High School Society

The school system is unbelievably flawed, to be frank. In Leon Botstien's Let Teenagers Try Adulthood, Botstein also argues that the school system is flawed and the system should be completely changed in order to work in the modern world. The author believes that school is nothing but a sheltered world with its social hierarchies dominated by beefy football players. Botstein then goes on to illustrate his perfect school system, where children would attend elementary school, skip middle school, and graduate high school at 16.

Now, if I could have skipped middle school and that awkward mess altogether, I totally would have. Do I think that this kind of system could improve our current school dilemma? Not really. One line in this piece that really irked me was this: "Young people shoudl graduate at 16 rather than 18. They could then enter the real world, the world of work or national service, in which they would take a place of responsibility alongside other adults in mixed company". I was not aware that I was not a part of the real world. I do understand where this author is coming from. The school systems now shelter a lot of teenagers from what is considered "the real world". I have not been taught how to do a check book. I cannot do my own laundry. I have not been taught the basic necessities that I need to be considered an "adult figure". But that does not mean that I have not been struggling with the stress that comes with school, nor have I been without responsibility. Children have been forced to mature faster, that much is true. But it does not mean that we are not a part of the conversation when it comes to "the real world" because we live it every day.

As for this new schooling system, it has its perks and flaws. I think that being able to work within a field of one's interest with professionals in that field can be very beneficial. I also think that students could handle a shorter school curriculum. I do not agree with building new institutes for every single major. Soon we would be overrun with unnecessary institutions and it would become messy and disorganized. I also think that forcing children to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives at such a young age is a cruel and unusual punishment placed upon every new generation. It is hard enough deciding what to do when one is 18; bumping that tremendous decision down to 16 year olds is just cruel. Many students go into college without a clue of what they want to do for the rest of their lives and some regret their decision right after graduating. We need to stop rushing our children to make life long decisions when they have barely expreienced life.