Teenage Citizens
Teenagers are dumb because that’s what is expected of us. Society is stuck in a reciprocal echo chamber, where low expectations lead to corresponding behavior. The remedy has the capacity to come from either side, but it would be better for us to take initiative and pull ourselves up rather than be brusquely yanked up into competence. What keeps us from doing this? In ancient Rome, the Andabata were gladiators that fought blindfolded. If they wandered too far away from each other, they would be prodded with spears and poles until they ran into each other again. While it is an unrealistic correlation, some days my peers and I may feel like gladiators in an educational arena where scholarships and Grade Point Averages push us back into combat. In short, the modern education system is flawed and unnecessarily complicated, which leads to stress for all parties involved. The world ping-pongs between two approaches to our unsteady generation. We receive big helpings of sappy mantras su