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Amanda and Emily Bcrgson-Shtlcock arc emong thosc who rrtltc about bclng takcn scrlously ln thls lssuc's Foc1rs, pages 19-23.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: NH6.6TBEEQENL p.3-4 Help for Superlntendents Cracklng D'own on Thrants Dtploma Regulailone CHALLENGES & CONCERTIS Serc-role Stereotyplng
Speech DlfrculHes
\4TATCHING CHILDREN LEARN
p.9-13 Overcomtng "Artlst's Block'
I:arntng Ftom Peers Wdtfng Together 3 year old's Thoughts Vldklng rfr/lth a Toddler Llfe Wthout Credentlals RETIIINIfi NG CUZTURIIL IJIERACX: revlewof the newbookbyE.D. Hlrsch, Jr. p. 13 RESOURCES & RECOMMENDA.
TIONS p. ra BOOKREVIEWS p.15-18 FOCUS: DO ADULTS TAI(E
CI{ILDREN SERIOUSLP p. 19-23 Thoughts ftom chlldren and teenagers
THE EFFECTS OF TELEVISION: Intervtewwlth Marle Wlnn p, 2325
ADDITIONS TO DIRECTORY p. 26-27
"I feel lllce I'm llttle and etrcryone elsc trs blgger," wrltes Mona Welner lrr thls lssue's Focus, 'Do Adults Thlrc Young People Serlouslf' Descrlbtng thelr feellngs about belng young tn a world full of adults, the wrlters tn thesc pages seem kcenly awane that thelr lltfleness often mlsrepresents them. They have to work tcrtcr as hard to convlnce older people to see them as theywant to be seen. 'I am physlcally a small petson,'wrttes Serena Glngold, 'but I have blg thoughts." TWenty homeschoolers are an unusual sampltng, howerrer. These wrlters are surer of thetr..fcmtly's respect, for ecample, than twenty randomly-chosen
young people ln thls countrywould be. Ttrey also flnd enough attentlveness and respect ln adult frlends and colleagues outslde the famtly to balance tJ:e dlscourtesy and dlsrespect that they often obsenre ln the adult populatlon as a whole. It's clear ftom thelr descrtptlons that the chlldren crave these lrnportant relatlonshtps, and that a llttle such posltlve treatment from an adult goes a long way. Havlng been taken serlously and welcomed lnto the adult world on a few slgnlttcant occaglons, the chlldren are less lke$ to dlsmlss ttrat world erren when they are excluded from lt on other occaslons. Desptte betng repeatedly shut out or lgnored (the descrlPHons of bclng overlooked by adults who are slmply saytng hello or goodbye should encourage the rest of us to make a serlous efrort to remember what chlldhood [s really llke], these young people clear$ want to flnd a way to get tn, to do eomethtng that matters. Many of them are dolng! thts already. Mlkc Dodd observes: 'Once IVe gatned a Penton's respect because of my worh when they dlscover my age they contlnue to treat me as an equal." Mlke' at 15, ls perhaps old enough to pass foran adultwhen he needs to. He has a chance to demonstrate trts skflls as a cctmPuter programmer before people flnd out how old he ls. Thls ts harder at 6 or 8 or lO. when 'llttleness' ls the flrst thlng people see. Several ctrtldren seem aware that some part of whether or not adults talce them scrlously depends on them. Heather Bastlan wrltes, 'If I act llke a Itttle ktd, that ts the way my parents trreat me. Horrever, lf I act go\rtn-up, my parents treat me grown-up.'Amanda and Emlly Elerglson-Stttlcock, wrtUng about thelr ercperlences ln the world of work, recognlze that 'lilhen you want adults to talce you serlously, lt dso lnvolves tlme and commltment on your part." These wrlters ane awarâ‚Ź that certaln legal restrlctlons reflect socletfs perccpUon of young people's competence - the rrcUng and drMng ages. for enample - and some mlnd thls more than others. Manyargue that age ls an arbltrary cdterlon - 'I see no rtason why lt should be assumed that my sense of Judgment ls worse than that of someone two years older than me- - but they are also unsurc of how to unlrrcrsallze thelr trust tn themselves tn a way that would meet thelr standards of falrness. Ttrey may belleve that they and thelr frlends are capable of votlng responslb$, but they can't be sure about everyone else tn thelr age group. TWo wrlters suggest a test for prospectlve voters under 18. as lf they werr hesltant to grant thc rtght uncondlUonal$. (One of the prlnclples of suftage tn thls crountry ls that oncc you harrc lt, you don't need to prorre your quallflcattons. At one tlme lt was unthlnkable that women could vote; when they won the rlght, hos'ever, lt was for all women. Can we lmaglne granflng unlversal suftage to chtldren?) One flnal note. There's a lot of talk these days about chlldren 'grosttng uP too f,ast.' rnl$stng "the best pars of thetr llrrcs.' It may seem, when these wrlters lnslst that theywant to be treated as adults, that they are vlctlms of some klnd of modern pressune to leave chtldhood beforc they're ready. But thls ls not what theec chtldren are saylng. They don't wzrnt to becpme somethlng other than what they are: theywant ushattteg are rlgtxrwwto be recognlzed and valued. At the same tlme, tleywant the gate to the garden of chlldhood to be a swlnglng one (as Nancy \4rallace, vrrlilng about John Holt's Egape Jturn Chlldhd.ln GWS #56. sald so well) so that when they rlant to ocplore the adult world and how they mtght flt tnto lt, thcy can. Too many of today's l8-year-olds, looldng ahead to theadult llfe that awalts them, s,ee nothtng there that looks tnvlttng. It's llkely that the wrlters ln thls lssue of GWS, havlng been glven access to the adult world when they wanted lt as chlldren, wlll flnd more tn lt to satlsfy them when they llnally get there themsclves. - Susannah Sheffer