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14 year olds don’t get to decide that they aren’t going to learn algebra. In fact, a 14 year old who can’t master basic algebra is probably not smart enough to manage a business. This was a really bad example for the author to cite.

Well, nowadays, we are in the 'cult of the child.' The child knows all, is all, and is in fact the center according to the majority of parents out there - especially liberal parents.

Therefore if "sweet lil' 14" doesn't want to learn algebra, she shouldn't be forced because SHE has decided her fate already. Might be good for a parent to help her form a backup plan.

14 year olds don’t get to decide that they aren’t going to learn algebra. In fact, a 14 year old who can’t master basic algebra is probably not smart enough to manage a business. This was a really bad example for the author to cite.( JenB)

JenB,

Here are two more examples the author uses from the same essay:

I knew a young man some years ago who was earning $25,000 a year working part time at his own business. He was in 10th grade. He felt silly, he said, sitting in a room full of kids who spent their lives studying for tests and playing video games. He succeeded in quitting in the 11th grade and is now a highly successful businessman.

Two years ago, I got a call from a 16-year-old girl who was miserable in school. She had a family situation that evoked daily mockery from her classmates. On her own, she collected motivational quotations and had mapped out plans to become a hair stylist and open her own shop, but of course, the system wouldn’t let her go..

True, she’s still young. We know she loves horses and that’s great. But it doesn’t mean that she will make a career out of working with horses. At age 14 it’s just too soon to know that.