Thursday, November 23, 2006

Cell phones in schools

Several Tobagonian parents are probably still trying to get over the shock and mortification of finding out what their kids have been up to with their cell phones. I'm sure many of you have been reading about how several high school kids on that island took pornagraphic photos of themselves at school with their cell phone cameras and emailed them to their friends. I was shocked too; little Tobago seems so peaceful and idyllic it's hard to reconcile this porn fest with the lovely island I visited a few years ago.

True to form, the parents and teachers are calling for a ban on cell phones in schools. While that deals with the symptoms of a larger issue, that doesn't deal with the issue itself; what on earth would possess these young people to do such a thing in the first place? Were they doing it for money? Were they high on drugs or alcohol? Did they want to become popular? Were they bored? Were they mimicking some adult x-rated movie they saw?

While I'm sure their parents are probably too busy thrashing the daylights out of them to ask any questions yet, I'm curious to know what was going through their brains. It isn't easy being a parent these days, for sure.

Well, after all this tawdry stuff, here are some pix of the beautiful, serene Tobago as I remember it.




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