Is ten the new 15?
I was reading an interesting article from FoxNews.com ,10 Is the New 15 As Kids Grow Up Faster. In today's fast paced media rich environment there does seem to be signs that this is true. Although we all see some of the signs, is this really true? Some kids listen to music with sexually charged lyrics. Some kids say they are going out in fifth grade. (Although I've wondered where they go to.) Some kids want to dress like Beyonce or Kid Rock. Is this the new 15?
I don't believe so. When you talk to kids they are still kids. They get more excited about a new puppy than celebrity gossip. When given an opportunity the 10 year old kids will run around and play tag. By 15 most of us were too cool to just run around. Now, I have seen some parents treat their 10 year old as if they were 15. I don't feel that those isolated cases are a new phenomena.
So what is the bottom line? When I talk to ten year old children I still treat them as if their ten. When they want to show me their new Ipod or cell phone I take in stride. I'm sure those items make them feel more grown up, but so did my 8-track boom box. As parents and educators we need to look beyond the cell phones, make-up, and Ipods and still see the kids.
Comments are welcome
posted by MiddleSchoolPrincipal @ 9:58 AM
3 Comments:
Definitely an interesting question. In response though, I do believe that students know more than I did at this age, and I don't think that I was a sheltered child! It is important to think about how much society has changed as a whole before thinking in a negative way about this question, even if 10 is the new 15! A related question I have just read and thought about is, are we pushing first graders and kindergartners too far with the curriculum that is supposed to be covered and with less social interaction?
Do kids know more today or just know more about the things we don't.
MySpace
FaceBook
YouTube
IPOD's
and GOOGLE
I'm going to have to go with the wisdom of the the Apostle Luke on this one - "to whom much is given, much is required (expected)".
Kids today are given access to items and experiences at a younger age (i.e. ipods, cellphone, media saturation, etc.)than they have before. The difference is that these items and experiences are seldom accompanied by the developmental skills such as responsibility, problem solving, and action-consequence connections.
I agree with you Andrew, kids are still kids.
But I wonder if we have a moral/cultural/professional imperative to give younger kids the tools to live up to the requirements and expectations of the world they have been given.
If we do, will we have the issue Wenz presents, with students pushed to grow up too soon?
If we don't will we have kids just as illequipped at 15 as they were at 10 to manage their time, be repsonsible and discerning with media choices?
I find that I'm constantly balancing these two questions each day in my classroom of at-risk 14- and 15-year-old highschool freshman who I painfully have to say are predominantly on the ill-equipped end of the spectrum.
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