Just Curious - Muscatine,IA

I am a high school teacher. Let me tell you, 18 year olds are completely myopic. Their worlds are so small, even well traveled, well educated kids really can't think beyond themselves. So yes, while there are many other "more important" injustices in the world, this kid probably can't really see why they would have been better, more thoughtful topics. Irritating, yes, but totally developmentally appropriate.

If I were a parent, I would be proud that my son did the research and was confident enough to submit it to a local paper. But I would be really annoyed if the quality of writing was so bad. He should be able to pick his own topic and do his own research, but every writer needs an editor, and I would be mad if at 18 my kids didn't know that.

By the time a child is a senior in HS his/her parents should NOT be dictating his assignment topic. To do so would be classic 'helicopter parenting" and in my opinion, and the opinion of many educators and experts, one of the biggest problems that we are facing today. These children are basically not hireable because they have done nothing without the input of Mom and Dad. They are unable to think or act for themselves because their parents have always done it on their behalf.

I have a senior in high school.
You don't know what was discussed in the classroom and at the lunch table that would push this young man in this direction for the topic of his paper. This is not to say that I would approve of my senior writing about this subject. There are many other topics, but... what is important to an 18 year old is not important to a 40 year old. It's a matter of perspective.
The fact that the newspaper picked it up means that someone else thought it was an interesting point of view. I'm not sure he is going to fight the good fight for dropping the drinking age, but what this "report" did was to start some conversations. That in itself is an interesting outcome.
I would have been far more upset by the bad grammar and spelling than the topic. If I had known about the assignment and if it were my child, I would have steered him in a different direction, as his mother I'm sure would.
I have 2 in high school. I don't check their work. I stopped checking in middle school. If they ask for my opinion on a paper, or the ask me to edit a paper, I'm happy to do that. I'm really good with a red pen!
Basically, the kids need to learn to be independent students and thinkers. High school is a nice safe time and place to do that. They need to learn how to do it before they are thrust into college life away from home and all that is familiar.
YMMV
LBC

I would be ashamed of myself that my child didn't have compassion for real victims of injustice and embarassed at her selfishness. I would also realize that if and when she grows up, this would be embarrassing for her and I would try to make her pick another topic. If she insisted, I would let her do it because she is 18 and it is her work.

My daughter did the same paper on feral cats in our city. She got the A.
My son did one on the legal shooting of wolves, we don't have wild wolves in VA. :o) That one didn't go to the paper though.

I only check my daughter's work if she brings it to me and says read this or did I do this problem right. I stopped checking her work in middle school. I do ask if it is finished and I will email a teacher if I feel she may be behind, but it's her resonibility as a junior to do her own work. That being said she asks me about many of her assignments and papers. She also brings home stuff to redo science labs in the house.

My issue would have been with the teacher for not editing the assignment before it went to the paper, or with him, I guess, for not using spellcheck. I have issues with bad grammar and misspelled words though.

Well, he probably didn't tell is parents what his topic was going to be, I know I did not check with my parents at 18. plus 18 year old boys don't usually have much sense about grammar and spelling.
Plus I think it is a good topic, it is very arguable. I also agree with his point of view. I am from the UK where the legal age for drinking is 18. You can drink at home with your parents at 14. I think if you can drive a car, get a job, buy a house, you should be able to choose a beverage.
While it is not such an injustice as poverty or child prostitution, it IS an injustice that there is a nanny state telling grown men and women that they cannot have a glass of wine with their meal.
Drinking and driving, which is much more prevalent over here than the UK would also have been a good topic - I have never seen the like of it. Probably because if you drink and drive in the UK, you get banned from driving for three years.

frankly i am impressed that social injustice didn't have something to do with the cafeteria menu.

i think as a parent you can only guide and support your child at that age - and i think they are accountable for their own school work at the start of middle school - unless you are planning to go away with your child to college - you have to give them some time to be accountable while the stakes are still relatively low.

Well, while I completely agree with Dave, I also agree that he could have found a far better topic. Since you say this was a senior class project, it seems to me that the teacher should have assigned something much more rigorous than a 4 paragraph essay. I'm just wondering if this was a smaller assignment and the kids were told to pick out something they feel passionate about that affects them in today's society or if he was supposed to choose something deeper and do a lot more work on it.

As far as checking school work -I feel like as long as my children are in school, then I am at least going to ask them daily and weekly what they are doing, what they're supposed to be doing and when papers and projects are due. I want to see their class syllabus at the beginning of every semester so I'll have some idea of what's coming up in that class. I don't intend to "ride" them or actually check homework unless they bring home bad grades or I get a progress report or call from a teacher that lets me know they're slipping. If my child wants me to look over something, I'll certainly do it. If this was a serious, large project, it's something I would have known was coming up from the beginning of the semester, but if it was a spur of the moment assignment or a small assignment -maybe not.

If my son had a major senior project to research regarding injustice in the world, I would ask if the teacher presented a list of possible topics. If not, I would ask what he was thinking of using, and if he brought up the drinking age or some kind of driver's license law or something of that nature, I would steer him to much deeper problems in our world.

Like Angela, I'd be more disappointed in the grammar and spelling errors. Although my oldest is 12, I only check her work if she asks me. She's on the high honor roll, so whatever she's doing, it's working.

I don't plan on being too involved with homework when my kids are in high school. If they need help, I'm there. They should be free to choose what they want to write about within the parameters of the assignment.

Hi Mama
To be honest if that was my son I think that I would be quite annoyed and disappointed to think a topic on alcohol cosumption was his idea of injustice.
I would think to myself "have I not educated you about the world" etc.
I think a parent should have an open involvement in their child's education until it finishes.
Saying that he is 18yrs old and maybe trying to come across as "cool" to his friends.
LOL I agree with his issue though.I am Irish where the legal age is 18yrs.I spent a summer in America (Cape Cod) when I was 20yrs.I turned 21yrs when I was there.
What amazed me how freely available drugs were,pot, and the youth didn't seem to think it was any big deal to be smoking it.
What they wanted was alcohol !! and would hang around off licenses asking over 21year olds to buy it for them.
At least if the age limit was 18yrs American kids would drink in a bar where they could be somewhat monitored instead of illegally drinking on the streets
B.

I would have been more upset about the mis-spellings and grammatical errors. :P

Generally speaking, teens do not take the "long view" of life - that goes with the territory.

As long as he did his research, and logically made his arguments and counter-arguments, I would have been *somewhat* OK with it (again, notwithstanding the spelling and grammatical errors for which I would have given him a "D").

I would also speak with him privately about why it appears to be so important for him to drink alcohol legally. Maybe he was just trying to be "cute" in doing a school paper he didn't want to do. However, depending on his answers I would re-think sending him away to college unsupervised (if college is on the horizon).

I was a strange 18 year old too-- I would have picked a topic similair to yours. But as an adult looking back at my life, getting MARRIED at 20 did a heck of a lot more damage than a beer would have! I don't really care if it's 18 or 21, or somewhere in between, but we need to pick ONE age for legal adult hood and stick to it for everything! This hodge podge we have now just does NOT make sense-- you can get married or join the military but not by a powerball ticket?

Honestly, if the topic was something my child was passionate about I would let them write it. Now I would of course like to read it prior to ensure it doesn't cross the line. I believe it is okay and personally have an issue with the same topic. Kids can drive, vote, serve their country at 18 but not drink. I agree that 21 is a good age for drinking and think that other rights should increase as well. Some people mature faster than others and vice versa. If my child was passionate about a topic I may not agree with that is their choice and opinion. I cannot force all of my ideals and opinions on my child. I do agree that if a parent had an issue with the topic they should stand their ground as ultimately they are the parent and have that right. Just as you have the right to disagree with the topic for that child. I agree there are other injustices in the world, but as an adult you can see those more clearly than a teenager who sees their world and not much outside of it.

I too liked to write when I was younger, at 18 the "feel" of what's important it's totally different than people in their 30s, 40s and so on. You get passionate for things that are closer to you, that perhaps affect you in first person. We start to know the world in concentric circles, family being the bulls-eye, and then, outward, neighborhood, school, extra-curricular activities held in different places etc...so on until we reach the furthermost circle, which varys from person to person. I think it's great that the boy wrote an article on something he feels strongly about, whatever it is, he's shown the ability to think through a specific subject and express his personal point of view on it publicly. It doesn't matter wether I agree or disagree with his opinion on the subject, I applaud him because he was confident enough to take a stand at 18y.o. He may change his mind on the subject few years from now, but for the time being he's showing signs of a young adulthood that takes inputs from the world around him and forms his personal opinion without being afraid to speak up. I find it a little unrealistic to expect an 18y.o. to talk about bigger subjects like the ones you mention...we all hear about them all the time but not all of us are able to deeply understand them and to form an opinion that is not news-driven. It took me 5 years of college to understand where third world hunger stems from and I still find it hard to say something about it that doesn't sound obvious or corny. And I am 36 y.o. So I would NOT be judgemental of the guy and if I were his mother I would appreciate his ability to make decisions for himself (since he did not ask permission to his parents) especially because he did not harm anyone.

I have a son who is in 11th grade and a college aged daughter and from expierence I can tell you that in high school there is so much homework and class work there is NO WAY to keep tabs on what your childs every assignment is. Also you have to keep in mind that this is a teenager and the subject is what "seems" important to him at that age..... they do grow up and learn that there are more important things in life. :)

I agree with many of the things others have said. At 18, students usually are not going to be having their parents checking their work. More than likely the 5 paragraph paper was done in class. Even my 5th grade students are writing short opinion papers in class. Who knows, it may have even been a lesson teaching how to write a short response for a state test. In that case it might have been done in one class period without an editor or a computer with spell check. As a teacher, and a parent, I would have been more upset with the grammar and spelling. Unfortunately, I think "texting" has been the downfall of proper English.

I do also agree that at 18, most students are focused on a very narrow world view. When I was about the same age, I wrote a letter to the editor about freshman initiation in response to a letter a student at my high school wrote to an advice column that the paper ran. However, I don't think it is fair to say all students that age have such a narrow worldview. Just recently I have heard news stories about a group of teens who started Hometown Gratitude to send care packages to American soldiers, a teen who started raising money to build bathrooms in schools in Cambodia, a teen collecting thousands of books to donate to children in homeless shelters, kids doing a cardboard village and staying overnight in it to raise money and awareness for homelessness. The difference? They are seeing their parents actively involved in these issues. They are involved in conversations at home, school, and religious groups about these issues. They have had a personal experience or first hand exposure to the issues. One reason our children have such narrow worldviews is because we as adults don't do much to widen their worldviews at a young age. Not every parent can take their child to Cambodia to see the conditions that children there must live with, but most parents can take their children shopping for Toys for Tots, or volunteer at a food pantry, and all of us can watch the news with our kids and have very frank conversations about the world outside of our immediate area. I'm already doing that with our 3 year old. Hopefully when she is 18, she will be able to look beyond herself when she looks at injustices.

If parents are still checking a seniors homework assignments, that kid is in trouble! Seriously, he will be on his own next year in college. What is he going to do, e-mail his syllabus to mommy so she can look after his work? Call mom and dad for ideas on what to write his next paper on?

I agree that changing the drinking age to 18 is hardly an injustice in the world today, but take yourself back to senior year in high school. 21 drinking age is an injustice in HIS world. Like I said, I agree with you that the topic probably wasn't the best choice. But part of becoming an adult is being able to make these type of decisions on your own w/o your parents help. If the instructor thought that the topic was inappropriate s/he probably would've asked the student to pick something else, or his grade would have shown the instructors dissatisfaction.

While I am very much against alcohol and think life would be much better without it, I do think that a senior in high school chose the subject that is a big one to kids his age. It probably was ok'ed by the teacher so let him do his paper. I would have sat down with him and debated the subject with him, making sure he had facts rather then just feelings on the subject. Then I would probably watch his activities very closely because he probably is drinking with friends on the weekends.

I would have been disappointed he didn't write a more in-depth essay. I would have been proud of him for choosing a topic such as this, and probably would have offered my two cents. a high-schooler doesn't need his mama checking his homework.
I think his stance is the same same stance as many have. My only argument is if you put a ban on something then it will only make people want it more. if drinking was at hand's reach, it wouldn't be as widely sought as it is. I have to say I was shocked beyond words when I became a student in an american university. The drinking parties, the kegs, the whole conversation between students were where they were going that night to drink. Drunk students, girls unable to walk because they were cool because they were drinking. I come from a place where it is legal to drink, any age. It is legal to buy beer, alcohol you name it. I had my first beer at age 24 in the US. why? Since it was available when I was growing up, i didn't find it appealing. I liked my soda better. Drunk driving was and still is an anomaly there. Young people do not drink to get drunk or just to drink. Alcohol is not appealing. It is reachable therefore not a goal.
I hear the comment here about 18 years old allowed to serve and fight but not allowed to drink. How do I feel about this statement? I don't know. But I understand it.

I think your friend should be more worried about how she raised her son if that is the best "injustice" he can find to talk about. I think if it were my son I would be so disappointed in his lack of worldview. The teacher's (Jane M) comment about 18 years old being myopic is true, though. Good point.

At 18 I would hope my children are a bit more versed in the world at large...If not...I would question how well I did my job as a parent. It's a terrible topic...but he is of "legal age" to make a lot more important decisions...let's hope he grows up real quick, or "Dave" is going to have a long hard road.

If I were your friend...I would find some time to sit down and talk about the topic and why her son chose it. I would also make the point that with this, that, and the other going on in the world, and that as an adult, it isn't a very appropriate topic for a paper about "injustice." It would make a great dialogue for being an adult and whatnot.

I'm with you I would encourage my child to write about an injustice.

I would encourage my child to write about a true injustice (violation of basic human rights).

However, maybe his parents were just really happy to see him passionate about something school related _at all_ that they decided to leave well enough alone. :) (I base this comment on what you added about his grades, per his mom)...