One morning in April 1999, the calm was shattered in the town of Littleton, near Denver, Colorado. Two youths dressed in black trench coats entered the local high school and began shooting at students and teachers. They also detonated bombs. The perpetrators, aged just 17 and 18, ended the massacre by committing suicide. Sadly, only after twelve students and one teacher were killed, over 20 were physically injured, and a nation was filled with emotional devastation. This is just one incident fueled by the decline of morality as a whole in today's society. Dr. Thomas Plante (2012), professor of psychology, laments: “I don't know about you, but I'm amazed at what seems to be considered acceptable behavior in the world... a lack of courtesy often reigns supreme . . This has been true for a long time, but it seems to be getting worse...maybe much worse. The definition of "morality" as well as whether or not schools infringe on parental responsibility by teaching and promoting it are burning questions among many today, but facts remain facts. The tragedy above and the statistics that will follow illustrate this fact; and the fact is that the decline of morality has had very disturbing consequences within the walls of the school. Jean Piaget (1932) is one of the first psychologists to examine the delicate question of morality, and more particularly the development of morality in children. To summarize his findings, children's view of morality undergoes many changes as they get older, the most significant of which begins around the age of ten. Essentially, what Piaget discovered is that a series of changes occur between the ages of 10 and 12, just as the child begins to enter the general stage of formal and intellectual operations... middle of paper ..... .nce: guns, crime and intimidation. Retrieved from http://www.nssc1.org/cases-in-the-news.html5. Sommers, Christina Hoff. (March 1999). Are We Living in a Moral Stone Age, 127 (2646). Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2646_127/ai_54098986/6. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. (April 8, 2005). Helping adolescents in difficulty: young people in crisis. Awake! Retrieved from http://www.watchtower.org/e/20050408/article_01.htm#_top_7. UNAIDS/WHO. (July 2008). Understanding HIV/AIDS: educate and raise awareness about this epidemic. Retrieved from http://shenandoahconnection.com/hiv.htm8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report – United States, 2009]. Monitoring Summaries, [June 4, 2010]. MMWR 2010, 59 (No. SS-5). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdf