Don’t Do Anything Morally Wrong.
Dylan wants to go on the class trip – with his old, public school – at the end of the year. With the loss of electronics, the lying, the grounding, the suspension… we still think he could go.
If he earns it.
We went to a play at the old school, which Dylan earned by getting all of his zero’s “erased” from his record – and bringing up his grades substantially. We thought he earned the right to see his friends in their production of Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.
During intermission, however, Dylan ran off with Shane and one of Shane’s friends to the basement of the school – which was off-limits to the public.
“I just wanted to show them the rooms down there. I didn’t know there was anything wrong with that,” Dylan whined, after we finally found them.
Later, Bill suggested that we needed to be more specific about the rules. I am not sure how this would have stopped Dylan from going to the basement, but he suggested that I make a chart for Dylan, so that he could visually evaluate his progress toward the goal of going on that end-of-year trip.
The chart includes everything from taking vitamins in the morning and going to bed before midnight, to having no zero’s or final grades of D or F on his school’s online system. He has to bring his grades up in 10 days and keep them up until the end of the year.
It’s amazing how much homework he suddenly has – and how much more he is doing.
Best of all, I put a disclaimer at the bottom of the chart, which says:
In addition to doing these things for yourself, doing anything that shows incredibly poor judgment for the safety of yourself and others will immediately take away ALL of your rights and privileges.
While this currently includes using electronics, it also includes lying, cheating, stealing, cutting, smoking, drinking alcohol, using drugs, breaking the law in any way, driving a car, bus or plane without a proper license, leaving home without permission, jumping off a cliff, diving out of a moving vehicle, touching or using a handgun or other deadly weapon, attacking, raping, molesting, abusing or murdering anyone, including yourself, or jumping out of a plane, off a bridge, off a cliff, or off the roof of any house or building.
Sad that we need to clarify, but this list is not all-inclusive and there are other things you could do that would be equally stupid that would cause you to lose your privileges. Suffice it to say, you know right from wrong. DON’T DO ANYTHING MORALLY WRONG – including anything STUPID, MEAN, RUDE, HARMFUL, HURTFUL OR ILLEGAL!
We have great hope that he will stay smart, be healthy, and follow the rules. He’s always been a good kid. But for teenagers, sometimes we have to be very specific in laying out the guidelines.