Honk if I need an education!

Check out this hilarity!

If that is not a creative punishment, I don't know what is!

This may not have been the best way to handle things, but I don't agree with the psychologist that this is emotional abuse because the child felt embarrassed or experienced shame. It seems we as a society have forgotten that shame is a healthy emotion. This young man should be ashamed of getting an "F" in PE, of not even trying on the FCAT, and of having a 1.22 GPA. He can do better than that. Shame is the appropriate emotional response to shameful actions. If we lose that perspective, our humanity is compromised. You know who never feels shame? Psychopaths. So, let's not go there.

Shame can definitely become abuse. Abusive parents can make a child feel ashamed of anything- spilling a glass of milk, having acne, etc. Manipulating a child to feel ashamed of things that aren't really "wrong" is abuse. Though outlandish, I don't feel that this street-sign incident was abusive. It just seems like the last resort of a desperate parent.

I personally believe that the first, and most important, thing the parents could do in this situation is to both go back to school themselves and earn their GED's. I know they want their son to learn from their mistakes; but, it seems they haven't even learned from their own mistakes. It's never too late to get an education.

The son is just modeling his parents' behavior. They give lip service to the idea that education is important, but their actions speak to the contrary. How can they ask him to do his homework if they haven't done theirs? My idea may not be a fix-all solution, but I do think it would be a good place to start. They could set a good example and practice what they preach. This family could make a goal that they all 3 graduate together.

I hope this young man takes advantage of the tutoring services provided to him and that he turns his grades around. I'll be rooting (and honking!) for him.