JACK ARMY, scanning my sector!
I believe I learned something. 
I think the parents are really the first lines of defense. While teachers may flag certain behaviors has warning signs, I feel that by the time others see the signs, it is too late. If the alarm goes off in the teacher's head then I believe the parents missed the first alarm months or years ago. A teacher only sees a student for a certain segment of the day and in a controlled atmosphere that is just a subset of the day for the student.
Yes, there are limits on Freedom of Speech. In my mind, a child does not have the same 1st Amendment rights I do. Children cannot vote, be drafted, enter contracts, nor in most cases, be executed if they murder. Parents have a responsibility to apply the 1st Amendment to their kids as they see fit. Parents need to monitor and restrict where necessary. Children should be free to think and express thought but parents are entitled, and should be obligated, to draw limits on what their children say.
Whether this will stop kids from going berserk, it's hard to say. However, I think the primary culprit is television and movies. Here is where parents need to step in and censor when necessary.
Lou was, and is, right on the money. She is a very wise woman. And that is understating the case! 
I am so in awe of our military men and those who blog and blog well, that I was just pretty surprised by your putting my comment on your post. Thanks for the kind words. It was a similar feeling to when Laurie at Soldiers’ Angels NY asked me to attend the Milblog conference. I couldn’t make it, but I was thrilled that she would think I should attend - made me feel important as a blogger and as a Soldiers’ Angel. That is how you made me feel - Thanks!
Although I no longer teach English in the public schools, I do teach art privately to about 30 young adults, and I love it. I loved teaching in PS, but quit in order to teach and raise my own kids and to become a ranch-hand for my husband. I’m just a country girl who blogs about life on the farm and the adventures of my beautiful daughter (most recently sky-diving) whom I cannot seem to get married off. I also post emails from my USMC cousin who is presently in Ramadi. I love milblogs and reading about the men and women who serve our country. I try to support them by being a SA. Most of my understanding of military life comes from my uncle (retired Lt. Col Robert Barker) who did three tours in Vietnam including the Ia Drang Valley. He is my claim to fame.I recently posted pictures of him at the MOH ceremony for Bruce Crandall.
You know, most people do consider their audience, but sometimes their purpose is the problem. Hollywood writers often want to shock people with horror or sex. They want to make their own ideas of what is right seem right to everyone else. They often glorify evil. They say their purpose is to entertain, but there is an underlying purpose to influence people - especially our young people. This is where parents have to really step up to the plate. Parents are ultimately responsible for what their children learn, do, watch on TV, etc. I wrote more about “purpose” on my blog, but did not what to take up so much of your space. Once again, Thanks for posting my comment and making me feel important.
OFF TOPIC BUT FOUND THIS ABOUT YOUR FRIEND
Sgt. major never asked Soldiers to do anything he wouldn’t do
By Bob Reinert, Northwest Guardian
Published: May 24th, 2007 12:33 PM
He led from the front, and he never asked his Soldiers to do anything he wouldn’t do himself.
That was how Sgt. Major Bradly D. Conner was remembered in a memorial ceremony attended by his family, friends and fellow Soldiers May 16 at Four Chaplains Memorial Chapel.
Conner, sergeant major of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, died May 9 on a combat patrol outside of Al-Hillah, Iraq, when the vehicle in which he was riding hit an improvised explosive device.
Conner, 41, was on his fourth deployment to Iraq since 2003.
Born in Tacoma and raised in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Conner leaves behind his wife, Cynthia, son Aaron, daughters Katherine and Rachel, his parents, William and Kay Conner, brothers Brian and Bruce Conner and sister Brenda Day.
Conner enlisted in the Army June 24, 1987, as an ammunition specialist. He completed basic training at Fort McClellan, Ala., and advanced individual training at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. In 1992 he volunteered for Special Forces training. After completing the Special Forces Qualification Course in 1993, he was assigned to 10th SFG as a medical sergeant. He filled several positions in 10th SFG, including 2nd Battalion S3 Operations NCO, team sergeant and first sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company.
“We’ve lost a true warrior and a true Green Beret,” said Col. Eric P. Wendt, commander of 1st SFG. “Sergeant Major Conner was not a sergeant major that passed the buck.
“We know that Sgt. Maj. Brad Conner can never be replaced. Our country has lost a warrior, and the 1st Special Forces Group has lost our brother.”
Wendt recalled how tough an opponent Conner could be on the wrestling mat during combatives.
“I will tell you that Sgt. Maj. Conner would not quit,” Wendt said. “He had no quit in him. He fought and he fought, and he would not quit. And that’s the type of man he was.”
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew C. Siemens pointed out that Conner had only been back in Iraq for two months.
“In those two short months that he was there, he ... led 49 combat patrols and convoys,” Siemens said. “That’s one every other day. He was always in the front, always in the lead vehicle. If you knew Brad, you would know that this was just his way.”
Siemens said Conner maintained his cool no matter what was happening around him.
“Whenever a situation would arise, he wouldn’t let it spin out of control,” Siemens said. “He always stayed calm. He always kept his composure, even in the midst of the worst adversity.
“Brad had a unique way of turning the worst problems into the foundation and the basis for some sort of workable solution.”
“Brad was a man who sought to live what he believed,” said Chaplain (Maj.) John E. Anderson. “He found the worthwhile in the mundane and the meaning in pers
mundane and the meaning in personal hardship, personal sacrifice.”
Master Sgt. Damon A. Gallegos met Conner last summer. He said he immediately liked the sergeant major.
“He came in different than most guys,” Gallegos said. “He came in quiet. He was a quiet professional — the kind of guys we always talk about but ... don’t always see.
“The thing that sets him apart from most people is the way he fixes things. He does everything from the front. While he was leading from the front, he never micro-managed.”
Maj. Sean D. Williams pointed out that referring to Conner as just a warrior shortchanged the man.
“It doesn’t do justice to his undaunting spirit and desire to be a part of the action, to be in there leading the way, doing the hard jobs, the jobs he didn’t have to do,” Williams said. “Rank wasn’t important to him. You could see it in the way he dealt with others.
“Sgt. Maj. Brad Conner is alive and well today. We may not be able to see him or hear his voice anymore, but he’s here.”
Conner’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal Second Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal Second Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Service Commendation Medal Second Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal Fifth Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal Sixth Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Good Conduct Medal Fifth Award, National Defense Service Medal Second Award, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal, NATO Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Military Freefall Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces Tab.
Great post Lou, and thanks to J.A. for sharing it on his blog. You've added to my personal life philosophy. I figure in life, we're all teachers, and students. Whether with children, our peers, or coworkers, our attitutdes, words and actions, teach. We must learn from ourselves too. I often say, "If we learn from our mistakes, then I must be a genius!(LOL)" Purpose and audience. Good things to keep in mind.
Uh, 49/61 is way more than half. Connors had only 12 days off, so he was out 4 days out of every 5. No quit, indeed!
As to the painting and the writing: "Art is quality of communication." That includes both ends of the pipeline, sender and reception, plus the technique of use of the medium in between. No reception means no art. Hence, "know your audience". After all, their imaginations are your real palette and canvas.
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