FIELD TRIP TO JAIL MADE IMPRESSION

Children are America's future, so where are we headed? I hear about
increasing problems all the time: kids committing crimes, doing drugs,
and heading down the wrong paths. How can people get these kids to
stop, and in what way can others encourage them always to pay
attention to the law? These questions are tough to answer, but if
everyone works together, we will find a solution.

Because of all the bad influences in the world today, parents and
schools need to step in and teach kids what is right and what is
wrong. My school did just that. My peers and I went on a field trip to
jail during the last month of school. When we stepped off the bus and
looked around, I realized that jail is definitely not the kind of
place I want to spend my life.

We proceeded inside, where a guard instructed us to sit down and to
listen up. He brought out a convict who began to tell us his life
story. This criminal told us about his sad childhood, and he told us
about the bad choices he had made and the regrets he has.

At a young age, he ran away from home and became involved with drugs.
Because he killed a man, police officers put him on America's Most
Wanted list, and the authorities caught him the next day. Since he
made such bad decisions, this convict was sentenced to the death penalty.

Hearing him talk made a big impact on my life. I know that I will
never do the awful things he did because I do not want to end up in
his shoes, and I will always try to make good choices. I want to have
a good education, a good job and a good future.

On the bus ride home, everybody was silent, for we were all reflecting
on what we had just heard. If this field trip influenced the students
at my school not to make bad decisions in such a big way, why wouldn't
it influence other teens as well? I think that more schools should
provide opportunities such as this one for their students, for then
Americans might truly be able to say that the future looks bright.