now, and we have been in war for about 4-5 years now. I think we should stay at war and not help them because they are the ones that really wanted to have a war from Osama Ben Laden and Sudan Ossian. They really caused us trouble. They were going to blow-up America.

Now many are in jail/prison, and they cannot even dare to try it again. This time we will be ready. We will blow them up A.S.A.P. I really think we should just kill them NOW!!!!!!!!!! I really can’t stand to know that we cannot kill them all. They should just kill them now because they are pretty dumb and stuff.

They don’t really need a democracy because they are very mean people, and they don’t deserve a democracy because if we go over there, they will just kill us like that. They are not very caring to others but them. So why should we waste our precious time to build them a democracy. They should build themselves one.

They don’t deserve anything. We do deserve a democracy because we are cooler. We deserve an award for all the hard work we do. And we are the best people in the world. We are so cool and stuff like that. We should get a lot of money.

Now you know what I think about the war. And how I feel and express my feelings about that topic. And now I will tell you why you should not like wars. Because they are not very good at all. They are bad.

By T. R., a middle school student

When I go fishing for bone fish,I will go on a flats boat.

When I go fishing for bone fish,I will go on a flats boat. The time that I leave is about five o’clock in the morning. When we leave the house, my uncle and I well get gas at the dock. They have gas in a little pump so we will get about 22 gallons so it will hold us when we go to the Keys. When we get out to our honey hole, we get our poles ready to fish. We start fishing for bone fish ten minutes. Later, I get one on when I got them up to the boat my uncle got the net, and he got it into the boat. The bone fish was 20 inches long that was the first fish of the day. So there wasn’t that many bone fish so we went fishing for snook in shore but we were still on the boat just not as far out. So we changed our poles for snook. As soon as I dropped my jig into the water a 34 inch snook hit my jig. So it was about time to head home so my uncle and I reeled in our poles, and we were off. When we got to the dock, we unpacked our stuff, and we went home. So let me talk a little bit about bone fish. Bone fish are a hard fighting fish. The world record on bone fish is 35 inches. Se the biggest bone fish I every caught is 24 inches. It took me 20 mints to get it in. and the main kind of boat that you should use is a flats boat with a 250 Mercury engine that is what you need. We'll see you next time.

By K. M., a middle school student

If I could change things from my school, it would be the length of periods. I mean yo COM ‘on class is long I would like it if class was 25 minutes

If I could change things from my school, it would be the length of periods. I mean yo COM ‘on class is long I would like it if class was 25 minutes long every day then ding, ding, ding class is over. I wish that we had more group work or a partner, and also I wish we had better lunch

My first reason is to make class shorter so then we finish school quicker and more easily. You see my classes are boring, but then at times they may be fun but most of the time it's boring but like you parent or guardian says it's for the best and the best is what I need. I have this one teacher and she only talks about herself and teaches us nothing. I mean, hey, we need education too just like you had yours, we need ours. I attend Golden Gate Middle school, and it's fun, but it’s a very strict school

My second reason is to have group work. I mean being by yourself is hard. Some people just don’t understand I mean I am so bad a geography and my home girl J. isn’t. She’s real good. I’m just not good with the physical and political maps yo COM’ on I stink at geo and math. Oh my gosh, don’t get me started on math that junk is hard. I’m not good at area or stuff like that especially circumference. And all the other type of math, but I am good at algebra.

My final reason is to have better school lunch’s ok lets see umm we have a cold lunch and the meat on the hamburger is still raw who would want to eat that I know I don’t and the pizza is just nasty too much grease and the chicken nuggets are nasty the meat inside is gross its brown and icky and maybe just maybe I would eat the salad and that’s just about it. All the rest of the food is gross and not good because it still needs a bit more cooking.

In conclusion, if I could change some things from my school, it would be the length of periods, start doing group work so than we could get things done faster, and without stress, and getting in the new school lunches because they're nasty. So now you tell me what you would change from your school; I told you what I would do

By I. T., a middle school student

In our generation today, we need more things than before. Today kids are top self absorbed and spoiled.

In our generation today, we need more things than before. Today kids are top self absorbed and spoiled. They act like they are above everyone else. It’s all because of their parents.

These vain children are always getting what they deserve like clothes, shoes, cell phones, laptops, etc. They are never satisfied until they get everything. Their parents are either pushovers or are the same as their kids.

Beauty. That’s what these arrogant kids also care about. They think they are the most beautiful or hottest people alive. Their ego is too high and is too conceited. Their sanctuary is the bathroom, exactly where the mirror is. Their love is only to themselves.

Every spoiled child is only spoiled because of the encouragement their parents give them. Everyday, these children are hearing they are special or either their beauty is better than anyone else. They must also hear it from their friends and people around them. No one can compete with the egomaniacs. It’s time someone stopped them.

All these kids need to get a life; they should be happy with what they get. They would have more friends if their ego wasn’t so high. Today’s children are too self absorbed.

By L. R., a middle school student

Anger comes in many different ways. For all of the different types of anger I have a different way to deal with it.

Anger comes in many different ways. For all of the different types of anger I have a different way to deal with it. The best thing to do is find strategies on how to control it. I’m going to tell you some of the ways that I take care of it, I have a very bad temper so I have lots of different ways to tell you how to deal with it.

The first thing that I do when I get mad is, normally, just take a deep breath. An example, for instance, say someone comes up to you and calls you a mean name that you hate to be called. What do you do? I would say something mean back at them, but that tends to get me in trouble every time. Now, when I get put in a situation like that, I know how I should handle it, but sometimes I don’t always do it the right way…. That’s when you stop and think about what you are doing. Think about where you are, think about what are the consequences, and is what your about to do worth it?

The next thing that I do to help me with my anger is I try to do is count. This normally helps when I am fighting with my mom, dad, or with my sisters. I fight with them a lot, so I know this technique works. If you try it, I’m sure it will work for you too.

The other thing that I do is simply just walk away. The times that I use this technique is when I’m at school. There is a lot of drama there. People that I don’t even know just come up to me and call me harsh names. I would like to say that it doesn't bother me at all, but really it bothers me so much sometimes that I go home and pray to God that It will all just go away and stop. When someone puts you down or says something mean to you, just walk away. In a few weeks or even years, you will look back on that day and say, “What would have happened if I would have hit those people that hurt your feelings so much?” You will be so proud of yourself because you were the bigger person, and they were the ones who looked stupid because you walked away.

Those are my tips and what I do when I get mad or angry. There is one last little tip that I want to give you, I would like to tell you to just Pray…. Pray and ask for help with your problems and to take them away. This one works the best for me.

By M. B., a middle school student

There are many things that we can make an improvement in our schools, and there are many ways that you and I can help

There are many things that we can make an improvement in our schools, and there are many ways that you and I can help make this happen and make it possible. Here are some of my ideas to help.

For starters I would like to say that kids have stopped eating there breakfast at home, so in addition to this situation I think that it would be a great idea to have snack machines in all of the middle schools and high schools in the Collier County District. They not only can have breakfast foods in the snack machines, they can have other snacks in them so that way the kids can have a little snack sometime before or after lunch if they get hungry. This will hold them off until they get home.

Another idea that I have is I think kids should not have to wear uniforms. The reason why I think that is because the way people dress is a huge part of there personality. The way a person dresses also shows how he/she is feeling that day. If a person is feeling sad, they will wear something that is dark or they will just leave there pajamas on. If a person is feeling happy and out going, they will wear something that is bright or colorful. The way someone dresses is so important. If every student is wearing the same thing everyday, they can’t express how they are felling that day without words.

Last, but not least, I think that school should start later in the morning. The reason why I think that school should start later in the morning is because if kids are getting up at 5:30am this will effect how well they participate in class and also how well they listen in class. If a kid is very tired, they will not be able to concentrate very well. I think school should start at 10:00am and end at 4:00pm.

Those are some of my ideas that I have to help improve our schools. These ideas, I think, will make our schools better places. I think that you should most definitely take these ideas into consideration.

By M. B., a middle school student

Yes, I think kids today are spoiled and self absorbed. I think this because many kids have cell-phones and do noting for their cell-phones.

Yes, I think kids today are spoiled and self absorbed. I think this because many kids have cell-phones and do noting for their cell-phones. I think that kids are spoiled because they ask a lot and do nothing for the cash or bling bling they get. Also I know kids are spoiled because I am that way and most of my friends are that way. We get a lot for nothing.

The reason is I strongly agree that kids today are spoiled and self- absorbed is because, many kids have cell phones I mean you can't walk into a Wall-Mart, mall, Winni-Dixie with out seeing a kid on the phone. I mean parents go out of their way to buy these expensive cell-phones and have nothing in return.

Secondly, another reason is I know personally myself I ask for a lot of things especially when I know its payday (funny huh). Well, I ask my mom for 40 maybe 50 dollars at once just to go to the movies and the next day ask for more money. Now I don’t have a job so how do I get the things. I get “PARENTS.” Maybe not every kid is like me, but the majority of them are. It's probably because they are afraid of what their kids might do. Which brings me to my next topic

Last but not least, kids are so spoiled because parents complain about kids asking and nagging for everything and anything. Parents are so afraid what a child, the one they gave birth to, can do if they don’t get what they want. I know kids that hurt themselves to get every thing they want because they are scared to death of what they will do. What I am trying to say is that Parents are the main source of the problem.

Well, now you know why and how kids are spoiled. The first reason is the cell phones. The second reason is because they get lots of money, and lastly, the parents know what I know about spoiled children

T.C., a middle school student

I don’t think kids today are self-absorbed because there parents just give them everything also they don’t like getting in other people's life.

I don’t think kids today are self-absorbed because there parents just give them everything also they don’t like getting in other people's life. Another thing is lots of kids are spoiled yet they volunteer and help out and care about other people. First of all, you may think that some kids are spoiled because of the things they have and because their parents give them everything. But sometimes kids don’t ask their parents. Their parents just get it for them just because they want to. So the kid may be a good person who cares about many other people.

Secondly, sometimes you think someone is self-absorbed and doesn’t care about their friends but really doesn’t want to get in somebody else’s problem and make it worse. Their friends might think that it’s because he or she doesn't care about them, but they do, so that’s why they don’t get involved. So don’t judge us kids that quickly.

Third, many of todays do lots of volunteering. Actually most of today’s volunteers are kids. Over 60 of my friends are volunteers including myself. Adults think today's kids are spoiled and self- absorbed, but they aren’t spoiled but they might be self-absorbed.

In conclusion, kids today are not spoiled and I'll stick to my choice. Many kids volunteer and help out other people

D.S., a middle school student

In my opinion, yes, I think kids are too self-centered and self-absorbed!

In my opinion, yes, I think kids are too self-centered and self-absorbed! I think so because they want everything, are too conceited, and are too bratty. I'll tell you three reasons why.

To start off, all those rich kids want every thing they see, For example, they want new cars, new cell phones, and new PSP’s. Once they get what they want, they act very mean, and they act like they are better than every one else.

In addition, they start acting conceited and mean. They want all of the designer clothes, shoes, and bags. They only care about themselves, and one thing that they care about the most is their money, their face, body type and their appearance. They are being bad acting selfish.

By C. S., a middle school student

I like to volunteer because it’s a nice and good thing to do for people who don’t have some of the things and privileges that a lot of us do.

I like to volunteer because it’s a nice and good thing to do for people who don’t have some of the things and privileges that a lot of us do. Some of the things that they don’t have that we do are some of the most important things, such as food. We tend to take advantage of this resource when we could be donating it to the poor.

It’s good because you can do with what you have.

You could be volunteering and not even realize it. I do this in many different ways. One of the ways that I do this is by helping out around the house. For instance, I like to help out my little sister and brother with there home work, and I also help out with my chores. Another thing that I do is I like to help the elderly do things that are not so easy for them to do, like getting into there car. Those are just some simple things that you can do to volunteer.

Volunteering is the best thing that you can do.

That is some things that I do to volunteer and the reasons why it’s a great thing to do. Even of you are doing something that is so small you are still making a difference.

By J. S., a middle school student

In my own opinion, I think that kids are too spoiled but not all of them.

In my own opinion, I think that kids are too spoiled but not all of them. The people that are spoiled and self-centered in the future then end up messing up. If you demand all the things that you want as a child, when you get older, and you are out of your parents’ house, they will know longer will be there to get you what you want when you want it.

First, parents think that by getting there son/daughter whatever they want and spoiling them, they are doing something good for there children’s future, when really they are messing up there children’s life. By doing this in the future the kids are bound to be unsuccessful because they are use to getting what ever they want. So when there is no one who can stand them, they go crazy because they are all alone

The second thing is they always want things, and they want other people to get it for them so they never have to work for it. Whenever they hear about something or see something, they automatically want it.

By J. C., a middle school student

Are kids to self-centered? Well, if you ask me, I say that kids aren’t.

Are kids to self-centered? Well, if you ask me, I say that kids aren’t. Why do I say that? Because I’m one of them, when I want something, I get it. But I don’t think that I’m spoiled and self-absorbed, but don’t get me wrong, I love giving to others as much as I get.

I would like to start off by saying that I am spoiled; I got my first cell phone at the age of 9. Now I’m 12, and I’ve gone through 3 different ones this year, but if I ask for something, I get it, and if my mom or dad says no, I pretend to cry, then I get it because my parents feel bad for saying no.

Proceeding on this topic, I also volunteer at a nursing home. I even adopted a grandmother. I visit her twice a week.

By J. F., a middle school student

Today do you think kids are too self-absorbed? Well I do.

Today do you think kids are too self-absorbed? Well I do. They think that they can get whatever they want when the want it. This is a big problem. Parents, teachers, and you need to help find a solution.

The first reason why I think this is because some kids today think that they can do anything they want and get anything that they want. COME ON! If you are one of these kids, I really think you need a reality check because it’s not always going to be this way.

The second reason is because a lot of kids have very wealthy parents, and they think, “My parents have plenty of money, they will never run out.” And something like, “Oh, it’s just a $100,000 car it's not that much, my parents will pay for that”. Well, who will pay the rest of it off when you get out of your mom and dad’s house and you are out on your own?

The third reason why I think kids are too self-centered is because my older sister is one of those people that is so into herself that she don’t even think about others half as much as she does herself. She thinks the sun rises and sets on her, and she needs to realize that it most definitely does not. She gets every thing that she wants. She has a new Lexis, she has so many clothes, shoes and so many purses that you could not even count. It makes me sick to see her get all of this new stuff, because I know that she will not let me touch any of it. This shows me a lesson not to be self-centered.

I personally think that kids need to wake up and smell the coffee, because one day their parents are not going to be there for then much longer. One day every kid is going to move out of there parents’ house. What happens then? Who will pay for the car that your mom and dad did not pay off? Things are going to be a lot different when you get older, you need to realize that. That is what I think about kids being too self-centered.

By M. B., a middle school student