Albert Einstein once said that “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” This quote, which appears on the walls of more than a few classrooms, attempts to inspire the next generation of students to learn critical thinking, and ultimately make them better students. How many high schoolers take this lesson to heart? Teenagers make errors in judgment sometimes, this we know. Mantras, drilled into kids since time immemorial, proclaim “boys will be boys,” and “it’s ok to make mistakes.” While making the occasional error in judgment can be excused, the world would be a better place if students did not just take classes in math and science, but also in common sense.
According to the CDC in 2019, 29% of surveyed high school students drank alcohol, and 17% had ridden in a car with someone who had been drinking. Also in 2019, 16. 7 out of every 1000 women aged 15-19 gave birth to a baby, and that leaves out the 33% of teen pregnancies that ended up being terminated before birth. Don’t forget the fact that sexual assault, an unfortunate contributing factor to teen pregnancies, often occurs due to binge drinking and a “boys will be boys” mentality. All of these mistakes provide evidence of the teenage psyche run amok. How many of these mistakes, though, could be easily prevented? Beyond those life-altering mistakes abound other decisions. Decisions like a post on social media trashing high school subsequently tank any shot at a college education. Decisions like vandalizing a school bus—a crime, I might add—can also have major repercussions for future job opportunities.
While these lessons have been given by parents since the beginning of civilization, what teenagers’ brain has processed them? According to Mental Health Daily, “a consensus of neuroscientists agree that brain development likely persists until at least the mid-20s – possibly until the 30s.” Psychologists like Jean Piaget tell us that humans don’t even begin to reason abstractly or process logical hypotheticals until at least age twelve. Teenagers, though, with college admissions and jobs on the line, ought to be taught a modicum of common sense. As licensed psychologist John Rothenberg says, “Physically, most young adults are not intellectually developed….For this reason, which is not disputable, I do not take most anything anyone who is between the ages of 16-25 says seriously. Their brain is not totally developed. Period. In addition, I consider opinions from this group. during the stages of brain development, to be dubious, at best.” This makes the processes that occur in a teenager’s brain evermore important, which just shows further the need to teach teens to think.
The true differences between having a thought and thinking might be the most important lesson a teenager should learn, and a lesson not taught enough. The contrast between “Ooh, look! A beer!” and “Should I drink that beer?” can be quite literally the difference between life and death when teenagers drive home from a party. Often, though, the first of these thoughts prevails, because the initial response in a teenager’s mind never consists of pure common sense, because it physically can’t. Teenagers need to learn, more than math or grammar, the difference between the words “Should I?” and “Can I?”. This shows the importance of thinking; the malleable teenage brain, void of impulse control and full of adrenaline, deserves better than what it gets, because what it gets consists of empty platitudes and ridiculous mantras that normalize teenagers ruining their lives. It can and should be prevented. Teach teens to think.
Comments