It's 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?' And do you know what they're being taught?

The top five complaints of teachers from 1940-1962 — talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls and getting out of turn in line — to rape, robbery, assault, burglary and arson from 1963 to present.

From: Education Expert: Removing Bible, Prayer from Public Schools Has Caused Decline

Less God - more violence

How did public school teachers go from sending notes home about gum chewing to reporting rapes? 

Since the Biblical story of Creation was replaced with evolution and the practice of picking students to start the school day with a non-denominational prayer over the PA system was banned from government schools in 1963: 

• Academic achievement has plummeted, including SAT scores.
• There has been an increased rate of out-of-wedlock births
• There has been an increase in illegal drug use
• There has been an increase in juvenile crime
• There has been a deterioration of school behavior

From: Education Expert: Removing Bible, Prayer from Public Schools Has Caused Decline

Even murder:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “Education without morals is like a ship without a compass, merely wandering nowhere.” That crucial moral fiber is like those Common Core morality classes – not found in public schools. In fact, that moral fiber is banned from schools.

A Professor of Education at CSU, William Jeynes explains . . . “One wonders if far fewer school shootings would have occurred if students from these schools, especially the assailants, had been given training in forgiveness, anger management, loving others, showing respect, defending the children who are bullied, and dealing with others tenderly.”

According to Richmond Alarm, a school security company, “The mass school shootings list confirms that most K-12 school shootings have occurred at public institutions. As of 2017, private K-12 academic institutes have been, for the most part, spared from large-scale mass shootings”. Public schools are not to blame for these events. It’s the banishing of God that is to blame.

From: God and School Violence

Indianapolis minors and gun violence

Seven minors were wounded late Saturday night in a shooting near the Circle Centre Mall in Indianapolis, Indiana, where a large group of juveniles had gathered. While the nature of the gathering was unknown, this was the third consecutive weekend that Indianapolis police responded to a mass shooting, wrote Law Enforcement Today's Eddie Killian in his report on the shooting.

Walter Straiten tweeted this Fox News report on the shooting.

[L]ocal Fox affiliate reported officers arrived at the scene and discovered a large group of juveniles including 6 with apparent gunshot wounds. . . . a seventh victim arrived at a hospital with an apparent gunshot wound. 

No suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the shooting but investigators say that more than 1 weapon was used.

Parents need “to be more vigilant about their children’s whereabouts”

Deputy Chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Tanya Terry,  expressed concern about the incident and the need for parents to be more mindful of where their children are, Killian recounted:  

Deputy Chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Tanya Terry, expressed deep concern over the incident, stating, “It is extremely concerning to us that so many of our young people have been victims of gun violence this evening. Once again, we have a situation where young people are resolving conflict with gun violence, and it has to stop.”

. . . 

In response to the recent surge in gun violence, Terry disclosed that over 25 officers were patrolling the downtown area on Saturday night to prevent such incidents.

She emphasized the need for parents to be more vigilant about their children’s whereabouts, especially during late hours. (Emphasis added.)

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, Killian shared, was also concerned that young children are out and unaccompanied so late at night:

Mayor Joe Hogsett made the following statement on the shooting, “This Easter Sunday, I am heartbroken for the young people whose lives have been impacted by what occurred last night. Let me be clear: a 12-year-old child has no business being out late at night anywhere without parental or adult supervision. (Emphasis added.)

Youth homicides on the rise in Indianapolis

The increasing gun violence affecting Indianapolis youth is depicted in the following graph by Axios Indianapolis:

Why are children wandering about at night?

In a shooting incident on the west side of Indianapolis just a couple of days prior to the above shooting, two juvenile shooting victims were found in the area where an adult shooting victim was found dead when his car crashed into a home. The police suspect the children, who were not cooperating with police, were in the car with the adult victim. As Kaitlyn Kendall and the WRTV News Staff reported, the police captain wondered why children were out so late at night:

Captain Don Weilhammer with IMPD Night Watch described both surviving victims as "juveniles."

"It's possible they were on spring break. If it's not spring break, it's school time. Why are they out wandering around in a car this time of night?" Capt. Weilhammer said. (Emphasis added.)

U.S. “terrible at protecting children from gun violence”

Children are not just affected by gun violence in Indianapolis. Children are more likely to die from gun violence in the United States than in any other high-income country, as NPR's Laurel Wamsley reported. In her article titled “The U.S. is uniquely terrible at protecting children from gun violence,” she shared the CDC's graph, below, showing that in 2020 gun-related deaths overtook auto accidents as the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the U.S. 

"It's 10 pm. Do you know where your children are?" 

These appeals, for parents to be responsible for their children and know where their children are, bring to mind the Public Service Announcement (PSA), “It's 10 pm. Do you know where your children are?” aired before the 10 pm news from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, as WikiMili explained :

"Do you know where your children are?" is a question used as a public service announcement (PSA) for parents on American television from the late 1960s through the late 1980s. Accompanied by a time announcement, this phrase is typically used as a direct introduction for the originating station's late-evening newscast, typically at either 10:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. 

While the phrase itself had appeared in newspapers as early as the 19th century, usage of it in broadcasting started in the early 1960s following the enactment of nightly youth curfews for minors in multiple large cities. 

Fox 5 News shared the history of the PSA in the video below.

A renewed nightly reminder for parents to be responsible for their children may be a good thing, today. This is especially so since some cities are implementing nightly curfews, just as they did when the original PSAs were aired.

Good communication between parents and teens key to safety

The CDC offers the following suggestions for good communication between parents and children which can help keep children safe:

• Talk with your teen about your rules and expectations, and explain the consequences for breaking the rules.
• Talk and listen to your teen often about how he or she feels and what he or she is thinking.
• Know who your teen’s friends are.
• Talk with your teen about the plans he or she has with friends, what he or she is doing after school, and where he or she will be going.
• Set expectations for when your teen will come home, and expect a call if he or she is going to be late.
• Ask whether an adult will be present when your teen is visiting a friend’s home.
• Get to know your teen’s boyfriend or girlfriend.
• Get to know the parents of your teen’s friends.
• Talk with your relatives, your neighbors, your teen’s teachers, and other adults who know your teen. Ask them to share what they observe about your teen’s behaviors, moods, or friends.
• Watch how your teen spends money.
• Keep track of how your teen spends time online, and talk about using the Internet safely.
• Pay attention to your teen’s mood and behavior at home, and discuss any concerns you might have.
• If your teen does break a rule, enforce the consequences fairly and consistently.
• Make sure your teen knows how to contact you at all times.

All good advice, of course. But what the children are learning, and what they're not learning, may be no less important.