Doldrums

For those of you who are young in age, the doldrums are a period of time in which everyone and everything is in limbo and no one is in the mood to do anything energetic at all. February is the month in which everyone is tired of cold weather, crabby students and going to work on a daily basis with minimal sun and/or warmth outside. This combination tends to make for a volatile mix that leads to students fighting and adults behaving like they have lost all sense of reason and logic. In the past week, my school has had about 10 major fights resulting in suspensions. Most of them were involving students who under most circumstances one never hears from. Sad, really. When even the better students in the school turn to violence to solve the issues around them, we then know it is time for some major attitude adjustments. I don't (and probably never will) understand how fighting solves any issue that students have. I believe that the reason for the violence is not defending honor but repressed anger. Anger at their family, their environment, their school and themselves--all are fair targets for anger. How have we, as a society, allowed all of this anger to build up? And now, let's add the deteriorating economy and bleak job prospects and another level of frustration. I wish I had the answers. I don't. I can only hope that someone who is in a better position than I am will make an effort to deal with some of these issues so that we can start bringing some hope back to these students and the society as a whole. Good luck to all of us.