Dan Bucatinsky: More Than I Can Chew
PD*Poll: Teens sentenced to poetry classes
Filed under: Teens, Alcohol & Drugs
For the drunken teens who trashed poet Robert Frost's former home in Ripton Vermont last December, justice has been served in a rather unusual way. As you may recall, a former Middlebury college student threw an impromptu party at the historical farmhouse last year and things got way out of control. The nearly 50 guests broke furniture and china, discharged the fire extinguishers, and ruined the carpet with the by-products of too much drink and drugs. They caused over $10,000 in damage and created quite an uproar in the small Vermont town.
Their day of reckoning has finally arrived and their punishment goes beyond community service and public embarrassment. Twenty-five of the party-goers have been sentenced to attend a poetry class where they will learn about the work of the man whose home they nearly destroyed.
Prosecutor John Quinn explains the unusual punishment: "I guess I was thinking that if these teens had a better understanding of who Robert Frost was and his contribution to our society, that they would be more respectful of other people's property in the future and would also learn something from the experience," he says.
The two-day session is being led by Jay Parini, a Frost biographer and college professor who was happy to donate his time for the cause. He draws on the Frost poem "The Road Not Taken" for its obvious parallels to this case. "This is where Frost is relevant. This is the irony of this whole thing. You come to a path in the woods where you can say, `Shall I go to this party and get drunk out of my mind?"' he said. "Everything in life is choices."
I have my doubts about whether a poetry class could teach a teen about respect for the property of others. But if the professor can just get that one message across - that everything in life really is a choice - maybe these kids will learn to choose their roads more carefully.
Their day of reckoning has finally arrived and their punishment goes beyond community service and public embarrassment. Twenty-five of the party-goers have been sentenced to attend a poetry class where they will learn about the work of the man whose home they nearly destroyed.
Prosecutor John Quinn explains the unusual punishment: "I guess I was thinking that if these teens had a better understanding of who Robert Frost was and his contribution to our society, that they would be more respectful of other people's property in the future and would also learn something from the experience," he says.
The two-day session is being led by Jay Parini, a Frost biographer and college professor who was happy to donate his time for the cause. He draws on the Frost poem "The Road Not Taken" for its obvious parallels to this case. "This is where Frost is relevant. This is the irony of this whole thing. You come to a path in the woods where you can say, `Shall I go to this party and get drunk out of my mind?"' he said. "Everything in life is choices."
I have my doubts about whether a poetry class could teach a teen about respect for the property of others. But if the professor can just get that one message across - that everything in life really is a choice - maybe these kids will learn to choose their roads more carefully.
| Yes; these kids might really learn something valuable. | |
|---|---|
| No; it's not a punishment at all! |
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 5)
6-06-2008 @ 7:19AM
Bob said...I think that the dumb asses should spend a minimum of 30 days in the can with nothing more to read than poetry books and then pay for all the damages due to their pure stupidity. If this was what I read in the sentencing, then I would say, justice served! Two days of romper room, give me a break!
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6-09-2008 @ 1:55PM
Kelsey said...In addition to poetry class, the children should have to clean the vandalized house and pay the county for all the costs incurred in prosecution/investigation/clean-up/restoration. I do not think jail time will affect these children's behaviours negatively but a poetry class is not enough punishment. They need to understand the history they destroyed but also the amount of time and money it takes to attempt to repair the damage. The history that was destroyed can never be replaced but hopefully, these children can learn their lesson to decrease their chances of reoffending.
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6-10-2008 @ 3:59PM
Lauren said...First of all, get politics out of this conversation. This has nothing to do with anything. Take responsibility of how you raise your children to be morally righteous and good hearted and you won't have to complain about the sentencing judges do or don't make.
Second, whereas the punishment wasn't as severe on the kids as the crime was to the public it was the right one. The problem with this society is that we feel the need to punish harshly in order to get a message across. These kids were rude, inconsiderate and wild. Would you want to fuel that into a hatred for society by sticking them in jail? They'll get a taste of jailbird life and not for nothing, it will stay on their records and snowball into a possible lifetime of crime since they had that first charge on their records.
I agree that this punishment...it will have kids breathing a sigh of relief. But that is a good thing. They were probably scared off their asses of the reprocussions, and now they are confused because the punishment is VERY lenient. But when they step into that classroom and learn of this poet and how his works have changed the world they will feel a connection with this man and also guilt for doing something. This is a mature way to handle the situation, and the kids will feel more mature in a sense because of how maturely it was handled. You all say "well in my day"...well in your day corruption was there, but it was just kept behind closed doors.
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