It is almost universally acknowledged that teenagers are not the best judges of just about anything – this we have learned from a long history of cringe-worthy trends and even more regrettable life choices. We know that teenagers make more than their fair share of mistakes, and generally we accept this as a necessary part of life – so it seems contradictory that much of a person’s economic success rests on how well he or she performs as a teenager.
Naturally adolescence is a time of taking on greater responsibility. One must transition into adulthood sometimes, meaning that regardless of how “ready” teenagers are, they have to begin adjusting to at times burdensome independence. But this transition is one of frustrating contradictions: as a teenager, one is asked to plan and prepare for his path in life while still expected to ask to use the restroom during class. Parents and teachers often deny their children and pupils the freedom to make decisions in small matters, yet pressure them to have their futures mapped out by the time they are seventeen.
Teenagers are often daunted by the process of choosing a college and career, and understandably so. Suddenly they are thrust from the sheltering walls of their high school into the harshness of reality, expected to understand the complicated world of higher education and career development. One can find a nearly endless supply of resources online and through school, but sifting through this tremendous bank of information can leave students lost and discouraged.
Even more intimidating than the comprehension of one’s options after high school is the monumental decision of which field to enter. Teenagers are notoriously fickle, and what interests them in high school is often more likely to be a short-lived phase than a viable career choice. One of the most defining parts of adolescence is trying a variety of hobbies and subjects, usually experiencing a number of failed or fleeting options before eventually arriving at the right one. But with preparation for college and careers being stressed at earlier ages, this process is often cut short by nervous parents or teachers pressing students for an answer to the recurring question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Beyond the premature decision-making required of today’s teens is the increasingly important pool of academic statistics gleaned from endless tests and intellectual gauges. The greater weight placed on the outcomes of standardized tests, grade point averages, and class ranks in recent years leaves students buckling under the tremendous pressure of constantly achieving whatever letters, numbers, or percentages are necessary to keep them on the path to success. The idea of an educational system so firmly based on statistical measures of intellect is worrisome in that the same teenagers who we expect to be emotionally and academically volatile are forced to determine their future success through a series of indicators that can easily be thrown off by the kind of slip-ups that are characteristic of adolescence.
It would be irrational to claim that the American educational system is solely to blame for the pressures of being a teenager, many of which are merely a part of life that cannot be avoided by any means. It is important to remember, however, that the young people whose performance in school is so rigorously scrutinized are just that: people. Just like anyone else, they are guaranteed to slip up now and then and lose motivation at times. If our educational system continues on its current path of standardizing and objectifying, rankings and percentages will leave little room for making mistakes, changing one’s mind, and generally being imperfect, creating a system that is equally discouraging and ineffective. Teens will be teens, and while parents and teachers are right to do their best to guide students toward adulthood, they must remind themselves that the producers of test scores and applications are, first and foremost, human beings.