Re: [UUPoly-L] Adult Decisions vs. Child Decisions?

["CWLee" <cwlee@post.harvard.edu>]

"Kelly Cookson" <kc62301@hotmail.com> wrote:


"On the other hand, when an individual child makes the
decision to pursue sports at the expense of her or his
grades, I wouldn't want that child expelled from school and
treated as if she or he were mentally ill. The child might
fail to reach the goal of becoming a professional athlete,
and might even regret having let her or his studiies slide.
But the child has the freedom to learn that lesson. Plus,
the child just might suprise everyone and become a
professional athlete."

Your statement " ... the child has the freedom to learn that
lesson." is troublesome to me.  (I'm off the poly topic, and
onto parenting here.)  While "age of consent" is debatable,
depending on whether one is talking about crossing the
street alone, sex, alcohol, driving, military, contracts,
etc., I think it is a valid concept that parents have a duty
to overrule their children in many cases.  I think a child
prodigy (music, math, sports) should be encouraged, and
supported in the area of his displayed gift, but not at the
expense of some basic tools of life, such as reading,
writing, adding/subtracting, etc.

Comments welcome, but I'm not trying to start a war.

Best regards to all, Chuck Lee.
----------
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows.  Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.