I think Botstein's proposal of reconstruction is a little absurd, has he actually met and talked to a fifteen or sixteen year old "child". That's right I said child. I know for a fact that it is not always the fault of the schools and peer pressure. Botstien writes, "When puberty meets education and learning in modern America, the victory of puberty masquerading as popular culture and the tyranny of peer groups based on ludicrous values meet little resistance." 1 I wonder if he considered the background or home life of these children. If a child is raised to disrespect others and is showed no value or consideration, then this is where these actions start. The idea to me to send a fifteen or sixteen year old of to college is terrifying, most of them wouldn't even have a driver's license. I feel sorry for our children today, the pressures that they have to live with are monumental. I would guess that most are from a single parent home, if not the probability that both parents work out of the home is great. That means the child is probably left to fend for himself when he or she gets out of school. This child is probably in after school activities, such as sports, brain bowl or FFA, so they have to get themselves to and from that,as well. As parents we do what we can, but we cannot do it all. If they are misbehaving or acting out, it is usually because they are unhappy, jealous of someone or bored. I think putting them a higher level of academics or some type of honors program would be sufficient. My point is, to me for their age and what is expected of them, is more than what is manageable on an adult level, put in there the lack of life experience and the emotional roller coaster of being a teen and I think that spells disaster in capitol letters. Let the kids be kids.
I do agree that the school systems could use some updating, to be more challenging, however the cost of that would be substantial and there is hardly money in some areas to pay the teachers. I feel, our young adults today need all the guidance they can get. I believe it starts at home and it should be left at that, if anything needs to change, it's the way we raise(or don't) our children today, send the real adults to how to raise and care for your children class. That is a more likely solution.
1. Introduction to College Writing English 100 page 205 Leon Botstein, "Let Teen-Agers Try Adulthood"
Hi Penny,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that even adults need counseling. Lord knows we all could use it :) Certainly it all begins at home. How you are reared is more often than not how you are going to rear your children. For instance, in an extreme case, if someone was abused, then he/she may abuse their children. I'm not suggesting this is the case, but this is what the child sees as natural behavior.
Based on your personal experiences, why should we not end HS at 16? How were you different at 16 than 18 and now?
Ms. C