What rights and responsibilities should teenagers have?

It is indeed important that rights are considered with responsibilities. In every human undertaking, it is understood that rights are given because of the responsibility that a person has adopted. Rights cannot be given to irresponsible people. It is true that people who are given rights often abuse them and make society pay the price.

Certainly, teenagers are old enough to make decisions about things that concern them. It is at the end of the teenage that a lot of decisions are made. Decisions made include the courses of study they wish to undertake, the career paths they wish to follow, and, perhaps, select the persons that each of them want to have as life companions. These are all important decisions. What usually happens is that parents will want to barge in on all these three decisions and if possible make the decisions for the teenagers. The reason: Parents know better; they have been that way before; they are older; they are wiser and so on. But as often happens, especially in these fast moving times, parents train their children to live in their (the parents ') time rather than in the teenagers ' time. Teenagers should be given the right to make decisions that affect their lives; after all they are the one who are going to live with them.

One doubt in connection with this remains though. Are teenagers responsible enough to make the decisions? Will the decisions they make be good ones? Here is where the adults - including parents and teachers can play a part. Their age and wisdom will be very useful to guide the teenagers to make the decisions. Adults should help teenagers think of alternatives. The education system should teach students how to make decisions and solve problems. This will enable them to make almost any decision. With adult guidance, the teenagers should be trained to weigh everything before deciding. What is suggested here is that teenagers should be trained to carry out their responsibilities of decision making and then given their rights. Adults should always be available for advice but should let the teenagers act for themselves - after all the greatest education is experience. This cannot be attained if teenagers are not given responsibility.

Up to the time of teenage, children are given a lot of education and training - both at school and at home. A magic line cannot be drawn where suddenly a teenager ceases being a child and becomes an adult. The age of transition is teenage. It is at this age that a person must gradually be allowed to be responsible and earn his rights.

In one area, however, teenagers need to be guided closely. That is in the matter of sex. In this matter strong emotions are involved. When strong emotions are involved, the thinking faculty often takes a back seat. If given full rights with regards to relationships, they may hurry into explorations into sex and get into all sorts of unwanted situations. No doubt the teenagers have the right to make close friends and if possible choose their life partners. Love is the most exciting experience in life and there is no reason to exclude them from it. In fact what may happen is that they will naturally be drawn into it. It is their right. But they must be prepared to act with a sense of responsibility. Failing this, there will be trouble like broken hearts, unwanted pregnancies and perhaps even suicides.

Teenage is an exciting and important period if life. Teenagers should be given their rights as humans at this time; but not before they have eamt their responsibilities to society and to each other.

ReferencesFINE, M. (1988). Schooling, sexuality, and adolescent females: The missing discourse of desire. Harvard Educational Review, 58, 29-53.

GORDON, S. (1971,revised 1983). Ten heavy facts about sex. Fayetteville, NY: Ed-U Press, Inc.

MINISTRY, J. M. (1987). Teen rights in the evangelical church. Dallas, TX.

MOORE, K., & BUILT, M. R. (1982). Private crisis, public cost. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.

PAUL, E., PILPEL, H. F., & WECHSLER, N. F. (1976).Teenagers and the law, 1976. Family Planning Perspectives, 8, 16-21.

References: INE, M. (1988). Schooling, sexuality, and adolescent females: The missing discourse of desire. Harvard Educational Review, 58, 29-53. GORDON, S. (1971,revised 1983). Ten heavy facts about sex. Fayetteville, NY: Ed-U Press, Inc. MINISTRY, J. M. (1987). Teen rights in the evangelical church. Dallas, TX. MOORE, K., & BUILT, M. R. (1982). Private crisis, public cost. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press. PAUL, E., PILPEL, H. F., & WECHSLER, N. F. (1976).Teenagers and the law, 1976. Family Planning Perspectives, 8, 16-21.