After reading the title “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” I laughed. I realized that that would be one of the most unruly things to do to our society. Though this passage brought up some pretty valid points, for the most part I have to disagree with his idea of putting teens out into the real world.
Leon Botstein believes that people should go straight from middle school to college… wait what!? I feel that middle school is everyone’s most awkward stage, socially, and physically awkward. I cannot imagine myself, or anyone else of that matter graduating at age 16. I’m most definitely not ready to go out into the workforce. Just having 10 years of education isn’t enough education to get ourselves into a good job. Lots of my friends work at places like NRH2O, Putt-Putt, and McDonalds. Minimum wage isn’t enough to get people through the expenses of college. The expences for classes, books, housing, and food are unbearable for young kids to come up with themselves. By the time most people find out how expensive it actually is it will be too late to start saving up money. Another point being with more teens having to support themselves, there will be less jobs available for the less fortunate older people as well.
Most 16 year olds are not mature or smart enough to go out into the real world. People are very ignorant these days. Half of my school smokes and drinks every weekend. Would you feel safe with those same immature people leading our nation? Though some people are mentally prepared for leaving the house and starting life at age 16, those are probably the top people in each class and that’s it. I do have to agree that some boys and girls in high school could pass for 21, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they should be forced to be treated that way. Another statement I can agree with is the fact that some teachers are unprepared and are just teaching so that they could coach. Everyone out there has had a coach for a teacher at one point, and without even attending the class you know it will be a breeze. Coaches teach the easiest subjects the school has to offer because they would rather concentrate on Friday’s game then grading 250 students AP English essays. Teachers like this aren’t preparing us for the real world. I’m not trying to dog down on every teacher out there because most of them are amazing at what they do. In all reality most people become teachers so that they can help others become successful in life but some of them are just better at it than others.
An issue in Botstein’s argument is legalism. Because kids would be going out to live on their own at age 16, how would they be able to do anything without their parent’s consent? On almost every for you fill out whether it’s for college housing, or a job application you have to have a legal adult sign your paper. Would you be able to trust 16 year olds to pay for their own bills? Taxes? If they broke the law they wouldn’t be able to be tried as an adult, and would still go to Juvenile detention. Does this mean that the age for becoming an adult would go from 18 to 16 so it wouldn’t cause as much hassle? Lots of 16 year olds don’t even have their license yet. In some states like New Jersey you can’t receive it until you’re 18. How would they get to their jobs each day?
Overall Botstein has some valid points, yet his theory is flawed. High school shouldn’t just be thrown away. It teaches students many valuable lessons like responsibility, time management, and social skills.
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