How should we treat young people? Join us as Dr. Robert Epstein, former Editor-in-Chief of Psychology Today magazine, talks about this topic on today’s Home School Heartbeat with Mike Smith.
Mike Smith:
With me again today is Dr. Robert Epstein, author of The Case against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen. Dr. Epstein, if, as you argue in your book, teen rebellion is not inevitable, how should our perception of young people change?
Dr. Robert Epstein:
Well, we need to look back Mike, at our history. We need to look at teens in other cultures. And basically we’re going to find that we have completely forgotten about how capable young people are. They’re incredibly capable. According to my own research, in many ways they’re as capable or even more capable than mainstream, every day adults. We need to rediscover those capabilities. Young people are capable of being incredibly responsible; they’re capable of learning at an extremely fast pace. That’s what we’ve got to do, we’ve go to rediscover those capabilities, and begin to treat them accordingly. We also have to rescue them from teen culture, so-called teen culture, and basically give them opportunities to join the adult world in meaningful ways. That’s how you're going to see those capabilities expressed. And we can do it, it can be done, but it’s hard if you keep them in the public school system.
Mike:
Well, that’s very insightful, Dr. Epstein, and thank you for being with us today. Until next time, I’m Mike Smith.
