Let Teenagers Try Adulthood Analysis

The secondary school system of today is strongly out of date, and putting young adults enrolled in these institutions at risk. In Leon Botstein’s essay, “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” the question of reforming the modern day secondary schooling system is brought to light. His plan has some flaws, but the idea of creating a new schooling system to accommodate for the rapid developmental stages occurring in today’s youth is worth expanding on. The youth of today is developing at a shockingly speedy rate, in comparison to the developmental rates of the last time that the public schooling system was edited. Young adults are flooded with hormones that make it hard to concentrate on many simple aspects of life, such as education. Botstein states
When high school is more focused on athletics and popularity, it is absolutely no wonder that the academic scores of the students are falling short. High school institutions give adolescents every opportunity to create new and dangerous vices, simply for the sake of ‘being cool’ or ‘fitting in.’ Young adults forced into these institutions very rarely find enjoyment in it, and those who do succeed are facing increasing amount of stress due to peer pressure, popularity, and other things. For example, a student from Broder’s article said, “My high school was swamped with drugs- and so was I” (para. 14). Students cannot be expected to learn when they are subjected to such a distracting environment. There are many things wrong with the current public school system, specifically the secondary schools. The destructive environment of the secondary school system is turning young adults away from academics. Progress is quivering as trivial social matters in the high school arena rear their ugly heads. This system needs to be updated. It needs to be changed to fit the modern world, changed to allow the United States to start making positive progress in academic excellence once