Re:This is a good thing. (Score 1)

"How can you tell, for instance, the difference between a child who is impulsive and a child who knows that they are still afforded protection from the law by the law? I mean, if you could actually do almost anything you want without having to worry about significant repercussions, wouldn't you be more impulsive?" This is a false dichotomy - being a minor does not protect them from serious repercussions, but the law recognizes age/maturity/developmental factors in other domains such as criminal and civil actions (this is why the death penalty is off the table in most US states for minors). Furthermore, its not the state determining which teen is ready for myspace and which is not, it is giving that power to parents who are in a better position than anyone else to judge their child's ability to exercise restraint online. As for the personal dig at the end, I respected my students tremendously, but part of being a good teacher is recognizing where your students are developmentally and trying to help them grow intellectually and emotionally while they are under your supervision. Treating teenagers like peers does them a tremendous disservice. Adults/educators that try and befriend their teen students will ultimately let their new "friends" down when they have to enforce some sort of discipline for bad behavior or when they aren't working to their potential. You're also not in a position to objectively evaluate the student or mentor their growth. Teens have plenty of other teen friends that respect them as equals. My job wasn't to treat them as an equal, it was to help them to grow.