The push for students to be treated like adults in school settings comes from the desire to help students feel independent, develop critical thinking skills and learn about responsibility. Although these things are important, when taken by an approach of wanting students to feel like adults, it doesn’t always work that well.
One large issue that students seem to face is that they start to feel overwhelmed. When the idea of being like an adult is put on a still-developing teenager, they can start to feel rushed and unprepared for the future. Students are still learning about their lives, and the only way to really learn is through mistakes. When students have the idea that they are supposed to be acting like adults, the ideas of failure start to become even more intimidating.
Things like student-teacher dynamics begin to take a toll on students when someone who is supposed to be a mentor and leader starts to treat them on the same level. When educators begin to treat students like a workplace instead of a learning environment, it starts to make students not only feel pressured, but also not supported in their place of learning. Students may begin to miss out on valuable learning and knowledge provided by their teachers. With a lack of boundaries and clear expectations for students, they may not want to push themselves to their highest abilities because they are responsible for themselves.
Treating students like adults can create social and emotional challenges for them throughout their school day as well. While school is a place for you to learn, it is also a place for you to grow as a person and learn those important social skills needed. When the lines between students and the idea of being treated like an adult become blurred, there is a large room for disrespect to take place.
While the idea of treating students like adults seems smart, there needs to be a distinct line. Although having freedom as a growing and learning teen is important, it is also important that students receive a balance of freedom and support from the people around them.
