Sophie and Creighton are given a great deal of responsibility in Ben Franklin’s print shop as teenagers. In colonial America many teenagers around the age of 14 or 15 are doing work and taking responsibility for things today often associated with adults. Do you think that in American society today we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults? What would be some pros and cons of allowing teenagers in America to have the full rights and responsibilities of adults at the age of 15?
September 3, 2008 at 3:34 pm
No, I don’t think in American society today we wait to long to treat teenagers as adults. With age, I believe, comes knowledge. Some pros of allowing teenagers in America to have the full rights and responsibilities of adults at the age of fifteen would be most people would retire at a younger age because if they get jobs at a younger age they can retire at a younger age. Another pro would be that younger prospectives would be brought up and heard in the government. Some cons would be that some responsibilities, like voting, would not be taken seriously by some fifteen year olds. Some jobs that also take great responsibility, like a police officer, might not be taken as seriously by a teenager.
September 3, 2008 at 4:43 pm
No I think that this is a perfect time to treat teenagers as adults. Some cons would be that if we did let teenagers become adults they would probably start drinking and driving under the influence. This would cause mayhem in the U.S.A. This would not good.
September 3, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I do not think that we should treat 15 year olds like adults because most of them would abuse the priveledge. Some Pros of this are that we as a society would get a lot more work done with more and more young people. Some cons of this topic are that they would take advantage of this and use it to get what they want. These are only a few reasons why we should not grant 15 year olds with adulthood.
September 6, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I completely agree with you Elizabeth. Teens should start being treated as adults as they mature. and with age does come responsibility. I also agree with comment you made about taking a teen seriously as a cop. That is why i agree with you Elizabeth
September 8, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I think that in American society today, we wait too long for children to be considered adults. Often, children are not responsible for their own lives and destinies until they are nearly out of their teenage years. Others are pampered, never expected to grow up, never forced to make their own decisions, not held accountable for their deeds, nor taught the importance of living life to its fullest. If we started forcing young people to be more responsible, then we would have a generation of Americans that could think for themselves, that could make their own decisions, that were responsible and accountable, and who enjoyed every moment of life. However, there might be another side to this decision. Perhaps people would force children to become adults at too young of an age, maybe a younger generation would not quite do what was expected of them and would become stressed with an addition to pressure. Maybe without fully developed experiences, this younger generation might make bad decisions with the rights and freedoms they are granted as adults, such as voting, drinking, and driving. So, it would be a very good idea to start resting more responsibilities on younger generations, considering them adults and helping them to grow up. However, some bad things could happen, and perhaps a younger generation is not ready for such a task.
September 8, 2008 at 5:29 pm
No, I do not think an American society today we wait a long period of time before doing jobs like Creightion’s or Sophie’s. Teenager’s should not have jobs like those, but maybe simple ones like babysitting. One pro would be getting more work done. A con would be abusing their pay. Those are some pros and cons on teenage jobs.
September 8, 2008 at 6:02 pm
No, I don’t think that in American society today we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults. Some cons of this idea would be that they are still learning how to be responsible, and how to take care of themselves. Another con is that the teenagers might use the money they earn to buy what they want and not what they need. Also that some jobs might not be taken seriously be teenagers. Some pros are that they would learn how to apply to jobs. That is why I don’t think that we wait too long to treat teenagers like adults.
September 9, 2008 at 4:36 pm
No, I don’t think that teenagers should be given this responsibility as if they were adults. First I think i think this because most teenagers are not mature enough to do this. Next most teenagers have school to be attending and not working all day. Finally most teenagers would take advantage of these privileges they have been given to. A pro of this is that teens would make extra money for their families or for themselves. Another pro is teens will learn what is like to be in the work force.
September 9, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I do think that in American society we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults. Many teenagers would get to college and have no idea what to do because parents give us too much support. No matter what, there would be pros and cons with having teenagers in American with full rights and responsibilities of adults at the age of fifteen. The pros about having teenagers with full rights and responsibilities is that they would need a job, they would need to pay for living needs like food and a place to stay, and they would get a say in things. But the cons about this all are that teenagers would abuse it for example, they would not listen a lot of the time. They would not be able to drive to their jobs and such because most do not a have a license by then, and they would not pay some bills because they might think that they don’t need to pay because that is what parents do. I do think that teens should be treated as adults earlier in life but treating them that way will come with pros and cons.
September 9, 2008 at 9:12 pm
There are pros and cons to 15 year olds being considered an adult today in modern society. Some pros are that with the young people doing work, older folks would not have to work so hard. 15 year olds would probably take more responsibility also. Some cons are that the teens would abuse the power of being an adult and having a lot of money and power. I think the teens would take over the world! Those are the pros and cons of 15 year olds working at that age.
September 16, 2008 at 3:23 pm
We wait too long to treat teenagers as adults. Some pros to allowing teenagers the full rights of adults are more work would get done. it would also give the teenagers more responsibility. There are a lot of cons to letting teenagers have the rights that adults have though. More teens then there is now would probably be smoking and drinking when they know it’s not good for them.
September 16, 2008 at 4:41 pm
In the past teenagers had many more privileges and responsibilities. Teens of sixteen were considered adults and had jobs. One thing that is good about this is that teenagers were much more responsible and learned how to run a business at a young age. Teenagers helped their parents out a lot more also, such as taking over jobs around the house like cooking or farming. I some ways American society waits to long to take teenagers seriously, which damages their self-esteem and most teenagers are not empty-headed and can take care of themselves. There are also some cons to treating teenagers like adults. When teens are treated like adults tat puts a lot more pressure on their shoulders than is reasonable on such a young person. Treating teens like adults can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the situation.
September 16, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I don’t think that 15 year olds should be treated like adults. First because that age is way to young to be getting responsibility thrown upon you. The teens would probably because we would have to lower the drinking age and driving age, therefore they would be irresponsible. The amount of deaths would skyrocket and the jobs wouldn’t be done the proper way. All the nations workforce would be invaded be the teens misusing their jobs and privileges. That is what my view is on the topic of lowering the age of working teens.
September 16, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I don’t think American society is waiting too long to treat teenagers like adults. Some pros of letting teenagers have the rights and respondibilities of adults is that there will be more workers at different stores and companies. As a result, more work will get done in America. Some cons of allowing teenagers to be treated as adults is the use of drugs. Some teenagers aren’t responsible enough, so they start using drugs, which can be very dangerous to many Americans. Another con is that some jobs have to be taken seriously. Many teenagers probably can’t get much work done if they work in an office or as a govonor.
September 16, 2008 at 6:13 pm
No, I think that in American society today we do not wait to long to treat teenagers as adults because lots of 14 and 15 year olds are immature and wouldn’t take the job seriously. There are pros to allow teenagers in America to have full rights and responsibilities of adults at the age 15 like there would be a lot less businesses without employees. There are also lots of cons like the teenagers wouldn’t be doing their jobs right, or that the teenagers wouldn’t be taken very seriously.
September 16, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I do not think that in American society today we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults. Many teenagers at the age of 14 or 15 already have jobs and are being responsible. Some teenagers, that are not very responsible, may not have jobs, but giving them a job, I think, would not help them be better or do better. They might even be so concentrated on their job and end up forgetting about their school work. I think waiting till your older is better than starting a job when you are young. It would be a good idea because they could learn what they like and figure out what they are going to be when they are older.
September 16, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I don’t think we are waiting too long to treat teenagers as adults, even though some teenagers work at 15 years old. Some Pros I could think of would be that having teenagers work would get more things done and that it would bring younger candidates into our government. There are a few Cons and one of them would be that some jobs would take a good amount of responsibility and teenagers might not be up to the job. Some jobs wouldn’t be taken seriously and that might affect jobs in a bad way. These are the Pros and Cons that I think would be if we allowed teenagers to be treated like adults.
September 16, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Yes, i do believe that we generally wait too long to treat teenagers as adults. I belive this because there are little to none jobs for teenagers at this time. There are some jobs, like safeway and chic fil a that hire at 14. If we allowed teenagers to have the same responsibilities as adults there would be many pros and cons. One pro would be that the stores that hire teenagers would have many employees and they would have better service. A con is that some teens probably haven’t learned some of the things that are used in that certain job and they would be very confused. These are some of the many pros and cons if teenagers were given the same responsibilities as adulta.
September 16, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Some pros and cons about treating teenagers too young as an adult is that they get respected as an adult. Some cons are that you won’t get to hang out with your friends if you get a job. It is more fun being a kid, in my opinion, because you have more fun sometimes that way. These are some pros and cons about treating teenagers too young as an adult.
September 16, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Yes, I think that we should give teenagers a few adult jobs. This will prepare them and help them get started for when they want to do and get a serious job. For pros, this will get more people actively participating in normal life and make most of them more responsible and self propelled, and by this, more people will have jobs and not so many people will have so much debt to pay. As for cons, some teens may abuse their priveleges.
September 16, 2008 at 9:06 pm
No, I don’t think in the American Society, that we should wait too long! When I say this, I mean that teenagers don’t really need to all of the adult life. We may be capable of doing some things that adults do, but something’s just need to stay with the adults doing. Some pros and cons of allowing teenagers in America to have the full rights and responsibilities of adults at the age 15 are simple. Some pros are that you will become a better adult, and get more jobs, since you would have had more experience. Another pro would be, you would be brought up better, when knowing how to act more of a lady/ gentleman. Some cons are, that being 15 still wouldn’t let you have the jobs that you really wanted, just because you are called an adult, doesn’t mean that you can still do them, they workers, would just think of you as a teenager and you are here and you don’t know what you are doing. Another con would be, some 15 year olds would take advantage and do things only adults should do. I think those are some cons and pros of why a 15 year old should/ or shouldn’t have the responsibilities of an adult.
September 16, 2008 at 9:49 pm
I don’t think America needs to treat teenagers like adults. They are still learning about the world around them and need to mature before taking full responsibility for themselves. A pro point in allowing teens to have full rights and responsibility is that it will make teenagers mature and will prepare them for the future. A con in this situation would be that their brains are fully developed and they need to be taken care of a little while longer. I mean the 15 year olds wouldn’t even be allowed to drive!
September 17, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I don’t think that society today should be treating teenagers like adults. Teenagers are not fully developed adults yet and they still need time to be kids. Some pros of having teenagers have full rights and responsibilities would be that they would have jobs, so there would be more quantities of items and things would be made faster. Some cons would be that they would probably act immaturely at work and there would be a shortage of jobs for actual adults. The world is a better place with teenagers being thought of as kids.
September 17, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I think that we should treat teenagers as adults because if we don’t they may never learn how society functions. If we treat them as adults early they can observe the working society without having to worry about bills to pay and taxes. That i why i think we should treat teenagers as adults.
September 17, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I do think that we should treat 15 year olds like adults. Some pros about treating them like adults and letting them do work is that teens would learn to be more responsible and become very mature. There would also be a lot more workers and more work could be done. Some cons are that some teens would abuse the privilege and would ruin it for other teens. That is why I think when you are 15 you should be treated like an adult.
September 17, 2008 at 4:46 pm
No, teenagers today get enough rights and responsibilities as it is. A lot of teens are acting immature and irresponsible. Back in the beginning of the 1900’s children were treated a lot different. They were expected to not do anything wrong and were suppose to act like and adult. Today teens are not, they are lazy and rude to older parents and adults. So in my opinion i think teens need to be raised like they were in the 1900’s.
September 17, 2008 at 4:51 pm
No I don’t think that in American society today we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults. Most teenagers in the age of 14 and 15 are to immature to handle the job anyways. If you did give teenagers the full rights it might teach them some things but it would also make them more likely to break the rules.
September 17, 2008 at 4:57 pm
No, I do not think it is a good idea to give teenagers the full rights and responsibilities as adults do. I do not think this is a good idea because teenagers are less experienced than adults. Since we have not lived as long and have not learned as much as adults have we should not have their responsibilities because we could do something wrong or really mess something up. This would be a very bad choice to put teenagers in adult positions and could be disastrous to our economy.
September 17, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Today’s society is much different from the society that Creighton and Sophie lived in. I don’t think that American Society waits to long to treat teenagers as adults. Some pros to allowing teenagers to have the rights of an adult at the age of 15 would be the teenagers helping the family earn a living. We could also learn to have more responsibility at a younger age. Some cons to 15 year olds having them take advantage of their situation, and not being mature enough to have control of their responsibilities.
September 17, 2008 at 5:32 pm
In American society today, I think that we wait just as long as we need to for treating teenagers as adults. If teenagers took on more jobs, parents would have more time to take care of younger children and toddlers. But, if teenagers around the age of thirteen or fourteen started taking on job fully as adults, barely half the work would get done. Teenagers of our society today lose focus and get sidetracked just way too much. They goof off more than needed and over half of them wouldn’t get the all of the work done in time or at all. I do not think that teenagers of our society are fit to be completely considered adults.
September 17, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I think that teenagers should have some responsibility but not to much. Being 14 and 15 you have not had enough to exprience to be considered adults,but at the same time they should be able to hold jobs or be responable for there lives. Teenagers today do not have as many responsibilities as they should. Teenagers up until about 16 mainly dont do anything to suport there lives. Some things that may be good would be that they would be able to hold a job and suport themselves, but a con would be them not knowing what to do in life.
September 17, 2008 at 6:13 pm
No, I do not think we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults in America Society today. I do not think this because teens around the age of 14, 15, and 16 should start to relie on themselves for help, money, clothing, food, and more. Most kids around this age do not have jobs because they are too lazy to go out and get one. Mabie sometimes they would take this priveledge for granted and they would also probably get in trouble but at least they would face the consequinces on their own to teach them a lesson. I do think, in American Society today, that we wait too long to treat teenagers like adults.
September 17, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I do not think that we should leave fifteen year-olds with the responsibility of an adult. there is nothing good I can think of that could come from that how ever many bad things could happen. one being that children will have to pay taxes and if some children are bad with math, they could do there taxes wrong. that would then lead to many tax audits. that is why I think being a child but having the responsabilities is a bad idea.
September 17, 2008 at 6:16 pm
No, I think we treat people like adults at the right time. The older you get, the more you know about life and if teenagers were treated like adults, I believe that they’d be very naïve about certain things in life. A pro to treating teenagers like adults would be that they could have jobs and try to support themselves. A con to treating teenagers as adults would be their irresponsibility. People could be put in danger, for instance, if a teenager was driving a car at a younger age than sixteen. However, if teenagers were considered adults, they’d be able to have more views in politics and support their views more than they can now.
September 17, 2008 at 6:16 pm
No, I do not think we should treat teenagers like this at the age of 14 or 15 because we sometimes are way to overwhelmed with homework to have a job. This could be good because they usually do have more energy than adults. It would also be good because they could learn how to become more responsible. This could also be bad they might not show up for work one day and wherever they are working the place would suffer because they do not have enough help. That would mean the business would be running slower that day, which would not be good for the coustomers. It is also bad because it means there are less job opportunities for adults. That is why I don’t think teenagers near 143 or 15 should have jobs.
September 17, 2008 at 6:43 pm
This is why i think that it is good that teenagers do not get large amounts of responsibility until they are 15 or 16 years of age. One reason that it is good that teenagers do not get large amounts of responsibility such as driving or jobs until they are 15 or 16 is because most teenagers of this age are responsible and can handle jobs and cars not to say that some are still unresponsible with theses responsibilities. A reason that it would be bad to give someone at the age of 12 or 13 a car or job is because they may not be mature enough to handle it. That is why i think that it is good for teenagers to not recieve certain responsibilities until the age of 15 or 16.
September 17, 2008 at 6:49 pm
No, I don’t think that teenagers should be given this responsibility as if they were adults. First I think i think this because most teenagers are not mature enough to do this. Next most teenagers have school to be attending and not working all day. Finally most teenagers would take advantage of these privileges they have been given to. A pro of this is that teens would make extra money for their families or for themselves. Another pro is teens will learn what is like to be in the work force.
September 17, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I think that the American society does not wait too long to treat fourteen or fifteen year olds as adults. I do believe that the American society does wait too long to treat older teens as adults. Fourteen and fifteen year olds who had the respect and responsibility as adults would probably abuse that privilege. As they get older, the society needs to teach them how to act as adults, but being that age is too young. The pros of treating fourteen and fifteen year olds as adults would be to improve our country’s technology and to have the ideas that include kids in government. Also, if the kids at age fifteen could get a job, they could make money on their own and even pay for school themselves, not always depend on their parents for money. Some cons of this situation would be that some jobs and responsibilities that adults have would not be taken seriously from a teen. Also, if a teen gets a job, it can greatly interfere with school and other responsibilities as a fourteen or fifteen year old. The American society has changed greatly since colonial times.
September 17, 2008 at 6:55 pm
No, I do not think 14 and 15 year olds should be granted the same rights and responsibilities as adults. A Pro of 14 and 15 year olds working would be the jobs of low paying could go to them and the more highly skill required jobs could go to the adults. A Con of this would be they would slack off and have the possibility to do a poor job. Another Pro could be simply tasks could be done faster and cheaper if 14 and 15 year olds started working. A Con for this would be they wouldn’t be as high quality as they are now. With age come great responsibilities and I do not think the 14 and 15 years olds are ready enough for the responsibility to come.
September 17, 2008 at 7:01 pm
No, I don’t think that in American Society today we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults. When you’re an adult, you have many responsibilities and duties. You’re expected to be committed and respectful. Things would be very different if teenagers were considered adults at 15 years old. Some pros of having teens take the responsibilities and rights of adults at age 15 are that there would be more workers in businesses, which would make companies more profitable. They’d have more employees and could get things done quicker. Also, many new and fresh ideas would be released into the working industry and society. Some cons of having teenagers take adult-like responsibilities at a younger age would be that many of them would goof off while working and not take things seriously. They’d probably waste their money and not commit to their jobs. I think that the American Society’s view of the age of an adult is perfect how it is right now, and doesn’t need to be changed.
September 17, 2008 at 7:04 pm
In society today, I believe that we don’t wait to treat teenagers as adults. Our world and culture has waited for just the right time when teenagers really start to take responsibility for their actions and ones mistakes and know all the responsibilities of an adult. If we treat teenagers as adults at an earlier age they will probably still be really careless and not have a care in the world. Some of the pros of treating teens as adults at an earlier age would be that the responsible teens would help out more with others and do all the chores and responsibilities all adults in our world already have. More importantly they would know how to fend for themselves and are always eager to change the world. Some cons would be that most teens are not responsible and still want to be children and have others do everything for them. Another con would be that most jobs require you to be older, so it would be harder to make money. With all the pros and cons I think overall that we wait for just the right time to treat teenagers like adults.
September 17, 2008 at 7:06 pm
No, i don’t think we should treat 15 year olds like adults because that would take wdvantage of this priveledge. They wold take it way to seriously. And get away with things they wouldn’t usually get away with in today’s time. Some pros and cons with treating 15 year olds like adults would be these, in my opinion. They would probably be able to drink and we would ahve way to many teenagers woh would drink and drive. And that would not be safe at all. A good reason to treat 15 year olds like adults would be that they could get a good job and earn money for them and also for there family. Another reason would be that they could maybe be allowed to vote. This is what I think about treating 15 year olds like adults.
September 17, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I believe that because it is not fully necessary for a teenager to take responsibility for himself or herself that they won’t care. If we give the full responsibility they will take advantage of it and have to live with their mistakes for a great deal of time. Some mature teenagers will succeed but I believe it is not worth taking the risk of putting the immature teenagers in the situation where they have to fend for themselves.
September 17, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I don’t think that we should treat 15 year olds with privileges that adults have. If they could do things adults could do they would abuse them and take advantage of them. Some cons are they would use their privileges wrong. They would not be as good at working as adults are too. Some pros are there would be more people to work so more things would get done faster.
September 17, 2008 at 7:30 pm
No, I don’t think that American Society today should let 14 to 15 year olds have the full rights that adults have today because kids at 17 and 18 abuse the privelages of being a young adult. At 14 and 15, teenagers are still forming from kids to young adults so therefore, kids would abuse the privelages. Some pros of giving the freedom to 14 and 15 year olds is that they could learn earlier on how to act like civil adults. Some cons is they would abuse their privelages and take advantage of the rights they have been given and American Society would be out of hand. These are only the very few reasons on why 14 to 15 year olds should not be able to live like an adult.
September 17, 2008 at 7:37 pm
In colonial America teenagers were given the responsibilities of what modern day adults might do because people didn’t live as long. Because there were no vacinations and medicine was not as good as it is today, people tried to do as much as they could before they died. In today’s time we live much longer and healthy lives. This is why teenagers are allowed to grow up and enjoy their time with out all the big reponsibllities that will come later on in life. I believe that teenagers should study and learn as much as possible so that they may get a good job when they are adults.
September 17, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I think that some teenagers should start to work at the age of 14 or 15. Teenagers should know and be ready for what is coming when they are adults. Some pros are that the society would be doing better because more jobs are getting done. Another is that kids could get money that they can use it if they ever need it. Some cons are that some kids are too immature and would take it as a joke. Another con is that kids should be focusing on school work and extracurricular activities. Those are some reasons why some kids should start working at the age of 14 or 15 and some should not.
September 17, 2008 at 8:06 pm
I think that society is taking too long. I feel that as teenagers we should have real jobs and responsibilities. If we had real jobs now then when we grow older we will already have some experience as working people. Some good things that would come from thisis we would have a more mature society. However even though teenagers sounds good. Teenagers would mess up on work more than adults. So if you think about it there are some good but some bad things that come from allowing teenagers to work.
September 17, 2008 at 8:27 pm
No I dont think that teenagers should be treated like completely responsible adults, they are not fully mature and old enough to have the full rights and responsibilities. If they had all the rights and responsabilities as adults they would be able to do many thins such as vote, and get married. They would not be responsible enough to make those desicions. Some pros would be that people would be able to start there adult life early. A con would be that they wouldnt be mature enough to handle these responsibilities.
September 17, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I do not think that in modern day America we wait to long to give teenagers the responsibilities of adults. Back in colonial America, people did not live as long as we do now; maturity was expected at a much younger age. I would not give today’s fourteen year old the responsibility of a big job, the right to vote, or the ability to drive a car. The truth is that teenagers are not responsible enough. Everyday, we hear about teenagers making bad decisions. On the plus side, if you gave teenagers more responsibilities they would be forced to act more mature, but also that plan could backfire and turn out horribly wrong. I think that in America today, we are right in not giving teenagers too much responsibility.
September 17, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I think that current America is smart for not treating 14 or 15 year olds like adults. Teenagers still need time to mature and grow up before they start having responsibilities. The pros of this are teenagers would definitely mature faster and learn how to act like an adult. The cons, however, are that that is a lot of responsibility to have that young and most kids couldn’t handle it or they would abuse it. That is why 14 or 15 year olds shouldn’t be treated as adults.
September 17, 2008 at 9:01 pm
I don’t think that 14 and 15 year olds should not be given so much responsibility. This is because they would probably slack off on what they are doing. Some pros are that the ones who do do the job would be able to get more done. Some cons are that they would probably slack off a lot. That is why 14 and 15 year olds should not be given adulthood just yet.
September 17, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Yes, I think that American society should treat our teenagers as adults. Our teenagers should be more responsible. It would be great for them because our teenagers would get more experience in adult life at a younger age. They would be able to express their thoughts on politics if they were allowed to vote. Some cons of letting teens have more responsibilities would be if teens with jobs that our important didn’t perform their jobs, and others would be effected by their irresponsibility. American society should treat teens more like adults.
September 17, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I do not think that American society waits too long to treat teenagers as adults. Today, students spend many years at school learning how to be productive as an adult. Students who drop of out of high school cannot get a lot of jobs because they did not go to college. If teenagers can’t be fully treated as adults because they are still growing and learning. They would not have the skill of adults and may have troubles in their lives. Some pros would be that there would be more workers in the world and hopefully get more work done. Still, I think that teenagers should not be treated like adults.
September 18, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I don’t think that we wait to long to treat teenagers like adults. Many teengagers are irresponsible and might not be mature enough to make smart choices without adult guidance. A pro of letting teenagers have the full rights of adults is that there would be more citizens for jobs. A con would be that teenagers would be allowed to drink and some teenagers would abuse this right. Those were some pros and cons of letting teenagers have the same rights as adults.
September 18, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I think that society does not wait too long to give 14 and 15 year old the responsibilities of an adult. Back in colonial times, teens would be given the task of acting like an adult to help out with all of the work. They did not have machines like a computer, washing machine, and stoves back then so more work had to be done by the kids because it was to much for the parents to do altogther. If our society gave us the oppurtunity to treat us like adults then kids would have houses, cars, and paying jobs in America. But we can’t do this because we need to go to school so that we can better prepare ourselves for the bright future that waits up ahead for us. This is why I think that kids should not be treated like adults so soon in their life.
September 18, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I agree with Lauren G’s statement. It is true that as we get older we learn more about life. We learn life lessons, and we make mistakes, and we try to fix our mistakes. It is also true that the younger we are the more naïve we are. Teenagers are more cocky and think that we can do most things on our own when we really need to work together and let other people help us. The older we get the more mature we are.
September 18, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I think that teens these days ar treated like adults way overdue. They are not very responsible when they are teens, but having responsibilies as a teen will hep them to learn ofr the rest of their life. If they don’t learn now, it will make their life a whole lot harder. For the cons, I think that the teens would abuse the privelige of having the same right as adults. It would lead to more crime adnd bad things. But they would probably learn from these experiences and become better as a nation. This woul make the world a better place.
September 18, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I think society would not be as well developed if it was in the hands of teenagers. Teenagers shouldn’t be put on that much responsibility. Adults have learned from there mistakes and know how to react to difficult situations. In America there is a lot to deal with like war, economy, and foreign alliances. Adults are better off in a government with knowledge from high school and college. I think teenagers should not be treated equal to adults.
September 18, 2008 at 5:39 pm
I disagree with Nate because I don’t think we should give teenagers more responsibility. It is true that it will teach them to be responsible but they have to earn the trust to be responsible, you can’t just give it to them overnight. Besides 14 is too young of an age to give teenagers that much responsibility because most likely they would abuse it.
September 18, 2008 at 6:14 pm
No, I don’t think that American society today waits too long to treat teenagers as adults. As you get older you have more knowledge and common sense. If you treated teenagers as adults today, they would be more prepared for being an adult. But I believe that if you treated someone like this while they are too young, they won’t listen or understand. Teenagers already do have responsibility of their own, they don’t need to have adult responsibilities also. This is what I think about treating teens as adults.
September 18, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I think that if you make teens have all of the responsibilities of an adult would be a bad idea. For starters I think that if you make teens have to pay for all of there car bills and insurance they would be bankrupt. Or if they made teens become C.E.O’s of major companies that would be a recipe for disaster. But a big one is having kids get there own place. And have there own house or apartment. That is why I think kids shouldn’t have all of the responsibilities of an adult.
September 18, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I do thin that this generation of teenagers should be able to have more responsibilities.Granted, there will be a few people who will abbuse the amount of freedom involved in being treated as an adult, but that would be wrong to say that of all teenagers. By doing this, you will give many more people jb opportunities and we wldn’t struggle for money as we do now, because more people will be making money and being able o provide for themselves and their families.
September 18, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I totally agree with Abby W. 15 year olds would take advantage of this privilege. This privilege is an important responsibility for adults only. Drinking and driving would increase by the thousands and that is a horrible thing to think of.
September 18, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Sophie and Creighton are given a great deal of responsibility in Ben Franklin’s print shop as teenagers. In modern day America I think that teenagers should not have the responsibilities of an adult. Some pros of this would be that they could get a taste of the real world. A con of this would be that they would have very little time to get a good education. This is what I think about teenagers becoming adults at age 15.
September 18, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Responding to Andrew M: Andrew, I disagree with you when you said that teenagers should have real jobs and take on big responsibilities. I don’t agree with this because teenagers are too immature and would take working to make real money and to support their families as a joke. Teenagers are just not cut out to be fully considered adults. That is why I disagree with Andrew.
September 18, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I believe that today many children who are in high school should be treated as adults. When you are a junior or senior you should have many responsibilities to show that they are ready for collage and jobs. In freashman and sophmore year which is where Sophie and Creighton are around is maybe taking on to much responsibility. Because at that age today we are still trying to figure a lot of things out, but back then they got many responsibilities early because society wasn’t as critical and vain. That is how i feel on this subject.
September 18, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Yes, I agree that society waits too long to treat teenagers as adults. I think this because most teenagers need the responsibility of doing work at an earlier age like the age of 15 or 16. Also if society treats teenagers as adults they will focus more on school and work instead of on messing around and getting into big trouble. Sometime it is important to study school work and on some minds school is more important that work so some people focuses on school instead of work, but for some kids it is the other way around. They need to work to survive. This is why society needs to treat teenagers as adults
September 18, 2008 at 8:39 pm
No, I do not think that we wait too long to treat teenagers like adults in American society. Teenagers, I think, would not be as responsible and not take the job as seriously as adults. The pros that will come out of this however teenagers will be more mature and our ideas about schools in America can be enforced by the government. A con is that today in America many people are having trouble getting food on the table for their families and if we have teenagers getting jobs, not many jobs are left for these people. Another con is that teenagers will miss out on being a teenager just like hanging out with friends, playing sports, and focusing on school.
September 18, 2008 at 8:40 pm
No I do not think that American society waits to long to treat teenagers as adults, because teenagers at the age of 13 to 15 are not developed enough to work from 3 to 8 in any work enviorment, especially a print shop. A few pros and cons on this issue could be, if teenagers can sit in a classroom for 6 hours that could defiantly work for 6 hours at a job. A con would be that even though they sit in a classroom for 6 hours they don’t do any manual labor.
September 18, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I don’t think that we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults. I think this because children should be getting an education and enjoying life instead of working all the time. Some pros would be that the child gets money for their family. A con would be that they would be inexperienced and they would cause trouble. Teenagers should not get jobs till they are mature enough to work successfully.
September 18, 2008 at 9:05 pm
I think that our lives would definitely be a lot different today if 15 year olds were treated like adults. You wouldn’t get, as much of a childhood, and you would probably be on your own at a much younger age, which would be hard for almost all kids. Even though 15 year olds try to act older, they really wouldn’t want to be put into the real world, and forced to fend for themselves. No one would have a real education because they would probably finish eighth grade, learn a trade for a year, and then go to work. I guess kids would have to accept more of a responsibility, and would be able to earn money, but I don’t think that would be worth it. Also other things from voting to driving ages would have to be lowered to allow 15 year olds to act like adults. That means that our country’s future could possibly even be in the hands of teenagers. I don’t think that 15 year olds should be treated as adults: I think that it should stay exactly how it is today.
September 18, 2008 at 9:05 pm
I think Americans wait to long to make teenagers adults. Teenagers should have there own decision when it comes to getting a job. A person should be able to make money when ever they want. A bad thing to this is you could be over flooded by papers and taxes from the government and you would be in trouble.
September 18, 2008 at 9:55 pm
No, I do not think that we wait too long to treat teenagers s adults. Because when you are teenager you are in school learning what need to learn on how to be an adult. Some pros for letting teenagers have responsibilities to be and adult would be that by the time that they do get older that they will be mature and know what they want to do in their life. Some cons are that if we did give teenagers rights and responsibilities that more teenagers would get jobs which would limit jobs to older people who need them. So I do not think that we are waiting too long because we are too immature and don’t take things seriously so why should we have rights and responsibilities?
September 20, 2008 at 9:19 am
Jack P, I agree with you on everything you said. More work would get done in the United States faster, but the teens would abuse their power. 14 and 15 is not the age where many kids act like adults. In today’s socitey, many 14 and 15 year olds want to pass high school and be liked by their friends. This is why I agree with Jack P.
September 20, 2008 at 10:40 am
I definitely agree with Maddie H. on how America does not treat its teenagers as adults too soon. I agree with Maddie that teenagers are just learning how to take care of themselves and take responsibility. If too much responsibility is put on their shoulders, they can get confused and make wrong choices. As Maddie stated, if teenagers spend their money on what they want, not what they need, they could be in deep trouble. Since teenagers are still considered kids, some things may not be taken seriously like they should be. I completely think that Maddie H. is right.
September 20, 2008 at 11:59 am
Darien d. I disagree with you. Teenagers should not work work at real jobs before they are 15. First because they will abuse there pan and because they can not handle those jobs. That is way I disagree with you.
September 20, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Maddie S., I disagree and agree with you. Teenagers should not be able to drive until a reasonable age, or vote, and such but I think that they should have some responsibility. You said that we are right in not giving teenagers too much responsibility. I think they should have some responsibility like maybe a job. With a job, they learn the meaning of a dollar and can pay for things themselves. If they don’t have a job, they would constantly ask their parents for money and just spend it without knowing how to be conservative with the money. Also, with a job, they learn how to do certain tasks. And, with a job, they aren’t just sitting on the couch all day doing nothing. They should have a reasonable amount of responsibility so that they can go on in life after they leave home but they should have total control of their life.
September 20, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Sarah F, I completely disagree with you about the amount of responsibilities a teenager could handle. I think that as a teenager, you are not wise enough to make big responsibilities like voting, or having the power to select a big job. For some teenagers, even high school is too big of a responsibility. You said that giving teenagers more responsibilities would help them think for themselves, but I think that that plan could backfire, and if teenagers didn’t fulfill their responsibilities there would be some major problems.
September 21, 2008 at 10:32 am
Though I think that Shannon E. has a point when she says, “No, I do not think an American society today we wait a long period of time before doing jobs like Creighton’s or Sophie’s,” I do not agree with her. It makes them more responsible and gives them experience for when they really are adults. Though Creighton and Sophie’s jobs are had look how responsible and grown-up they are. Sophie took care of the printing shop, cooking and cleaning before Creighton arrived. Teenagers should be treated like adults.
September 21, 2008 at 10:52 am
I defiantly agree with you Jake O. I totally agree that if 15 year old and teenagers under 16 in general would get taken advantage of by adults. Also I agree with on your point that teenagers under 16 would not be as effective at working as adults or teenagers 16 and up. That is why I with you Jake O.
September 21, 2008 at 11:11 am
I really agree with Elizabeth. I also think with age, comes knowledge. I also agree that people would retire at a younger age. Also I agree that voting and many responcibilities like that wouldn’t be taken seriously. If you do think about how society would be like if teenagers were police, many people would get away with speeding and many other things that is not safe to people.
September 21, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I agree and disagree with Jack D. He said that it would be a good thing to treat teenagers as adults because older people would have to work as long. I don’t think this is a very good thing because than there would be many more unproductive older people living off of retirement money. I do agree with him that there are some teens that would abuse the power. Although some teens could be great leaders and successful, some teens would probably cause trouble and do nothing with their lives.
September 21, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I am very glad that I read Sarah F’s comment because I never thought about the question from that angle. I just thought about how kids would lose their childhood if they became adults to quickly, but I never thought of the pros about being treated as an adult earlier. She’s definitely right that our generation would have more of a positive impact on society if we had more responsibilities at a younger age. You wouldn’t have to be a complete adult right away like I was thinking; you only have to have more responsibilities. Your childhood would still exist just with more things to take care of. I really would have a different answer to the question now. Thanks Sarah!
September 21, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I agree with Dylan T. on how kids who are 14 or 15 should have jobs for many reasons. Like when we get cars we need money to pay for gas. Or when you need to buy something. Like a movie or food. Also we need jobs to help us get a glimps of the real world. That is why I agree with Dylan T. on how kids who are 14 and 15 should have jobs.
September 22, 2008 at 12:39 am
I agree with Elizabeth D. because she stated all the facts that I too also believe. She said that with age comes knowledge but I also think that age comes maturity. Also because she also stated that jobs and voting wouldn’t be taken seriously by most people. I just think that teenagers wouldn’t be matured enough, have the strength to do what adults so, and just won’t be fit. Elizabeth said that Americans don’t wait too long to treat teenagers as adults and I fully agree with that.
September 22, 2008 at 8:09 pm
response to Dylant T: I disagree with your thought of teenagers starting the work industry and being treated as adults at the age of 15. At the age of fifteen, I think most teenagers are too immature to be treated as adults. They would probably waste their money earned. Many would probably abuse the privilege to work and not show up somedays. A lot of teenagers would probably goof off and not commit to working. I think that teenagers should be treated as adults at eighteen years old, not fifteen. I also beleive that the United States society doesn’t wait too long to treat teenagers as adults.
September 22, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I disagree with Darian D I think kids should get to make their childhood last. There is no point in putting unnecessary pressure on a teenager. However I agree with Shannon. Teenagers can start 0ff with small household jobs like chores, and babysitting. They would benefit from the labor, being rewarded, and the experience.
September 23, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I agree with Julian D. he is right about students spending many years learning about how to be a productive adult. Teenagers can’t be fully treated as adults because they are still learning, growing, and even maturing is very true. There would definitely be more help as in having more workers in the world. These are some of the reasons I agree with Julian about America waiting too long to treat teenagers as adults.
September 24, 2008 at 12:21 am
I do not think an American society today, you would see people laboring jobs Creightion’s or Sophie’s. Teenager’s should not have the roles and jobs so mature like that.I think they should babysit, and do more volunenteer work, and care for pets. My reasoning is, because all these jobs help build more responsibility. The more responsibility, learned at a young age, you will have better knowledge, and be able to live these actions as an adult. I think we should have smaller jobs to prepare us for bigger things, and that teens shouldn’d be worrying about this. One pro would be getting more work done, and having better work ethnics. A con would be abusing their time, enegery, and wage.
September 24, 2008 at 12:27 am
I agree with Ryan S, when he said that he doesn’t think young adult teenagers should be given and trusted with so much responsibilty. I think that we should work in our personal areas and help out everyone else as much as we can in miniture jobs that prepare us for big careers, but for now, i think that we shouldn’t be given let alone trusted with roles such as Crieghton and Sophie.
September 24, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I disagree with you Jack D. It is impossible for Teens to rule the world. Just to be president you have to be in your thirties. And I don’t teens would have power or money as they would probably be given the low hard labor jobs of society.
September 24, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I think that kids should start being treated as adults either when they are maturing and how old they are. I think that in the American Society back in the day parents treated there kids like adults while they were still very young and not mature. It is hard for a young kid to take the responsibility as an adult. That is why i think you need to wait for maturity.
September 28, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I disagree and agree with you Haley. I agree that the more simple jobs should go to the teenagers and the more skilled required jobs should go to the adults. I don’t agree that tasks could be done simpler and faster because some teenagers are slow with their jobs and think it is hard. Another thing I do agree with is that with age comes great responsibility. Those are the things I disagree and agree on with Haley.
September 29, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I agree with Jack P. answer to the question. I do not think that teenagers should be given adult responsiblities because they probably will not be able to handle it. A 15 year old from back in Benjamin Franklin’s days is very different from a teenager in 2008.
September 29, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Julian, i agree with you. I believe that teenagers shouldn’t be treated like adults because they are not mature enough to have the same responsibilities as adults. if a high schooler dropped out of school, they wouldn’t be able to get a job because they don’t go to college.
September 29, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Yes I think kids who are fifteen should get jobs for many reasons. For starters they should get jobs because they might have to buy a car. Or since they will be in high school they will need to buy some books for themselves. Also it is a great way to show kids what the real world is; and what its like to support you. Also it is good because kids could always use the extra cash. That is why I think that kids should get jobs at the age of fifteen or so.