Teens (was Autism Registry)

[Guest guest]

I'm gonna weigh in on this one--I teach mostly 18-21 year olds and I get to

watch most of them grow up enough that I would trust them in a classroom of

kids.  This is opinion, though, so take it with however much salt you feel is

necessary.  Here in the US, we have a lousy educational system that bores kids

to death when it doesn't terrify them with standardized tests.  So, that is not

helpful in terms of getting kids to develop a sense of responsibility.  We also

have a popular culture which is downright toxic, especially with clothing they

make for little girls--there is no need for a seven year old to dress in a sexy

manner.  So, that pushes kids to grow up fast in the wrong areas.  The

combination of the lack of responsibility and too much information is a real

problem.  Add to that the developmental factors--that teens have very little

sense of their own mortality, and you have the social issues we are dealing with

today.  I will say that the university where I work is really good because it

offers opportunities for kids to make mistakes but also most professors

understand that age group and are willing to help kids grow up.  So, many of

them start to make good choices by their third year of college, in part in my

program because we throw them in a classroom for six weeks, which is a great

wake-up call.  Well, that's my 2 cents.  It's not totally hopeless, but we

certainly do have a problem with this age group.

Carolyn