Mr. Leon Botstein,
I have recently read your article Let Teenagers Try Adulthood. I must say, in what world do you think this idea would work? I can’t agree with you. I’m sorry pal.
I am currently a high school senior at the age of 17. If we put your ideas into practice, I would have graduated last spring. Sixteen is way too young for someone to graduate. At the age of sixteen, kids are still developing mentally and physically. They are now hitting their peak at puberty and their hormones are going crazy. You want to put kids who are still going through these changes in the workplace, national service, and colleges? Because of those changes, this idea you stated will, in no way, work.
While taking about the problem with age, at age sixteen, some students still can’t drive on roads legally. Most would agree that driving is important if you are to go to college or work. If one can’t drive, how are they going to get back and forth from college and work? You could refute that statement saying parents could bring their kids to and from college and work. That statement would be agreeable except for the fact that the parents work too! The student not being able to drive could be either the parent’s or the student’s choice. Either way, if a student can’t drive, and if their parents work, they have no means of transportation. I’ve been employed by the same company for over a year. If it wasn’t for my ability to drive, I would not be able to get to and from work. My dad works and my mom has more kids than just me to take care of.
In the first paragraph of your article, you say, “The national outpouring after the Littleton shootings has forced us to confront something we have suspected for a long time: the American high school is obsolete and should be abolished.” You, my friend, are unbelievable. The high school system in American is obsolete? Last time I checked, it worked. The high school system prepares students for college, and college prepares students for the real world. So using the mathematical transitive property (THAT’S RIGHT, I’M USING MY HIGH SCHOOL KNOWLEDGE TO REFUTE YOU AND YOUR OPINION), if high schools prepare students for college, and college prepares students for the real world, high schools prepare students for the real world.
In another portion of your article, you say, “We should entirely abandon the concept of the middle school and junior high school.” OK, now this is just ridiculous. First off, if the concept of middle schools and junior high schools are abandoned, thousands of people would be unemployed! As if the unemployment rate isn’t bad now, doing this would make it worse. Also, middle school may not prepare you a whole lot for high school, but it does contribute to a student’s character. Without middle school, I would not be who I am today. Without a doubt, my peers would probably say the same things. Also, if we do away with the idea of the middle school and junior high school system, high schools would be able to be compared to a minefield. The raging hormones going through a (would be) middle school student’s mind would be a mine and the high school would be a battleground. Better watch where you step Leon…
Well this was fun. I look forward to contradicting your arguments in the future.
Sincerely,
Matt Larsen
Matt Larsen's Blog 