Not to get political......

har, har, har....

But....I remeber, years ago, hearing a comment by Hillary Clinton that has, obviously, stayed with me. ....No, it wasn't the "stand by your man" thing. :)

I don't have the text of her comment, so how much I'm paraphrasing or putting my words in her mouth is up for consideration and debate. As I remember it, she was advocating that after high school graduation, American teens be required to give a year of community service to the country. Does that idea sound sensible to anyone else but me? I don't remember hearing any discussion or debate on it. Maybe it struck a cord with me because I had four children who either were or were soon-to-be teens at the time.

Over the years I've heard and read comments about how our educational system was set up for a different era -- at one point in our history children were needed home to help in planting and harvesting, among other considerations. More recently, I've heard how our high schools are not relevant to today's youths. So what do we do?

I guess that's the sticking point. If we allow students to finish high school quickly, what do they do (or what do we do with them) then? Our society has no meaningful place for teenagers. By that I mean we aren't ready, in general, to trust them in positions of responsibility. And with good reason -- they have lots of growing up/experiencing left to do. Let them grow up in college seems to be one accepted answer. ???? I don't know about you, but after sending four children to college (three of whom are still there), I'm here to tell you that there's got to be a cheaper way for them to mature. From personal experience I can assure you that a bright, capable, highly-functioning young person can actually obtain a Master's degree in a field, and be working on a doctorate before she (or he -- it's a she in my case) has any hand-on experience in the field. And then -- when she finds work in her chosen field, realize that she hates it. (Sorry. That last sentence was personal venting.)

Sticking to the point -- which I'm not good at....

A gap year (as I hear the Europeans call it), IMO, is something I think we should encourage. But....I think it should be intentional and well-planned. An aimless year could bring problems that affect a young person for years. Unfortunately, I think many young people are spending that year rather aimlessly at present -- whether attending college or not. Young people today can easily acquire so much debt, even (or especially) while attending college.

Even so, the idea of a year's community service between high school and college may sound better in theory than in practice. First, we would probably end up with a new government bureaucracy. Second, I realize there are young people ready for college and/or beginning careers and families. Still and all, with our country facing such needs and challenges, maybe the idea of some kind of requied community service should be tossed around.

Next on the agenda, what can we do about our prision system? Any takers on this one?