Would you leave your child unsupervised with a loaded gun or a bottle of vodka? Then why is it that we are not disturbed by the idea of allowing a 14-year-old to determine his or her career path.

It is true that children determine from a young age what they want to become in the future and then try to pursue that dream. The system we currently have in place is aimed at allowing children to pursue their dreams. In a sense, it places their future in their own hands. I believe that there is nothing more liberating than having control over your own destiny, but there is something wrong with the system.

Grave injustice

We are doing children a grave injustice allowing them to make crucial decisions about their career path at such a young age. For the same reason we do not allow them behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, or allow them to vote, I do not think they should be put in a position to determine their future when they are so immature.

I do not want to be misunderstood. I would absolutely love it if children could be allowed to pursue their dreams. In fact, what I present to you is that the very system that currently exists, which is in place to give children that opportunity to chase their dreams, is actually the biggest hurdle for them to accomplish those very same dreams.

The current high school system allows children to pick which subjects they want to take at the CXC level. There are a few which are mandatory, such as math and English. But students get to pick the direction in which they want to focus their studies.

Lack of exposure

I do not think a 14-year-old should have to start focusing his studies! If you focus your studies so prematurely then you lose the opportunity to explore all the other possibilities. The child never gets to discover whether he likes something else more than what he currently thinks he likes in his ignorance. Focusing your studies should be left for later on - at the college level, when you are more mature and have had more exposure.

The lack of exposure means that there are a few fields of work which the majority of children want to go into: medicine, accounting/banking and law. Children view these three as the most ambitious and prestigious fields of work to be in, but the reality is that the possibilities are endless and they are limiting their field of view, along with their areas of study, which means that they do not get an opportunity to see all the other possibilities around them.

I am, etc.,

DANIEL KHAN

conman_13@hotmail.com