One morning in April 1999, the calm was broken in the town of Littleton, near Denver, Colorado, United States. Two youths in black trench coats entered the local high school and began shooting students and teachers. They also detonated bombs. Twelve students and a teacher were killed and more than 20 others were injured. The perpetrators ended the massacre by committing suicide. They were only 17 and 18 years old. 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 illustrates 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 operations, and intellectual development continues to develop. develop until at least the age of sixteen. Therefore, a child's point of view ...... middle of paper ...... teaches morality to young people, but simply that morality is taught, and soon. The consequences are irreversible and fatal. Works cited1. Plante, T. (January 18, 2012). Do the Right Thing: Whatever Happened to Kindness as a Virtue? [Blog]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/do-the-right-thing/201201/what-ever-happened-nice-virtue2. Crain, W. C. (1985). Kohlberg's stages of moral development. In Theories of Development (118-136). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.3. Piaget, J. (1932). The child's moral judgment. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press4. School violence: weapons, crime and harassment. 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/