Boredom no excuse for brutish behavior

"We were bored!"

That was the answer given by one of the teenage miscreants who set fire to an elderly pet cat recently in Redding.

It is too bad that the youths cannot be inflicted with the same terrible agony that poor cat suffered, for as long a time as it suffered terrible agony before someone mercifully euthanized it. It would be a fitting lesson for them - a lesson they apparently need, could not ignore and would never forget.

Kids, immature young people, often complain that they are bored. They sometimes seek excitement or fun by doing unacceptable, cruel or inhuman acts. Many times such activities cause pain, injury, unhappiness or even death among children, teenagers and their families. They seek thrills without the acuity to see the possible consequences of things they think will be fun.

Teachers have tremendous opportunities to observe a wide group of growing children and their developing characters as good, bad and all the ranges in between. A good teacher watches and weighs, always trying to guide the student toward the good and valuable lessons in life or away from the tawdry, unhealthy ideas and influences.

It is painful for teachers when they realize that so many children are exposed to attitudes of drugs, booze, promiscuity, cruelty and dishonesty. It hurts to realize that there is little they can do but set a good example, talk to the children, then watch and hope they may have helped.

Parents are the ones truly responsible for their children's attitudes and actions. As a teacher, I observed parents at both ends of the scale. Some I applauded, others I deplored. Some just didn't appear to understand that the example of a parent's behavior, combined with a balance of love and discipline are all essential to bring up a child who will be a good, kind, honest citizen.

When I see or hear about such wicked behavior as burning that cat, I wonder what sort of parents raised those children.