The Times they are a changed

I had occasion to walk to work this morning. As I passed the local high school I watched as the children’s bags were searched as they entered the gates. I looked at the high palisade fences topped with razor wire surrounding the grounds. What has happened to being a child? When I was at school it was regarded as a place of learning and safety. No fences or  guards to search all who entered.  The playing fields open to all to enjoy on a Saturday or Sunday stroll. School property was like hallowed ground.
I looked at the children arriving all armed with smart phones, tablets (the electronic kind, I hope) and laptops. Access to the world via the internet. Literally everything at their fingertips, both good and bad.
The irony is that with all the freedom of‘rights’ children of today are endowed with, they have to enjoy them in prison like enclosures.
What I did not see were any bicycles.  Don’t school children ride them anymore?  But I suppose that is because it is unsafe to exercise that particular ‘right’.
Passing by all these learners I was struck that there was a total lack of manners. No good morning Sir or Mam. Walking four or five abreast on the sidewalk with no consideration of those others walking in the opposite direction being forced to step aside. Shouting and screaming to get the attention of friends on the opposite side of the road.
The times certainly have changed.