A 14-year old boy has served on the British navy since he was seven. He is in charge of bringing the ship safely back to port. Everyone on the ship is underneath his command- including men three times his age.
This boy’s name was George Washington. To many this is a surprising story and seemingly out of the ordinary. However, for that time period, this type of responsibility was not uncharacteristic for children. Teenagers in 2011 are expected to, well, not meet expectations. They hardly have the responsibility to make their bed or even take out the trash anymore. We often hear about how students need to do better, to try harder, and most blame is placed on the teenagers and, yes, much of this is not unjustified.
However, the basis for these assumptions is not solely the students’ fault. The difference between the children of early America and modern America is that they were force to take on this responsibility.
The teenage years have shifted from one of preparing for adulthood to one of relaxation before adulthood. This idea manifests itself in schools even at Westminster. Although there are various levels of education- concepts, regular, honors, AP, there is room in all of those classes for challenges. It is great that we have come to a point where it is essential to work as soon as one is physically capable. We may not like or desire more work; however, we are not opposed to being challenged in the ideas and concepts that are being learned.
It is easier for students to avoid responsibility and become used to this lackadaisical attitude when this responsibility is not necessary. By giving us more responsibility, by changing our ideas, and by teaching us to think, we will be force to live up to these expectations and therefore we will be more capable to live in the world.
Obviously the different class levels are necessary for different people to learn. But whether you are in Honors or concepts, you can still be challenged to think critically. Help students think critically to make wiser decisions about issues that teenagers face everyday; issues that characterize students by their poor choices.
Maturity is a factor. Often adults can see high school students as immature and incapable of handling the task assigned to them. But, a debate about the legalization of marijuana, after the initial superfluous comments are made, cannot only help students to see the effect of using such drugs on society and the impact it has on a larger scale.
Do not take this as a cry for more work. But when there are debates and arguments about controversial issues, it will be essential for students to keep up with the work and understand it. Thereby, this helps teachers get the information to students and helps students free themselves from the stereotype of an ignorant, lazy teenager.
Have we shifted from having too much faith in humanity to having none and then fostering these types of low expectations?
Now complications with getting through the material in a timely manner are recognized, and it is realized that this challenge may fail. It might not work, but it should be at least be given a fair shot. Then the stereotypes will either be justified further, or undermined somewhat.
Yes, many teenagers, and adults, will admit that going above and beyond what is expect is difficult and Newton’s first law of thermodynamics does apply- an object at rest will stay at rest. However, the contrary is also true: an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force. Once students are forced to think critically about issues, hopefully the thought process will become more natural through life.